Talk about roadblocks - it only took me five weeks to complete this weekly blog. For some reason, I have been suffering from writer's block. (I am sure all of my fellow writers know the feeling!) Thankfully, I was able to move beyond my "writer's block" roadblock to finally complete this blog. Now, I have plenty of writing to do to catch up. But thankfully, I have a few weeks worth of topics from which to choose.
Have you ever felt like no matter what you do to progress, take the next step (or even the first step), move to the next level, or succeed, you hit a roadblock every time? Have you ever experienced nothing (I mean, nothing) ever working out for you? Have you thought to yourself, "What am I doing wrong?" or "Why isn't this working?"
We all have felt this way to varying degrees in some particular area at some point in time. Life is not without its challenges for any of us. We all encounter roadblocks. A roadblock is designed to temporarily control or block traffic along a road. Reasons for roadblocks include roadwork (due to construction, road conditions, flooding, or obstructions), temporary road closures during special events, police related activity (such as police chases and sobriety checkpoints), and military related activity (such as barricades). Likewise, in our lives, roadblocks are God’s way of protecting or shielding us from danger and enemy attacks; or preventing us from embarking on a path to unrelated, irrelevant, or unproductive activities or endeavors.
If you have tried all you can do to get ahead, and you feel like nothing that you are trying is working or you are asking yourself questions similar to the ones above, there is one of two things going on: (1) You are going down the wrong path or (2) your faith is being tested. If you are in category #1, and you are going down the wrong path, consider these points to get you headed in the right direction:
1. Stop spinning your wheels. When a vehicle is stuck in snow or mud, many will press the accelerator in an attempt to move forward out of the snow or mud. However, instead of the desired forward motion, the wheels on the vehicle tend to spin, leaving the vehicle stuck in the same position. Generally, spinning the wheels makes the situation worse not better, as the tires go deeper into the snow or mud. Meanwhile, damage is also potentially being done to the vehicle itself.
When you spin your wheels, you keep pressing the gas with the hope of the vehicle eventually moving forward out of its stuck position. This is definition of insanity, which is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. If you keep doing what you've been doing, you'll keep getting what you've been getting. In the case of spinning your wheels, you keep pressing the accelerator in hopes of the car moving forward, but the car remains in its stuck state. Usually, you have to use some other method to get the car moving forward, which may or may not involve pressing the accelerator at all.
In some cases, had you not chosen that route or road, you would have never gotten stuck in the snow or mud in the first place. Hitting roadblocks does not necessarily mean that you are totally on the wrong path regarding the greater purpose or vision, but you can certainly be approaching the right vision, dream, or endeavor the wrong way. Whether you are totally on the wrong path or you are just taking the wrong approach to the right endeavor, you will never make progress if you keep trying to tackle it in the same ineffective way while expecting the outcome to be any different.
In order to stop spinning your wheels, take the following steps:
Step 1: Stop! Apply the brakes not the accelerator. It is futile to continue to try to move forward if your wheels are spinning. Stop what you have been doing. It is not working. Do not continue to waste your time, resources, and energy on something unfruitful, unproductive, and ineffective. If you stop doing what you've been doing, you'll stop getting what you've been getting. Wise up. Stop and redirect your efforts for different results.
Step 2: Shift gears. In order to stop spinning your wheels, a shift in gears might be required. It might be necessary to put your vehicle in neutral to get pushed out of your stuck state. You might have to put your vehicle in reverse in order to change directions. Putting your car in a lower gear might be needed to shift the vehicle in just the right way to move the car out of the snow or mud. In your personal life, it might be necessary to slow down in order to access why your wheels are spinning. It might be necessary to do a gear shift to change directions and take a different approach in order to get different results.
Step 3: Remove obstacles. Many times when a vehicle is stuck in the snow or mud, there are obstacles preventing the counter movement needed to stop your wheels from spinning. There might be a chunk of ice or snow. There might be something behind the vehicle that is preventing you from going in reverse. In order to stop spinning your wheels and make forward movement, you must eliminate as many obstructions as possible. Likewise, in your personal life, obstacles like negativity, pessimism, lack of motivation, lack of creativity, and close-mindedness might prevent forward movement.
Step 4: Increase traction. Progress can only be made if there is traction. Traction is the adhesive friction between a moving object and the surface on which it is moving. Spinning your wheels reduces traction and can cause you to slide off the road. The interesting thing about traction is that the rougher surface area, the better the traction. Increasing traction means digging in your heels, and doing the work necessary to propel you forward and to stop your wheels from spinning. Gaining traction is not usually easy to do. It takes hard work, effort, and creativity.
Step 5: Use handy tools. When you are stuck in the snow or mud, you use all the resources at your disposal. You use tools to which you might have ready access, like a shovel, salt, sand, gravel, kitty litter, or tire chains. Likewise, when you are spinning your wheels in your personal life, use resources at hand to move forward from your stuck state. Put on your thinking cap. Your own mind can be one of your greatest resources when used optimally and effectively. The issue usually is that we can limit ourselves with narrow-mindedness, pessimism, doubt, defeatism, and lack of vision or creativity. Replace your "stinking thinking" with positivity and optimism to get better results. Think outside of the box and out from the snow or mud onto to right path. Think of new ways to resolve old problems and issues. Seek wise others, who can also be wonderful resources to assist you in forward movement. Brainstorm with others and bounce your ideas off them. Seek wise, godly counsel from the appropriate persons. Seek examples of how others were able to stop spinning their wheels, to shift gears, and change directions.
2. Determine the right path. If you want to avoid spinning your wheels altogether, determine that the path that you are about to take is the right one before taking the first step. This requires forethought, planning, and prayer. Even if you have previously spun your wheels and determine it is because you have ventured down the wrong path, do not despair. All is not lost. Shift gears, change directions, and get on the right path. You will know that you are on the right path when you have peace that you are doing the right thing; you have clarity in vision and purpose; and you have confirmation through prayer and circumstances. Notice that I did not say it would be easy. Just because the path is the right one to take does not mean it will be without its challenges. Every testimony involves a test. Our purpose is usually tied to our pain. Our ministry is usually tied to our misery. The right path might be lined with much discomfort and difficulty, but it all is tied to your God-given purpose of calling. Stay prayerful, vigilant, and focused to determine the path that you should follow.
3. Take a detour. What should you do if you have determined that the path that you are on is the right one, and you need to continue moving forward despite the roadblock? Do as you would if you discovered that your usual route from work to home has been blocked because of construction or an accident and you take another way home. Take a detour with your dream, vision, or plan. Do not let the roadblock be a deterrent in reaching the end goal. Do whatever it takes to go around the roadblock. This certainly requires knowing that you are on the right path in the first place. Roadblocks exist for a reason. They are designed to protect you or something else from danger and/or to re-route your path. If you are faced with a roadblock and you know that you are on the right path, do not be discouraged. Simply take a detour (try a different approach – a new route), but seek God and stay focused on your end destination. God will never steer you wrong.
If you have determined that you are going down the right path to the correct destination, and you never seem to reach your goal, you likely fall into category #2. Your faith is being tested. God is testing your trust level in Him. Do you really believe that the vision, plans, and purposes that He placed in you will be realized? If your faith is being tested, I have one piece of advice for you: Don’t give up! In order to walk in faith, you must not give up. You must hold the course and continue to hope. Hope anchors faith. And faith is believing something that you cannot see or experience yet will actually happen. Just because something has not happened yet does not mean it won't. I like to say, "Every delay is not a denial, and some denials are just delays." The reality is, you can stand in faith for something your entire life, and it can still not happen, but it will only happen through faith. This is where trust in God in so important, and seeking His will for your life. God can allow anything to happen, but He only does allow those things to happen that will ultimately benefit you. God even allows bad experiences to happen to strengthen your faith and facilitate spiritual growth. Don't let the bad experiences deter your standing in faith for what God has promised, but be prayerful that you are on the right path in the first place. If you are certain that you are on the right path, but you are encountering continual roadblocks, DON’T GIVE UP! Continue to stand firm in your faith in knowing that what God has shown you and promised you will materialize!
Jacinta M. Gray,
The Couch Coach