What To Do When You Get Stuck
It’s been an hour and it seems nothing is working. You have tried flipping things around and switching perspective but you can’t seem to solve the problem. Your mind is stuck thinking of how to think. It’s a brick wall but not a dead end. But if you keep hitting it with your head someone will end up dead in the end. What should you do then?
Well, that is easy, we all know what we are supposed to do right? Ummm… not really. I am one person who’s approach is like that of a 3-year-old, brute force. If the first 300 hits didn’t succeed I will give it another 10 000 whacks. But this approach is exhausting and most times pointless. When you reach an impasse the best thing to do is to get away not run away but take a break. Remove yourself from the problem or situation not just mentally but also physically.
The most useful and common one is taking a long walk or exercise. The action gets your mind to focus on something else. It untangles your brain and allows your brain to go into this deep Jedi mode where it uses the subconscious to keep working on the problem while you are occupied with physical exertion.
Go talk and try to help someone else with what they are stuck on. It is funny how helping others helps you. In the process of giving your two cents or just giving your time to someone, the solution will genie up from the depths of your mind.
Another one that is my favorite and is a powerful tool is writing. It is like taking a hot iron comb and brushing it through your hair, not as painful or dangerous. The writing straightens out your thoughts and makes your logic way more clear, rather than if you had kept everything in your head. It works because you are stepping outside your head and letting the thinking exist outside you.
Or you could just watch a movie, chill out or play video games these work also in getting unstuck.
