Hey Puttypeep, I’ve Got a Challenge for You…

(Don’t worry, it won’t be as hard as it looks in that photo. 🙂

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There was a night a few weeks back when I couldn’t sleep. There was too much junk in my head.

After about an hour of tossing and turning, my internal worry radio blaring in my ears, I got up and started journaling. I do this from time to time, when I need to get to the root cause of what’s bothering me.

I like problem solving. It’s one of my personal drives, or overarching themes. Most of my multipotentialite interests involve some aspect of problem solving, be it web design, learning a new piece on the violin, or even Paleo. There’s usually a puzzle that needs cracking. (Side note: Now that I think about it, this might be an entrepreneurial trait too.)

Anyway, I finally got out of bed and began brainstorming. As soon as I had diagrammed the problems on my whiteboard and had written out a couple pro-active steps that I could take right away, I felt much much better.

Switching from wallow mode into action mode

I’ve noticed that the more I consciously switch from “wallow mode” into action mode, the more automatic that switch becomes. Now just to be clear, I’m not talking about denying what you’re feeling. I believe that crying is healthy (I HATE when people say “don’t cry” to me when I’m upset.) Feel whatever you’re feeling.

But at a certain point, once you’ve fully experienced those negative emotions, it’s time to replace them with more helpful ones. And that can be hard. Unhappiness can be extremely comforting, since it’s safe and familiar.

It’s counter-intuitive, but we often feel a whole lot more comfortable in a state of helpless because that doesn’t involve much risk. It’s much easier to grasp to the notion that your situation is out of your power and a product of circumstance, than it is to actually do something that might improve your situation.

Shifting from a wallow mode into action mode is hard. It involves taking responsibility of your own mental state (saying “enough!”), and asserting yourself. That’s pretty much the last thing you feel like doing when you’re down.

The key is to start small, build momentum, and go from there. One tiny step is all it takes to get the snowball rolling.

Let’s take some action TOGETHER

I want to try something new in this post. Instead of just asking a question for you to answer, I’d like to throw out a challenge. I want you to think of one small action step you can take this week to empower yourself, and then do it.

It can be ridiculously small, like making a phone call that you’ve been putting off, or attempting a new recipe. It’s all about the individual. Push yourself out of your comfort zone, whatever that means to you.

You don’t have to wait till you’re having a restless night to start. You can turn even a mediocre day into an awesome one, by doing this.

This is sort of like an exercise we do in our Puttytribe huddles. After we finish brainstorming each person’s goal, we have them set one action step to take that week. We also encourage them to head back into the Accountability section of the Tribe, and post about it so we can cheer them on and help with any stumbling blocks that get in the way. People seem to really love it, so lets try it here…

Your Turn

What’s one assertive action step you can take this week to reclaim your power in any area of your life (work, social, health, etc.)?

Pick something small, and share it with us in the comments. If you’re up for it, check back in at the end of the week and let us know how it went.