3 great ways to spot if you’re stuck in the race of life
Posted by Ben Lumley on Jul 26, 2010 in Creating Change, Overcoming Challenges | 18 comments
photo credit: matsubokkuri
It’s often the way in life that when everything seems to be getting busier and busier around you, the comfortable, controlled way you’re used to living has to be put to one side while you keep up. You get caught in the race of life and struggle to keep pace with the leaders.
We all get like this from time to time and often without realising why. It happened to me recently and even though I knew it was coming (due to my schedule at work) I still found myself running to keep up rather than growing and developing.
Because that’s what you should really be aiming for isn’t it? You should be growing and developing as much as you can. Whether it’s your personal life, in your business or in your relationships, you need to feel like you aren’t doing the same things day in, day out. There should be growth and development in every aspect of your life. If you didn’t agree, you wouldn’t be here.
But how do you know when it’s time to get out of the race and run your own path? How do you recognise that you’ve been moving with the tide for far too long?
Today I want to share 3 ways to spot that you’re running to keep up with life rather than growing and developing on your own terms.
You aren’t learning anything new
A really important part of growth and development is the amount of new information that you learn. Now some people may argue that you’re continuously learning in life anyway but I’m not talking about general knowledge. The kind of knowledge that allows you to grow and develop yourself is referred to as “Specialised Knowledge” and is directly related to your interests and areas of expertise.
If you haven’t learnt anything new that moves you closer to your goals then you’re probably caught up in the race of life rather than leading the life you want.
Tip: Set aside time to learn every day. An hour is enough and can make a massive difference to how much you grow and develop.
You feel restless
Sometimes you just can’t put your finger on it but something isn’t right. You’re doing everything you need to do to get by but there’s a feeling of disharmony and you don’t know why. We all feel restless from time to time but if it’s continuous and you can’t find the reason why then you’re stuck in the race. You need to stop, get out of the race and find an area in your life that you can start growing and developing in. Your feeling of restlessness will go in an instant when you do.
Tip: As a good friend of mine recently told me, stop and take a breathe. When you just stop for a while and let the dust settle you’ll find clarity and begin to see ways to grow again.
You haven’t achieved a goal recently
If you’ve got a goal or collection of goals that are laying dusty on the shelf that you were supposed to have completed a while ago, this is another symptom that you’ve gotten caught up in life’s race. You aren’t giving yourself time to work towards them. Give up some time in your day or week to work towards your goals. They won’t achieve themselves if you don’t and you won’t grow and develop if you aren’t working to achieve something.
Tip: Develop a habit of consistently checking in with your goals to see if you’re still moving towards them. If you’re not, take some action right now!
It’s all too easy to get caught up in life’s endless race and lose sight of what you’re trying to achieve and why. You put your car in the garage a few times a year to get it checked don’t you? Well check yourself as well. Where are you and where are you heading? Does it align with your goals and dreams? If not then it’s time to shift that focus.
As always, I’d love to hear what you think in the comments.
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Ben Lumley writes about Success and Personal Achievement at 6aliens.com. He is a Personal Achievement Coach and Motivational Speaker.
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What I love about this post is that you didn’t just give ways to recognise you’re stuck. That would have been useful but would have left me knowing that I was stuck but not knowing what to do about it.
The practical tips after each symptom are brilliant and what make this fabulous
Thankfully, I’m not stuck right now but it’s great to have this info logged somewhere in the rear of my brain. Hopefully it will jump to the front when I need it. Failing that, at least I’ll know where to come for help.
Thanks El!
The tips I gave were ones I either used myself or realised that I should have done after I was unstuck. Hindsight is a wonderful thing lol
Hi Ben, nice post. Most people don’t achieve their goals or their dreams because they don’t spend enough time working on them. Because they are ‘too busy’ doing stuff.
How often have you heard “I’d love to start my own business, but I don’t have the time”.
If 10 minutes was set aside each day that would be an hour a week…20 minutes 2 hours and so on.
First steps are what it takes and you need to be always acquiring new ’specialised knowledge’.
Thanks for the reminder…!
I must of heard that phrase loads of time. Said it myself a few too many as well.
Also how many times have you heard someone say they want to start something or make a change but never have the time when in fact they spend most their time watching TV?
Little and often – that’s the way to start.
I agree with Matthew Needham. Start with baby steps. Don’t let “life” distract you from those 10 minutes a day and it will build into a viable goal that will turn into your business. Set aside the time early in the morning or late at night and just do it. Slow and steady gets you there.
Hi Melinda, thanks for dropping by.
Yeah Matthew’s right. If you put the time in, however small, you can build a business or a achieve any goal.
Hope you come back soon
this so hits home for me, as for the longest time I have been stuck as you know…but recently i have decided to take a different look at life and get out of my “rutt” race…thanks for this wonderful post and reminding everyone. So important.
Hey how are you?
Great to see you back here. I saw your recently shift in focus and think it’s great! Well done!
Let me know if I can help
Great site. A lot of useful information here. I’m sending it to some friends!
Thanks very much!
Restlessness.
This is the one for me. Or, should I say WAS the one for me. I often found it tough to switch off. But, once I put clear guidelines in place, it became a lot easier and manageable.
Nice piece, Ben.
Thanks Chris.
I’ll be honest I’ve had the same problems recently as you know and it’s still something I’m working on.
Would be really interested in the guidelines you put in place?
Hi Ben,
Great advice. It is so easy to get caught in the drift of life. So often people just feel “off” and can’t identify what it is. When we are not growing and evolving resignation sets in. Our infinite nature loves it when we are expressing higher versions of our self.
Yeah completely Rob. It’s as if a kind of mist descends isn’t it that we can’t quite find our way out of?
By making time to grow and evolve can move out of the drift and rise above
Hello Ben. I think you’ve helped me find the reason why I feel restless, especially during Sunday nights. This also reminds me of the goals I’ve written down in my journal. It’s time to make one of them a reality
Hi Julius
I’m really pleased I’ve helped you to find your way.
Get back into your goals and regularly revisit them. Looking forward to hearing what you’re up to
Great post-I could relate to all the areas and identify with them. These days I create my own life and love it. I have ridiculous big goals , stretch outside my comfort zone on a regular basis and immerse myself in personal development. I would recommend it to anyone it makes you come fully alive!
Hi Kath, welcome to 6aliens.com!
There’s something truly special in reaching way out of your comfort zone isn’t there? Great to hear that you’re living that.