4 Tips to Getting Unstuck to Greatness

How many times have you felt challenged with an upcoming speaking deadline and just don’t know what to say or how to start your project?

I’ve been there.

So often, we get in the hustle and bustle of our daily routine of driving to work, cleaning our home, picking up laundry, or running errands and lose sight of the inner creative being we are.  This makes it difficult to develop a clear, engaging idea to communicate to our teams or audience.

Here are my 4 Tips to Get You Unstuck to Greatness

1) Make a list of your sticky points.

What’s causing this friction?

Is it fear of speaking in front of a new audience? Is it not making the time to write your ideas or investing in experiences you’d rather not do?

Get serious with what’s causing the staleness and failing to move you forward.You may be surprised your fatigue comes from staying up late mindlessly scrolling social media, which prevents you from waking up refreshed and renewed to create that keynote speech or workshop.

2) Get moving.

Channel your inner athlete and play a sport or ride your bike; read or listen to something new that’s outside your routine interests (I love Julia Cameron’s The Artist Way.); make art, color, paint.Researcher Dr. Adam Alter highlights the importance of just doing a small act will get you more likely to do more. Actually moving your body in a different way can unleash into something great.

3) Have a conversation with someone.

Schedule a coffee, walk date, or pick up the phone and call that creative person in your life to just explore ideas.  Consider asking them questions, tapping into curiosity of the other.  Sometimes bouncing thoughts back and forth can develop fabulous newness and jolt you into motion.

4) Do different and write the worst.

When we’re in search of perfection, we struggle to make or do anything.Jeff Tweedy from the band Wilco is known for creating the worst lyric or line of music to get himself unstuck.Perfection prevents creation.Write the worst beginning, middle, or end to your presentation.Laugh as you read it aloud.Then set a timer and handwrite for a prescribed time to see what ideas evolve.You’ll be amazed that what you think is the worst can turn into gold.