Getting Ready to Get Ready

Stuck is not a fun place to be.

Yet for so many, stuck seems to be a state that is stubbornly present, even defeating in the lives of so many.

You know, the web site tweak that just has to be done before you promote, the sales script that needs to have every word perfect before you make the call, the distraction of finding something new to create instead of focusing on the thing that’s in front of you. And the worst of all – just not knowing what to do next.

It’s the Getting Ready to Get Ready syndrome.

And some of you have it… BAD!

I was talking with a client yesterday who is in a career transition. But instead of hopping from one career to the next, he’s making an interim stop as a consultant while looking for the next path. With a possible job that fell through, he was stuck.

“I think I’ll install some new tools on my computer so I’m ready when the next opportunity comes,” he told me firmly.

“Really?” I asked. “How do you know the next job will need those exact tools?”

“Well,” he said, “it’s kind of like home improvement projects. You like to have a hammer around so you’ll be ready” he said.

“What if the roof caves in?” I questioned jokingly. “How is the hammer going to help you?”

He laughed quietly and said “Yeah, I see what you mean. But what do I do?”

And therein lies the problem. If you’re getting ready for the next opportunity but you haven’t defined or even decided what you want, you will never get the opportunity. It’s that simple.

“The first thing you must do is make a decision to get 1 consulting job. Just one.” I told him. “Next, you must take imperfect action. Start asking people about their challenges that you can help them with. Be in conversation. It will lead to business. I guarantee it.”

We talked then for a while about what to say to people and how to be in the conversation. At the end of our session, he was not only unstuck, but actually excited about taking action – even imperfect action – to support his decision to move forward with this part of his transition.

No one is immune. Recently, I was trying to make sure that our 2-Day Tuneup signature event was perfect. In fact, I was working so hard to make sure the event was perfect that I almost forgot to tell you about it! Just one more tweak to the website, one more segment of fun to get in there, one more…etc. I was so engrossed in the “getting ready to get ready” to tell you that I finally had to make the decision to stop tweaking and start telling! Duh. But like I said – we’re not immune and we’re all in the process called life.

So what do you need to make a decision to stop doing and what will you decide to start doing? I’m curious. Leave a comment and let’s get the energy moving!

By Stephanie Frank