3 REASONS YOU’RE NOT MAKING PROGRESS — AND HOW TO BREAK THE PLATEAU
Life can sometimes feel like a stick that is stuck in the mud — immovable and hopeless. Do you ever get that stagnant feeling that nothing is changing? Nothing is evolving? It’s enough to create a depressive state in almost anyone.
But, feeling stuck and having progress are not interdependent. You can only have one at any given moment. The moment the feeling of progress stops we feel stuck — and miserable — because ultimately, progress is the key to happiness.
There are three reasons why we get stuck in the first place, and sometimes it’s a combination of the three.
1. YOUR PHYSICAL STATE
Bad physiology reinforces negative feelings. As Tony says, “Motion creates emotion.” Changing your physiology means changing your mental state and breaking your negative patterns. Great physiology therefore leads to great emotions, and that is one of the keys to getting unstuck. Foster a positive mental state and get unstuck by changing your physiology!
2. TRAPPED IN A TIMEFRAME
One reason we feel stuck is because we’re focusing too much on the past — or too much on the future. But thinking incessantly about the future or the past won’t change anything. We only really have the power to change the present moment, so that’s where our attention should be. Wishful thinking about what could have been or what should be has never worked for anyone.
3. SITTING ON A PLATEAU
Why do some people achieve breakthroughs that take them to the next level, while others do not? What is the difference between a master and a dabbler, a doer versus a talker? The former group are determined to dig deep to find the answers they need to overcome their plateau.
5 SIGNS YOU’RE APPROACHING A BREAKTHROUGH
1. Satiation — You’ve had enough. Enough of your financial problems, enough of your uninspiring career, enough of that extra 20 pounds you’ve been carrying around.
2. Dissatisfaction — Whatever you’re doing doesn’t work for you anymore. Maybe it’s not profitable, and maybe it’s not fun. Maybe you’re tired of not having the energy you know you need to accomplish your desired result. Your current approach might have been successful in the past, but it hasn’t adapted to your current conditions.
3. Threshold — Change becomes a “must.” If you’re facing bankruptcy, for example, or if you’re having a serious health challenge.
4. Insight — You get an insight, or deep understanding of something, and that creates an opening.
5. Opening — A door opens…and you step through right through it.