Yesterday, I did something different.
I didn’t do what I normally do.
In fact, I intentionally stepped on the brakes and stopped my progress. It was time to take a pause and evaluate.
Are you going forward so fast that you don’t have a moment to evaluate and improve your actions? Or even catch your breath?
You might need to stop, so that you can move forward.
Putting the Brakes On
If you are a regular reader of TMN, you might have noticed that I didn’t post yesterday. It was the first time in over six months that I did not publish on my normal schedule of Monday-Wednesday-Friday.
Ironically, I had a blog post ready.
But, something wasn’t feeling right.
I wasn’t happy with the post. And more specifically, I wasn’t happy with the process I was executing. I knew there was room for improvement.
So instead of mechanically moving forward, I decided to put the brakes on.
Stopping in Order to Move Forward
I was so caught up in doing the work that I was not taking the time to look at how I was doing the work. As well, how I could do it better.
I needed to stop in order to evaluate and make things better.
“Sometimes you need to stop before you can move forward.” (Tweet this Quote)
Do you need to stop for a change-up?
Here are 5 Steps to Stopping in Order to Move Forward:
- Stop – Pause for a moment. Get out of the daily fray. It’s hard to evaluate the process when you are neck-deep in it. Step back and get some perspective.
- Evaluate – Take a look at not only your actions, but your goals and where you are headed. You may find that you have been so busy toiling away that you didn’t realize you were going in the wrong direction. (Or that the goal has moved.)
- Plan – Determine your new course of action. This could be a better way to execute what you are already doing or it could be a different course entirely.
- Execute – Put your plan into action. Consider the changes you will have to adopt and the discipline to follow a new course of action.
- Go Forward! – Once you have resumed forward motion on your new course… step on it! There is no better day than today to make progress.
Pausing for Perspective
Take a moment to look at your own actions.
Do you need to pause in order to evaluate your status?
In order to move forward, you might need to stop first.
Of course, after you have paused and evaluated, it’s time to put the pedal down again.
Full speed ahead until the next stop!
Question: What do you need to slow down or stop, so that you can move forward? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
Hi,
I have a personal blog, where I write every day how my workday has gone. The idea is to reflect on that and find ways to improve. However, I have hardly ever looked at the posts in this blog. After having read this one, I think I will surely find time and look at the postings.
Thanks for the post and the inspiration, TMN!
Regards,
Rashid
At first it sounds off putting but it makes so much sense. When you take a moment you could even come up with something better. Something that wouldn’t have even occured to you had you not stopped.
I think we all need time to reflect.
~Lea
This post could not have come more timely. On Friday, I took a complete departure from my usual schedule to just sit outside and think about how things were going (it didn’t hurt being a beautiful day). I’m going to move in some new directions because of that time from lifting my head above the clouds and evaluating what was working and what needed to change. Thanks for the great post!