It can be frustrating to feel like we’ve made no traction toward our goals. It’s as if we’re just spinning our wheels, stuck in the same place. No matter how hard we try, we’re not making any improvements–not inching closer to where we want to be.
Whenever I feel this way, I do one of two things. Either I keep doing what I’m doing, or I’ll try something new. To keep doing what I’m doing, it’s like I’m saying to myself: I’m not going to give up. I’m going to keep trying until I make headway. When I try something new, it’s like I’m stepping outside of what I’m used to doing–thinking outside the box. This will lead me to venture out into the unknown–to experiment with new ideas, concepts, and themes.
The first requires patience, and the second, innovation. Progress seems to be a struggle where we must balance between the two. If we have too much patience and we’re not seeing any progress, it could mean that we’re not challenging ourselves enough with new ideas. If we’re constantly trying to innovate and we’re not seeing any progress, it can mean that we’re not trying something long enough to see how it will pan out (i.e. we’re not giving it enough time to grow).
But when we do finally make traction, we can finally celebrate, since it was a long road to get there. And for a time, things are well . . . until we lose traction again. Then that feeling of frustration will start to fester, and we’ll have to stop and think to ourselves: do we keep doing what we’re doing, or do we try something new?
Fallton Havenstonne 