Are you stuck on something in your business or personal life?

Do you feel like the gears in your brain are locked up and can't move?

I've been there. It sucks. Here's how to get UNSTUCK.

[ A THREAD ]

What do you do when you get stuck?

If you're like most people, you push on.

Either you make progress, OR you beat yourself up for your lack of progress.

You blame yourself. You think you're weak. Lazy. Worthless.

You exhaust and frustrate yourself.

You get worn down and don't feel like doing other things.

You beat yourself up for that, too.

You're stuck because you never give yourself a break.

So what can you do?

You have to take breaks to make progress.

Your brain is an incredibly complex problem-solving machine.

It's constantly dealing with inputs from:

- every part of your body
- everything happening around you
- every thought taking place in your head

It filters out what isn't important so it can focus on what IS.

But, this uses up a LOT of energy.

It's draining to be dealing with inputs all day long.

Thinking uses up a lot of energy too.

Ever have a day when you were busy all day long?

Remember how exhausted you felt at the end of the day?

You burnt yourself out because you never gave yourself a break.

If you're keeping yourself going all day long, you're quickly depleting energy.

Your brain then doesn't have the energy to keep problem-solving at a high level.

That's why pulling all-nighters is a terrible idea.

I used to make that mistake, but now I know better.

Another reason why breaks are important:

When you aren't constantly dealing with inputs

Your brain is better able to solve problems and be creative.

But you may be wondering, what counts as a break?

To most people, taking a break means:

- watching Netflix
- playing on their phone
- reading an engaging book

Those activities bring more inputs your brain has to deal with.

They don't give your brain a break AND they distract your brain from problem-solving.

If you've taken those "breaks" before, here's what you actually did:

- you work
- take your input-filled "break"
- then go back to work

But you never actually had a break.

You just switched from one energy-consuming task to another.

When you take a break, do these instead:

- shower
- go for a quiet walk
- lie in bed without your phone
- meditate (mountain peak optional)

Notice a pattern? Almost no inputs.

These activities give your brain a break.

They also allow your brain to be creative and solve problems.

There's a reason why the term "shower thoughts" exists...

Give this a try this week. I promise you'll have more energy, AND you'll be better at solving problems.