Stuck? Make It Simple
Lucia Brizzi
Empowering networks of connected leaders with Success Circles. Owner of Next Level / Leadership. Coach, trainer, speaker, writer.
Feeling stuck? How complex does the challenge feel? What if it could be simple??
We tend to assume stuckness is an all-but-inevitable response to an inherently complex problem. What if (walk with me here)?
you complexify?
to orchestrate a stuckness?
that enables you to avoid?
a hard/ right truth?
and the corresponding choice?
you are unwilling to see
and unwilling to make??
But I complexify!
Occam's razor is the philosophical rule of thumb that the simplest possible answer is often correct. So why would you complicate the simple? Simple seems easy. Yet, when the challenge is complex, you're off the hook from taking action. When the challenge is simple, you’re tasked to act. Action is hard. Simple is, in fact, not easy.?
Stuckness is a comfortable trap. It’s like my family's big couch, so big it turned the “ living room” into the "couch room.” It swallows cell phones, remotes, and an ick-inducing amount of children’s snacks. It’s a delight for movie nights. And sitting on it midday is a death trap. Energy's sucked up like so many sticky fruit snacks. Confusion lands you on the big, comfy death trap couch. When you don’t know what to do, you get to do nothing. Cancel plans, cozy up, and drive yourself crazy.?
This summer, I had my first true bout of insomnia. “What in the world?” I faux-wondered. I was not yet willing to face a hard / right truth and choice. Eventually, I did. I’ve been sleeping well since.?
The simple truth may break your heart. The simple action might be one of the toughest things you’ll ever do. My truth did. My action is. And, I’m sleeping through the night. This is because I’m in greater alignment—the state in which all parts are moving in the same direction. On the other side of doing the hard/ right thing is always greater alignment.?
Alignment feels like flow, even when it’s hard. You can be in flow while swimming upstream, applying force against resistance. Lack of alignment feels like one arm crossing your body, a leg dragging, other hand slapping water in your face. In this twisted shape, you’re no match against the downstream. You need all of yourself to create anything. You can’t use all of you when part of you is slapping water at you, screaming: “I KNOW SOMETHING YOU WISH WASN’T TRUE.”?
Alignment feels like flow, even when it’s scary. You’re going and growing. Flow only moves forward. (As one client put it, if it’s flowing back up you should see a doctor.) The couch takes no courage. As uncomfortable, even painful, as being stuck is, you aren’t being tested against external resistance.?
As a coach, I’ve learned to listen for a seemingly unremarkable statement: “I don’t know.” It’s the ugly sunhat of statements- dullness shrouding gold. Under “I don’t know” is what you do know. Often a big knowing: a disruptive truth. You hate your job, your boss, your husband’s cousin’s dog he brings to every holiday gathering (are you even allowed to hate a dog?).?
This disruptive truth is demanding you make a hard/ right choice. It’s not going to leave you alone. It’s the sticky snack in the couch cushion ruining the vibe. It’s the “why” behind your headache, your temper, your insomnia. It’s not going to stop. Not until you pick up the cushion, face it, take action, and come into greater alignment.?
The thing is, the future is complex. When focused on changing everything, you’re right to feel it’s too big to contemplate. And, your present tense participation in the unfolding of what is to be is simpler than you may be willing to admit. As Listen to Lead podcast guest and improv master David Razowsky puts it, “You know what you need to know in the moment that you need to know it.”
Stuckness isn’t an end point. It’s a call to discovery. The question is, are you ready to make it simple? If yes, here’s a practice.?
Get-Simple to Get-Unstuck Self Coaching Practice:?
Grab a journal and complete
You’re off the couch. Check under the big cushion for your phone. It’s always under the big cushion.
Discover the power of simplicity with NLL coaching and my new 30 day customized journaling program, Next Level Reflection.
Develop a direct conversation with your inner mentor through a one-on-one customized 30 day interactive journaling program with Lucia Brizzi .
You have an inner mentor. They know your dreams, passions, values, strengths, and highest potential. Their guidance is always available to you. I’ve connected hundreds of Next Level Leaders with their inner mentors through journaling. Now, I’m offering a one-on-one customized program to launch or deepen your journaling practice.?
How it works:?
Investment: $150