Moving Through Mental Blocks

July 13, 2023

?? WARNING ???

I am not sure where this week’s newsletter is going.

Typically, the messages I want to share and the stories I want to tell roll off the keyboard well in advance of when I publish them.?

Yeah… Not so much this week.

Even though I have a plethora of real life examples of the triumphs and tribulations of leadership, this week…

? I’ve hit a wall.

? I’ve been overthinking.

? I’ve been worrying about what you, my dear reader, will take away.?

So what has inspired me to sit at my computer despite my setbacks??

1. A change of scenery.?

I have left the confines of my home office and am working today from a beautiful cafe nearby. Treating myself to the gorgeous latte seen here, listening to Khruangbin, and having a new view has done wonders for me.?

I may not have a clear understanding - YET - of what I want to get across, but somehow, the words are flowing in a way they simply weren’t before I arrived here.?

2. A chat with colleagues.

Right before I set out for the cafe, I was on a monthly call with a few of the incredible women from my Coach Certification program. Even though we all graduated over a year ago, we keep a regular Zoom meeting on the books so that we can catch up, celebrate wins and gain clarity on what may be challenging us.

Can you guess what came up for me today? ??

When it came to my writer’s block, these women, as usual, had so much to say that gave me a new perspective on the obstacles I’m facing.?

Katrina mentioned the seasonality of summer energy - how we are programmed to slow down in the summer, and how this can affect our motivation.?

Aimee made me realize that the fact I’m even aware of my block, the noticing of it, is an accomplishment in its own right. Instead of trying to overcome it, why not try? just BEING with it for a bit? What do I notice?

I notice that it may not be the worst thing in the world to slow down and not necessarily have to prove anything.

3. A realization that there’s a strong parallel in what I’m currently feeling to what I often experienced as a leader.

The questions I’ve asked myself this week are some of the same exact questions I used to struggle with as an executive leader:

Do I have the answers?

Will I ever know what I’m doing?

Will I ever be good enough?

Perhaps you’ve asked yourself these same questions in whatever journey you are on: leadership, writing, parenting, learning an instrument… The list goes on and on.

How do you turn those questions around so that the inner critic shuts the hell up??

4. A gathering of evidence to calm the nerves and ease the fears.

As I’ve talked about before in this newsletter, when that gremlin creeps in, I gather evidence to the contrary.

For me, sitting here now, I’m thinking about how much my newsletter has progressed in the few months I’ve been sending it out on a regular basis.?

In fact, I just did a vulnerable thing: I reread the very first blog post that I published as a coach nearly two years ago.

Was it terrible? Not at all.

Was there room for improvement? In so many ways!

What was helpful for me in this exercise was being able to look back at just how far I’ve come. Not only as a writer, but as a coach.?

And I’m so effing proud of myself. ??

So…. What can you do if you hit a wall like I did this week?

I recommend one or all of the above steps:

1?? Vary your scenery. If you work from home, is there a place y0u can go to change things up? Your balcony? Local cafe? Park? Nearby co-working space? If you work in the office, how about a walk around the block? A visit to the commissary? Dropping by a co-worker’s office?

2?? Talk to others who may help you with some new perspectives. Maybe it’s a colleague, maybe it’s a friend - maybe it’s me! (I’m always more than happy to have a chat - reach out any time.)

3?? Ask yourself when you’ve felt this way in the past. What can you relate about it to your current state of mind?

4?? Collect the evidence that reinforces YOU GOT THIS.?

This newsletter is proof. Thanks for reading.

With gratitude, Tracy

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