Do you ever just feel STUCK in your business?
Are you sometimes motivated to do everything in the world while at the same time not motivated to do anything?
Maybe there’s a heaviness inside your brain from the loads of all the ideas, inspiration, or to-do’s to get done.
Or, maybe you’re feeling completely frustrated that you can’t get over the hurdle in front of you.
Erica here, and I’ve been there –
- Frustrated for the things I couldn’t get done.
- Upset because of my efforts that seemed to fail.
- Overwhelmed and overloaded by the things we still hadn’t figured out yet.
Until one Monday that felt like it was off to anything but a good start to the week. That’s when I separated in my mind all of the things I couldn’t do and pinpointed what I felt like I could do.
Here’s exactly what I discovered that I could do to get unstuck from the place I was stuck in:
☀️ 1. GET OUTSIDE
I knew that if I simply changed my scenery, I could shift my mindset. There’s something to be said about feeling the fresh air, walking in the sand, taking a hike, laying in the grass, or just letting the sun and the natural light revive your body. Yes, I’m solar-powered and yes, Jon and I now sleep on a grounding sheet (that’s a topic for a different email, but comment below if you want to ask about it), but no matter how “crunchy” or “crunch-less” you are, there is power in changing your scenery and getting outside to clear your head.
🙊 2. PUT IT ON THE BACK BURNER (for now)
Sometimes there are things that you just can’t talk through in the moment. That day, trying to solve them or talk through them had me all up in my emotions and being productive with absolutely nothing, so I told Jon (this is where the preaching came in) that I needed him to hold me accountable to bringing up these conversations again when they could be helpful and fruitful conversations, but that for right then I needed to shift my focus, attention, and energy on the things that I could do and could get excited about.
When you’re operating out of high emotions or high stress, step away from whatever that thing is. Don’t just brush it under the rug – definitely revisit it when you’re feeling back to your best self – but there’s no sense of fixating on it if it’s going to drag you down deeper or leave you stuck and unproductive with moving the needle forward on something else for your business.
✨ 3. WORK FROM WHEREVER YOU FEEL INSPIRED
If you’re reading this, you’re a CREATIVE and your creativity flows effortlessly when you’re full of inspiration. It’s not forced, it’s not frustrating, and it’s FUN (the way it should be) when you’re in a place that makes you feel inspired. If your home office (aka spare room, couch, bed, kitchen table, etc.) is where you’re at when you’re feeling STUCK, leave.
Go somewhere that excites you and try again with the things that you can focus on.
For me, we left and Jon drove me to the beach. I sat on a blanket by the water where I was clearing my head, shifting my mindset to the things I could process and think about, and I was being filled back up while sitting next to the water which always makes me feel free and light.
If it’s a coffee shop that makes you feel cozy and excited – go there.
If it’s somewhere out in nature – go there.
Heck, if it’s Disneyland and you can get there – go there.
When you’re physically working from a place of inspiration, you’ll be so much more successful than you will be if you’re trying to force it or ‘fake it ‘til you make it’ while staying in the place you’re stuck in.
😌 4. REST; DON’T QUIT
Whatever you do, don’t quit or give up.
REST
Move it to the back burner and let yourself reset. Take a nap. Take a day. Take a week. Take whatever you need to allow yourself to refresh, but don’t quit on your dreams.
There’s strength in recognizing you need to rest, and there’s even more strength in doing so.
Have your spouse, a friend, someone in your family, a fellow photographer friend, or anyone else hold you accountable to getting back to the things you need to take a break from, but give yourself the space you need to rest and get to feeling like yourself again.
It may sound simple, but it’s not often done. As entrepreneurs we have the tendency to try and power through or just work harder, but that’s not the answer.
We have to allow our minds, our souls, and our bodies to rest so we can be and operate as the best version of ourselves. (I’m still preaching to myself, too.)
Running a business isn’t for the faint of heart and it can be freaking hard at times, but I hope you can be encouraged to give yourself grace and the space to get unstuck if you need it like I did.
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