Can I be honest about something? For the last several months I have felt stuck.

To be clear, that does not mean I’ve been idle. While I have not posted on my blog or sent a newsletter since early March, I have been quite busy in the background.

I have been working with an NSA hall-of-fame member to improve some of my marketing and develop potential speeches.I have joined Toastmasters looking to improve parts of my public speaking and even competed in their humorous speech contest, winning the area and placing second in our division.In March, I was one of the presenters for the Christian Church Leadership Network to help preachers prepare for EasterI attended the National Preaching Summit which focused on preaching family values.

As you can see, I’ve been active. Pair all this with the increased busyness of our home life (three kids’ sports in one season, Spring break, Summer vacation planning, etc) and I’ve not been bored.

I have, however, been stuck when it comes to pursuing opportunities for speaking and writing that I began in 2021.

Granted, I wouldn’t have necessarily labeled it that until this morning when I stopped to take a serious look at why I had made no progress in writing a new book, a keynote speech, or even a blog post in some time. The result, dear reader, was realizing feelings of uncertainty about where to go in my most recent last blog series, feelings of imposter syndrome when it came to my next book, and a combination of both when it came to the keynote speech I’m writing.

By the way, the keynote speech I’m writing is about how to get moving again when you feel stuck.

*cut to an image of me with my face in my hands chuckling at the irony of my own situation*

When In Doubt, Grind it Out

I was listening to a podcast this week by Jon Acuff and he made a point that resonated with me. He pointed out that, when he hasn’t written for a while, writing can begin to feel intimidating. Much like when someone is not in the habit of going to the gym, taking that first step can seem equivalent to climbing Mount Everest.

To me, the uncertainty and internal insecurities led me to take writing and replace it with any number of familiar, more comfortable activities. Yet, these are still areas I want to grow in and goals I want to accomplish. So, in my introspective morning where I took time to brainstorm and review, I wrote down the following statement…

When in doubt, grind it out.

The gist here is recognizing that I will not always feel like writing. Uncertainties and imposter syndrome will continue to creep in. So…what can I do to keep working toward my goals and keep from getting stuck?

I can grind on tasks that move me toward my goals. Whether they are for writing, speaking, fitness, nutrition, education, or anything else.

Maybe you have a goal of running a marathon, but you don’t feel like putting in the five miles today. Perhaps grinding your way through two miles and some stretching is enough so you can come back the next time. Have a goal of learning a new language, but don’t want to spend an hour today memorizing verb declensions? Grind through ten minutes now and ten minutes later just to make some progress in the direction of your goal.

I’ve been stuck. But I don’t want to stay stuck. So…even when I don’t feel like it, and even if I don’t feel adequate…I’m choosing to grind and push through the work in front of me.

Why?

Because I have some goals, dreams, and desires. And in the end, there means there is going to be some grinding through to get there.