Are You Overcomplicating This?

Are you over complicating this? Are you making this harder than it needs to be? If you’re anything like me and I’m guessing you are, there are times when you get stuck in your own head and need a way around. I want to share with you an experience that I had recently.

I often will sign up for new programs. I would so much rather rely on the expertise of people who have gone before than to reinvent the wheel. If somebody has and offering and it sounds like it can solve my problem, I am 100 percent willing to invest in that program to make the path easier for myself. But, I experienced a conundrum. I was excited about the beginning of the program, all that I was learning, the mindset shifts I was experiencing when, at the three-week mark, I hit a wall.

The Kolbe Assessment, an evaluation I took in 2016 came to mind. One of the levels it evaluates is Quick Start. People who are high on Quick Start are fast to take action with new ideas. They may not necessarily get around to implementing everything, but they do start a lot of different stuff. I am higher than the median on Quick Start. I do finish a good amount of the projects that I start but I also have a lot of ideas. What if, I was stuck in Quick Start mode but would never finish??

I began a new program and I wanted the results that others had. I knew there was a path from A to B, right? That’s why I brought the program, to explain how to get from where I was to where I wanted to be. I knew that it was possible, but everything was feeling complicated. The enthusiasm and energy from the beginning of the program had started to wear off, it just seemed confusing. Like everything was kind of jumbled up in my mind. Has this happened to you? I would love for you to write to me and let me know. Have you gotten to the point where you could not see the path forward?

The demons appeared

• Maybe I am not good enough to walk this path.
• ​Maybe I will be stuck here and never move forward.
• It’s the “Week Three Wall”… again.
  
  

Something in my mind went off to say, “you are over complicating this.”

I decided to take the next step on the path outlined by the instructor, trusting they would not lead me astray. And everything began to open up. I had to push the demons aside and just move forward in faith.

Why I got stuck

I lost track of myself and what I was already great at in trying to implement just like the instructor. You can use others’ information as a framework but it should never replace your specific magic.

I confused something uncomfortable for failing. Because I couldn’t see each next step I worried that the path would disappear, but it didn’t. The right path is always available.

The 4-Step Process for Moving Forward

1 — Remember Your Strengths
2 — List Your Successes (things that were once hard but are now easy)
3 — Recall Your Vision
4 — Take the Next Small Step.

When I did this four-step process, the noise and nonsense fell away and my desired outcome became clear again. In this case, what became clear was that I had six pages of notes of exactly what my ideal clients needed from me to improve their situation. And as luck would have it, I was able to whittle this down to 52 specific questions. I am thrilled to be able to answer these questions on my podcast anchor.fm/momentumaccountability and here.

You will only ever know the next few steps ahead. Trust yourself, your strengths and your past successes to know that you will figure out the next best step to take. And when you become frazzled, follow the four-step process to come back to clarity.

Scrap it and Start Over

There are times when you may need to scrap it and start over. If you are working and working at something and not making progress, start with a fresh page and try again. Apply all that you have learned in the first round that was not successful. You will make progress faster and in better alignment with your vision.
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I’d love to hear from you. Where are you overcomplicating things?