We have all reached a place at some point in our lives when it seems that despite all our efforts, things are simply not going as we had hoped. Any person trying something new to them or to accepted thinking will tell you there will be moments when you question everything you previously told yourself seemed right and true
Some will attempt to deny and others will become discouraged, both of which are ineffective at best and often self defeating. Denying means you continue in the same vein but are not certain what you are doing is really effective. Becoming discouraged means you stop altogether and admit defeat. These two are polar opposites but often result in the same dead end of not getting you where you want to be.
Take a step back
It always helps to take a step back either through a weekend or day trip that gets your mind off the situation at hand. A walk around the block works as well on a short term basis. For those of you who might think you are walking away from analyzing the situation, this maneuver is far from that. Your mind will continue to work on the problem, just in the background.where it has time to consult all your stored information to provide a solution. True, our natural impulse is to push through and keep going but mentally that is creating a bottleneck where so much information is coming in that literally your mind does not have time to process it all and as a result spends most of its time trying to store rather than analyze. Small periods of stepping away and focusing on something else allows your mind to catch-up and provides it breathing room to begin to analyze the information that may provide a solution, or at the very least ideas for a different direction.
Decide who you really are
Not seeing the forest for the trees is a good example of how we work ourselves into a trap. I’m reminded that the original focus of air
travel was not the transport of people but mail. Charles Lindbergh originally wanted to prove the point that continental flight was possible for swift transport of mail. But, rather than sticking strictly with air mail he singlehandedly helped others see that the airplane was an instrument for transport, mail or otherwise. And thus began the airline industry.
In that same vein, take a moment and ask yourself what is the basic definition of what you are and the things you are trying to do. At its essence, what is the message you are trying to send. Break it down to the most elemental point and then ask yourself if you are being true to the many ways that essence can be expanded.
Develop a very thick skin
After you have done the above, recognize that most people do not have vision and that you are going to have to work to help others see what you see. Just because one person, or a group of people for that matter, have told you it can’t be done, does not fit with their plans, or is simply too “out there” for them does not mean what you are trying to do is as they have described it. One method to accomplish this is an old sales technique. Often we describe something and think the person on the receiving end has made the mental leap you are describing. Most times they don’t. So for every feature you give, explain how it will help them to do thus and so. Explain the benefit to them! By doing this you provide the imagination most people lack and increases the chances of them understanding the true significance of what you are proposing.
Persistence to try and keep trying
Along with that thick skin should also come a desire to try and keep trying. Go read the Tipping Point, the most important point of that book is that an ongoing assault can develop critical mass but it will take time. Do what you have to do in the meantime to survive, but keep pushing your idea over, under, and around the roadblocks that inevitably appear. Recognize that there will be times when you are at your lowest point, build those in, so when they arrive you know them. This is where stepping back helps to give you the courage to get back up and keep going. I firmly believe in visualization as a tool to keep you focused on where you hope to go, but more importantly, you have to keep traveling your road in order to get “there”.