When we get Stuck in life and leadership, a strategy is required to get unstuck. Stuck keeps us still, unstuck sends us forward. We go nowhere stuck, while the possibilities are endless unstuck.
Getting Unstuck
My first “big boy” purchase at the age of 18 was a 2000 Yamaha Big Bear 4×4 four-wheeler. I needed a co-signer because I had ZERO credit at the time. I had a desire to ride and a job that could help me pay the bill, so I went for it!
Riding offers a level of freedom. It’s you, the machine, and the deep woods. There are moments of exhilaration when the rider can get the machine through challenging obstacles.
Sometimes the process of getting through those obstacles is more than what the four-wheeler can handle, the result…getting stuck.
The same happens in life and leadership, we experience tough circumstances that create challenging obstacles, the result…getting stuck.
Here are four ways to get machines, and ourselves unstuck in difficult terrain:
Develop a Strategy
When any all-terrain vehicle gets stuck, the frame becomes connected to the ground. Once the frame gets connected with the ground, the wheels can no longer make forward progress. The operator can continue to “mash the gas,” but the wheels just spin, and spin, and spin. Energy spent…no progress made.
As a rider, I have found myself in many deep mud pits, frame adhered solidly to the ground. In life and leadership, I have found myself in similar pits. In any scenario, the initial inclination is to “mash the gas.”
This approach is absent strategy. There is a lot of hope involved, unfortunately hope isn’t always a strategy. It’s like running on a treadmill, we burn energy and make no forward progress. Without a plan, we will go nowhere. We will remain stuck.
The best way to get unstuck from the mud is to first get off the machine and evaluate. Ask ourselves, what got me stuck in the first place? Then, develop a strategy to get unstuck. The same applies to life and leadership.
Get Traction
When tires spin, it’s because they lose traction. Mud fills up the tire treads and they no longer can grab the ground. If they can’t grab the ground, forward is not possible.
When I was off the machine, I would often look for objects. Those objects may include large rocks or limbs laying around. Anything I could wedge up against the front of the tire to gain traction would help.
Sometimes it would work, sometimes it wouldn’t. Either way, it was a good place to start. A simple way to slow down and work towards a solution.
When we are stuck in life and leadership, the first attempt at getting unstuck should be simple. What is the easiest way to get out of the situation I am in? The first, and easiest approach, figure out a way to simply gain traction.
Put one foot in front of the other and just keep walking. Gain traction. Don’t overcomplicate it.
Find Something Solid
Before I made that “big boy” purchase, I had a four-wheeler growing up. It was significantly smaller. When I got stuck, I could usually push it out myself.
This new purchase, not so much! Therefore, I invested in a winch. A winch is a piece of equipment that goes on the machine that mechanically pulls you out of situations when you get stuck. It requires connecting to something solid ahead of you.
In life and leadership, that solid connection is our “why.” The “why” behind what we do is extremely solid and provides an extraordinary connection to the reason behind what we do. Our “why” is always ahead of us and serves as a great motivator for getting unstuck. It keeps us trudging forward through the mud.
Get Help
The best way to not get stuck was to bring someone on the ride with me. When I was riding with my buddies, I had very little concern about getting stuck. I was extremely confident that if I got stuck, they were there to help get me out.
As humans, we can easily grow dependent on ourselves. Survival teaches self-sustainability. Unfortunately, our Superpowers have limitations and our Capes Get Tattered. There are times when we can push through alone, but now and then we just need the help of others. It’s the only way out of the pit sometimes.
In life and leadership, we are stronger together, especially in difficult terrain. When we are stuck, we can’t get traction, and our why just simply isn’t enough…lean on the greatest strategy of all, getting help.
Not only will it provide the support necessary to climb out of the messiest of mud pits, it will give us the confidence necessary to take on the greatest of challenges…without the fear of getting stuck. Bring someone else on the ride.
Conclusion
I didn’t become a better rider by avoiding the challenging obstacles. I became better by going through the tough ones. If we look back at our journeys, the more challenging the landscape, the more we learn on the other side of it.
There is one thing a rider can do that is worse than staying stuck…going backwards. It’s the easiest way to get unstuck, but at some point, we all must go through the challenges ahead. Backing up in fear, failing to face the obstacles will never advance us in life or leadership.
As a rider, if it’s not tough, it’s not worth going through. In life and leadership, the same applies. We may not desire the required experiences of getting stuck that necessary to grow, but when we get through them, it’s worth the ride every time.
Neither life nor leadership waits for anyone. Without a strategy to get unstuck, we will spin ourselves into exhaustion. Develop a strategy, get traction, find our why, and get help. Get unstuck. Enjoy the freedom of the ride!
