🌍 Why you feel stuck, even when you have a plan

Some days she was laser-focused. Other days, she was distracted.

My client is preparing to transition from full-time into freelance work in a few months.

We got clear on the focus areas: visibility, connection, and conversion.

We developed her game plan. We identified the high-impact activities that play to her strengths.

She got started.

Momentum was building. And then …

In our session a few weeks later, she said:

"What should I do next? I feel like I’m just plodding along."

Despite a clear action plan, she was looking for the ‘next thing’ to do.

Shiny Object Syndrome

A constant state of distraction, driven by the belief that something new is more appealing or worthwhile than current efforts.

What was going on?

When we dug deeper, she didn’t need more or different things to do.

She thought she needed to change the game plan.

But instead:

She needed to address her feeling that she’s not making progress.

And that’s where dopamine comes in.

The feeling of being stuck, distracted, or "meh" when you move towards something?

That’s your body saying: Low dopamine.

Take a moment. Where do you feel distracted or not "feeling it"?

... Maybe you respond to requests from colleagues instead of working on your strategic priority project - the one that requires thinking time and multiple action steps to complete.

… Maybe you scroll social media instead of continuing that course you started a few weeks ago.

Dopamine is the great motivator.

It moves us towards things we expect to feel good, and away from things we perceive to cause pain.

It’s an expectation chemical.

… When you can’t see progress, dopamine drops.

… When you expect a win, it rises.

And it moves fast, so we sometimes find it hard to resist our urges (or distractions).

The analytical part of our brain takes longer to weigh the pros and cons of what has already hooked us.

How do you give your brain the expectation of a "win" without being hijacked by distractions?

Here are three things to gently boost dopamine and restore motivation when the going feels slow:

1. Focus on progress, and celebrate.

Back to my client.

How did we know she didn't need to change the game plan?

We looked back. She’d spoken to nine new individuals about her idea, refined her outreach messages, and sent them quicker. She had a breakthrough conversation with a former mentor and gained clarity on her offer.

Turns out she wasn’t just plodding along, after all.

She had several wins we could celebrate, but she’d not acknowledged them.

So we created a Google Doc titled "[Name] celebrates progress."

Each week, she adds her wins.

Celebration is a powerful boost of dopamine, and motivates us forward.
The trick is to celebrate progress towards the goal.

And to make it an act. Write it out. Tell someone.

Here are other ideas you can try:

Share 1 daily win with a friend or coach.
Keep a running note on your phone, and write 3 things that went well every night.
Say out loud: "That was a win."

2. Visualise

Dopamine is linked with the visual cortex of the brain. Visualisation releases dopamine.

This isn’t magic. Or "manifestation". It’s mental rehearsal. You’re creating a dopamine anchor that reminds you of why you want it. You give your brain the expectation of a dopamine hit.

Try this outcome visualisation. (Audio, Soundcloud 5 minute)

(NB - Clarity comes first. If you don’t know what you’re working towards, coaching helps).

3. Look after your (dopamine) baseline

We cannot isolate dopamine from the interplay with other chemicals in the body.

Enough sleep, nutritious food, movement, getting outdoors, doing fun activities (not only work) - all of these interplay with your body’s chemistry (including your dopamine production).

Here’s Andrew Humberman (youtube, 8 min) about increasing your baseline of dopamine.

Which one - 1, 2, or 3 - will you start with?

Psst! If you forgot why you're hearing from me, Simone Anzböck, it's because you checked out my services, events or resources; or signed up on my website, simoneanzboeck.com

Love this email? Forward the e-mail to a friend who could benefit from this message. And if you're that friend who got this e-mail, you can sign up to receive these e-mails here.

If you don't want these emails anymore, you can unsubscribe. | trading as Prosper Abroad Limited, 1 Henbury Road, Bristol, BS9 3HQ, United Kingdom