A meaningful breakthrough in my business almost always starts the same way. I was sitting in the car a couple of days ago, reflecting on this, and it hit me. There's a cycle I keep going through, and I've been through it enough times now to recognise the pattern.
Phase 1: curiosity to frustration
First I'm curious about solving the problem. So I sit down and really think about how. I try something, it doesn't work. I try something else, maybe changing tactics slightly, tweaking positioning, adjusting how I approach it. Still nothing. I try a few more times, attempting things that might move it. Nothing really happens. I get frustrated.
At some point I realise this is a genuinely difficult challenge, something I've never had to solve before. It feels like a problem from the future. The kind that, once solved, unlocks the next stage.
Phase 2: frustration to existential crisis
Then I start getting upset. It even starts to feel existential. I start wondering if I'm missing something obvious. If I've lost my edge. If there's something fundamentally wrong that I'm not seeing. I might feel powerless for a while. Half a day, sometimes a few days.
Phase 3: existential crisis to "it's just not that important"
Eventually I get tired of thinking about it. So I stop. I realise I've taken the problem too close to heart and I need distance. I go for a walk, change context, focus on something else. "Maybe it's not such a big issue after all?" There are other things I could focus on, and that's fine.
Phase 4: "it's just not that important" to a new point of view
The energy comes back. I don't feel powerless anymore. Curiosity returns. I start wondering if the problem can be approached in a completely different way. I begin looking in new directions, speaking to people who've solved similar problems, getting a fresh perspective on the business, the long-term strategy, everything around it. And then, almost suddenly, clarity appears.
At this phase I usually have two options. Option A, change how I think. Option B, overcome a limiting belief that's stopping me from getting what I want. It's usually option B.
With new clarity, action becomes easier. The direction feels more interesting, more exciting, and often simpler than I first thought. It's not frictionless - challenges still exist - but it no longer feels like smashing my head against a wall. It feels more like opening different doors, trying things, and seeing which one leads toward the outcome I want.
When a problem starts feeling existential, it's not a sign you're failing. It's a sign your current way of thinking has reached its limit.
A fascinating cycle. And the lesson I keep relearning is this. You likely need to detach and form an entirely new point of view. The stuck feeling isn't the end of the road. It's the signal that the old way of seeing it is done.
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