Do you ever feel like you have periods in your life when you're moving in mud? A day or a week (or a month or year) when you're barely moving forward? Maybe a time when you're just spinning your wheels.
I've realized that I have those periods sporadically throughout my life. I find myself sometimes moving at great speed towards my goals and following the plans I've laid out. Then there are other times when I'm not making nearly the progress that I would have liked.
In the past (and even rarely now) I would get down on myself and the negative self-talk would start happening. I'd say things that would keep me doubting my progress, doubting my goals and doubting my future. Negative self-talk seems to always be "negative".
So how do I cope with those muddy times? Kindness & faith are a start. Being kind to myself and trust the plans I've set towards my goal. I speak with my mentors regularly to get their guidance and calibration and many times they tell me to "trust the plan". I also understand that "Rome wasn't built in a day." Have patience with the process. I also rely on faith. Faith that I'm being guided by forces I cannot see. Faith that the mentors and coaches in my life are steering me with the plans we've laid out. And faith that all this work, finishing my degree, achieving industry certifications and surrounding myself with positivity will pay off.
And one more thing. I share my journey with people I'm close to. I've found that when I have the courage to ask someone a question or to share an issue I'm dealing with, I realize quickly that many of us have been stuck in that same mud. It reminds me that I grew up in the country. A back roads place with dirt roads and muddy pits. Everyone who lived in that town, that drove those back roads knew which pits were the deepest and avoided them, after they got unstuck the first time.
So on those days when I feel stuck, barely making my way, I find someone who's traveled those roads before and ask them for a hand.