Loving Your Work Doesn't Mean Never Feeling Stuck or Like S#*t

So… I wrote about how it took me four years to go from dreading work to loving it.

But it doesn’t mean I now love work every day or all the time. Far from it.

Pretty much every day I get confused, uncertain, doubtful, or stuck. It could be any number of things (family, life, health…) but often it’s about work.

• How do I make some idea or book better, more clear?

• Why can’t I find a way to explain clearly what’s going on in my head?

• This framework isn’t right yet!!

• How will I turn “X” project into money; what’s a model that works for me?

I can’t see this ever going away completely. There will always be more ideas than I can execute, more opportunities than I can pursue, and the paradoxes of choice that comes with it.

The creative process for me is a mix insights, excitement, confusion, frustration…all of it. Like parenting :)

And while confusion or feeling like s&$t never feels good in the moment, I’ve learned what helps shift it.

1. It’ll pass: I can see it happening. I know: it will pass. I don’t know if it’ll take an hour or a year, but it does. If I beat myself up over it, I just make it worse vs. letting it flow. Yeah, how zen of me, I know…

2. Practice flipping into curiosity: rather than getting into a downward spiral of frustration, I practice flipping my attitude to curiosity… “Interesting, why am I feeling so stuck on this? Hmm… how would I suggest someone else handle this? Changing emotional states ain’t easy, but practice helps.

3. Move it out of my head to paper, screen or a chat with someone. I’ll leave a voice note / jot an idea down. Sketch a framework. Chat it through with AI. Open the laptop and just type a line. Call someone. Leave a voice note with a friend.

4. The magic of baby steps. Baby steps help. Open laptop. Open content page. Move fingers to keyboard. Type something… or pick any entry point.

5. Stop fighting it: A lot of stuckness comes from wanting a problem to be solved now, vs. being ok with the uncertainty in the moment.

6. Self-awareness: “Starting” some things for me (writing, editing) can be hard. Or exercise. But once I’ve started, I’m going! Not easy, but at least I’m aware of that first hump.

7. “Follow the spark” - most days I decide what to work on based on what’s most engaging or interesting to me. With occasional forcing function deadlines to push me to refine content, such as giving a talk or posting online.

Sometimes I’m just not into it, and it’s better to switch to something else, or just move around physically. When I switch to something that gets my energy moving… then it can be easier to come back to the task.

So whether you love your work or not, or are making a ton of money or not - the point isn’t to eliminate confusion. It’s knowing how to handle it when you hit that part of the rollercoaster.

What works for you?

:)
Aaron