Day Three: What Getting Unstuck looks like

 Day Three: What Getting Unstuck looks like

Have you ever gotten stuck or been in a vehicle that has gotten stuck? In the mud? In the snow and ice?

It's winter now where I live and we haven't had much for snowfall and melting, so there aren't areas where there was snow build up and then ice that forms rutts in the road or on the side of the road where you can park. 

But many years ago, the way in which they had cleaned the snow in front of our house created this one spot that turned into a rut that would trap vehicles in it. Often, early in the morning you would hear a vehicle spinning its tires outside our house and we would get up to dig them out. It was often enough that I created a kit to have ready at the front door; a shovel for digging space around the stuck tire, and one of my old kitchen mats, with the carpet on one side and the rubber on the other side to put under the tire for traction. Especially with ice, you need to get something under the tire that it can grip onto and create forward momentum. Just shoveling isn't enough if the area around the tire has now turned to ice from all the spinning of the wheels. Sometimes shovelling works because you have broken down the rutt enough that the tire was stuck in to be able to change the direction the tire is facing and maneuver another way out.

So the process looks a little something like this...

1. Take your foot off the gas

2. Stop spinning your tires.

3. Get out of the vehicle and get perspective on what you need to do.

4. Get some tools to help you clear a path out.

5. Get a shovel and make space around the tire to create a solution

6. Try to maneuver the tire and see if it will get out at a different angle.

7. Put the carpet side down and the rubber side up to create traction under the tire

8. Get behind the wheel and slowly move forward while others are helping to push you forward

9. Clear the vehicle from the space in which it got stuck, pack up the tools, and continuing on your way.

For me, I couldn't understand why the sudden and rapid weight gain. I knew it was related to the  dietary changes I made, but I didn't know what. All I knew was that I was frustrated. I couldn't wear the clothes I wanted to wear or even the boots I wanted to be wearing. SO I tried "fixing" it. Switching up this and that in my diet, trying to restrict this and bring back that. 

I was spinning my wheels. 

So I stopped and booked an appointment with my doctor. I got the bloodwork done and from what we learned, we were able to craft an appropriate plan.

The perspective I gained from the bloodwork and reviewing my history was how I was able to devise a plan that would work. At least that would help to balance things out in my body. The bleeding stopped, and I was able to get my hormones balanced again. Now the focus is on increasing my iron levels and stores again, resume my strength training, and modify my diet back to one that works best for me.

That's a key point that I want to highlight. Sometimes we try things to solve a problem we are facing or to help us to get unstuck, but often that solution is not tailor-crafted to the "hole" you happen to be in. There may be aspects to the solution that does work to some degree, but always remember to make the necessary adjustments and modifications that help you to get the results that you need. And sometimes, a particular solution may not be the one you need for your problem...and that okay. Keep up with finding a way and what works for you.

My tools were knowing that I have systems and strategies that I have been through before in this area of my life. So I put them together in a plan of action and steps, and now I am IN the process of applying the plan and using the tools I have available to me.

We all have enough of what we need to get us unstuck.

That basic and foundational part is available to most all of us, if we can apply observation. However, some of us are stuck in situations where we need additional support and perspective.

Many of those people that got stuck outside our house didn't have the tools available to them to get unstuck. They didn't have a shovel on hand, or my secret weapon, the kitchen mat. And some didn't have the experience or skill to get unstuck by themselves. They also didn't have the extra people available to help them to nudge or push the vehicle forward in order to get out from where they were stuck. 

This is where the support and accountability of coaching comes in. I have the tools and skills I have now because I had a coach for training and support for me back then when I was starting my weight loss journey many years ago. I also was the one that created "right fit" tools for myself from many, many hours of research and experimentation. All I know is, I am grateful that I didn't have to create all the tools that I use now, as I know the time and frustration it took to create some of the resources I have today.

I'm at step 6 now.

Applying the tools and the decided plan and solution that was crafted. So far we are making progress, but we are not fully unstuck and "Out" just yet. 

Now is the time to trust the process and apply the plan with consistency. The only way to know if it works is to be consistent in its application. The only way to make adjustments is to see the plan in action first.

Here we go.