No matter how old or how young you are, there will come a time in your life when you will feel like you are not growing or going forward. You reach a point in your life where you just feel stagnant and like there is no life in what you are doing or pursuing. Some people experience this on their jobs where they feel that they have reached a career plateau. While others may even feel this way in a relationship, where there seems to a lot of inhaling but no exhaling. Stagnation can come in many forms and mean many things to just as many people, but what will you do when you feel like there is no movement in your life and there is no outflow for your inflow? Some people like the status flow and they even live by the motto “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. But I have come to challenge you into thinking differently about your life and your current situation. Just because it ain’t broke doesn’t mean it is working right. Fix it anyways!
When life seems to be stagnant and your pathways don’t seem to be producing the results that you once thought that it would, you need to look at your strengths and not accept mediocre or settling anymore. You need to become your own niche’ product and become the best in what you do. That may mean that you have to go back to school or get additional training but it is well worth it. You have to be continuously evolving if you want to avoid stagnation. You will not become stagnant if you continue to learn something new, and each day that should be one of your goals. If you stop learning, you stop growing. You need to challenge yourself! You need to reinvent yourself! You need to cultivate yourself by pushing the bar further than you ever imagined it could possibly go. If you want to see more you have to be willing to do more. And if you want to do more, you cannot settle. You allow stagnation to set in when you decide it ain’t broke.
Are you valuable to people? Becoming a valuable resource to other people will keep you on your toes and keep you from becoming stagnant. People should be coming to you for advice all the time for your expert or professional opinion. When you position yourself to be an asset to people instead of a liability to them, you are showing that you are able to fix what is broken in their lives. You become a resource of knowledge that can turn into speaking engagements, raises, books and other opportunities. In other words, you become a leader and expert in your area and other people will value you because of what you know and who you know. This can only occur by being proactive and not reactive all the time. Becoming proactive will increase your visibility and may expose you to risk, but if you are sick and tired of being stuck in a rut, and going through the motions without any results, you will risk it all so that you can have it all. I heard it said before “be willing to do the things today that others won’t do, so that you can have the things tomorrow that others won’t have”. However, you won’t take calculated risks if you think that it is already fixed.
No matter what, you cannot be afraid of change. Many people stagnate because they are afraid to let go of their comfort zone, even if they are not really happy with the job they do. Change is almost always good for you. Learn to embrace opportunities for change. People are stuck in ruts all the time, spinning their wheels going nowhere fast. Don’t let this be your testimony. Don’t let this be your life’s story. Stagnation will steal you of your drive so it is important that you recognize it, change your direction and plow full steam ahead. You may think that you have everything going on in your life. You may think that there is nothing in your life that needs to be fixed, but you and I both know that is a lie. Don’t let stagnation keep you from what you can become. If it ain’t broke, still look for ways to expand yourself, even if it means adding value to others, this will help you to stay fresh. Jewel Diamond Taylor said “Champions aren’t made in gyms, Champions are made from something they have deep inside them –a desire, a dream, a vision.” Make yourself a 30 day challenge and go for it! Write me back and tell my how you did and all about your new adventures. It’s never too late or too early to start. Even if it ain’t broke, fix it anyways!
Eric Smith
Leadershifting to Success 