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Are you Stuck?  Quiz Answers...
by Michael Bungay Stanier

Question 1:

I know how I feel mentally when I'm stuck

- Certainly *Best Answer

- Never really stopped to think about it

Although we all have our own individual reactions to feeling stuck, there are some common symptoms.  Some of them are short term, while others are more long term. 

Short-term symptoms might include: less clear judgment, reduced enjoyment of work and life, increased distractedness and lack of focus, and generally a consumption of your mental energy. 

In the long term, there are chronic stress symptoms such as feeling overwhelmed and anxious, mood changes, difficulty sleeping and perhaps a reliance on alcohol or medication.

Question 2:

I know how I feel physically when I'm stuck

- Yes indeed! *Best Answer

- I’m too “in my head” to think about how I feel physically

There are similar patterns with the physical manifestations of feeling stuck.  Some are short term, some are long term. 

In the short term, you might notice a dry mouth, sweaty hands, rapid and shallow breathing, tense muscles, and a nervous energy or sense of nausea. 

Long term might include insomnia, aches and pains, more frequent “low level” colds, headaches, and feelings of long-term tiredness.

Question 3:

I know the difference between me doing Good Work and Great Work

- Absolutely *Best Answer

- Is there a difference?

Great Work brings with it both exhilaration and terror.  You’re delighted when someone asks you what you do, and they have trouble getting you to stop talking about it.  You tap into reserves of courage and chutzpah to get done what needs to be done.  You often have no idea how to do what needs to be done –  and are only a little fazed by that, because you are certain that this is truly what needs to be done.

Great work is a place where impact and effect trumps over efficiency and process.  It is often a place of waste, because creativity needs waste to thrive.  It is a place of inspiration, where suddenly all your past makes sense (“A-ha!  That’s why I did that, learned that, experienced that”).  It is a place that honors your skills, your passion and your experience.

Great Work is also a difficult place to be.  The temptation to “downgrade” to the comfort of Good Work is constant.  Your “inner critic” is rampant, whispering “Who are you to try this?  Who do you think you are to be this ambitious?  Don’t you know you’re doomed to failure?”  Great Work can also be elusive, because it can degrade in a moment to be simply Good Work.  To do Great Work, you must be ever vigilant.

With Good Work, there is no shame attached.  You’re doing work that uses your skills, it gets stuff done, it may well pay you a wage.  It’s comfortable, because you know what you’re doing.  It is probably something of a routine or a habit.

So it’s not that you’re having a bad time.  It’s just that when you’re asked by strangers what you do, sometimes it feels like you’re trying to convince yourself more than them that this is great.  Good Work is often about “being efficient”, without ever making sure that this is the right work to begin with  (Peter Drucker says this:  “Efficiency is doing things right; effectiveness is doing the right things”).  In a year’s time, you won’t remember the Good Work you were doing a year ago.

And don’t forget Bad Work.  Luckily, for Bad Work the test is simple.  It’s when you have that sudden flash of realization and you ask yourself:  Why exactly am I wasting my life with this?

Question 4:

I know the secret of generating new ideas

- I’m an idea-generating whiz! *Best Answer

- Someone told me I wasn’t creative when I was a kid … and I believe them

Dual Noble Prize winner, Linus Pauling, said ““the best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas.”  Feeling stuck is often a symptom of only seeing one way to solve your challenge … and not liking what you see. 

Three places to tap into new possibilities are inspiring stories, provocative quotations and powerful human dynamics models.  The key to making them great idea sources?  Ask yourself an open and powerful question.  (For instance, with the Bobby Kennedy quote “20% of the people are against everything all of the time” you might ask “Who’s against me?  How am I letting that get in my way?”

Question 5:

I know the three things that get in the way of getting things done

- Sure – and the first one is me *Best Answer

- Only three things?  I can think of at least ten!

The obvious place to look is outside – people, timing, resources may all be less than ideal.  And it’s a powerful exercise to articulate exactly what might get in your way.  Often enough, we move into denial about the realities of the situation, particularly if this is a challenge we’ve taken on before and at which we’ve failed

But the real place to look is inside:  how are YOU getting in your own way?  Often it’s our own lack of courage and conviction that stops us getting in the way, our own fear of “playing big”.  Nelson Mandela said, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world.”

Question 6:

I know the three key resources which will support me to get things done

- I use these three sources all the time *Best Answer

- I’m all alone – I have no support 

I call it the Superman Syndrome – the belief that we have to take it all on and solve it ourselves.  It can make us feel like a hero at times, but it can also crush and exhaust us. 

What external resources can you gather to your cause?  Think about energy, money, things, time. 

What people can you call to your aid?  Family?  Friends?  Acquaintances.  Many will be willing to help. 

And finally, tap into your own inner resources.  What about you is great?  When have you been successful in a situation like this before?

Question 7:

I know the secret of moving from ideas to action

- Just try and hold me back! *Best Answer

- I never seem to get things going

Often people don’t get started because it all feels too big and overwhelming.  Or they just can’t work out the first step.  The secret is simply this: choose something to do. 

Keep reducing the task down until it feels like manageable first step.  You’re not alone in this struggle. In he 18^th Century the Marquis du Deffand said “the distance is nothing; it's only the first step that is difficult.”

Question 8:

I know how to double the likelihood of getting things done

- I know it and I use it *Best Answer

- There’s a secret?

The American Society of Training and Development claims that setting up a “report back to” meeting with someone who’s holding you accountable can more than double the likelihood of you completing your task.

According to the ASTD, here are the probabilities of you completing a goal:

o        10% if you hear an idea.

o        25% if you consciously decide to adopt it.

o        40% if you decide when you will do it.

o        50% if you plan how you will do it.

o        65% if you commit to someone else you will do it.

o        95% if you have a specific accountability appointment with the person to whom you committed.

So find yourself an Accountability Buddy – and use them to help you get unstuck!

Copyright 2005 Michael Bungay Stanier, Box of Crayons
 

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