Roadblock or Excuse? - Part 1
Changing a part of your life is challenging. If it was easy you would have done it by now, without problems, without difficulty. But you haven’t. Why? Is it because of a roadblock or is it because of an excuse?
Every roadblock have a solution. Every excuse has an answer. The key is to differentiate which is your personal limiting factor. The manner in which you attack a roadblock is different than an excuse. One is process oriented (tools and resources), the other is people oriented (mental limitation).
Part 1 of this 2-part series focuses on Roadblocks.
Roadblocks are process oriented. If you face a roadblock, that means that there is a gap in your change process flow. There is a tool or resource or plan that is not working quite right for you to be successful. Identification requires root cause analysis. Root cause analysis requires the ability to clearly, logically and without emotion actively evaluate your change process. The steps of a root cause analysis are as follows: 1. Define the problem. 2. Collect information. 3. Identify ALL (key) potential causes of the problem. 4. Identify what you believe is the main root of the problem. 5. Implement change to that specific area. The most important step of this process is finding ONE and only ONE main cause and working through that individually. This takes honest and personal evaluation of yourself. Many people try to change 2-3 items when their process isn’t working. If you do that, you have no idea which one really was the limiting factor. And this opens the door to future failure. Let’s walk through a real-life example:
Problem – I am struggling implementing an exercise program.
Collect Information – It has been three months and I can’t get consistency
ALL causes – I don’t have time. My gym is closed. The weather is cold. My friend quit going with me. I’m bored with what I was doing.
Main roots – My friend quit coming with me and I am no longer accountable. I am finding it challenging to motivate myself
Solution – I will ask by husband (tool and resource) to help hold me accountable to my exercise program by reminding me why I started in the first place and providing me encouragement.
Once you have determined the solution, implement it. That sounds simple but if you do not implement the needed change to your process, your process will not change. One key note, you must give it time to manifest. One day is not enough time to determine if you picked the exact main cause. Give yourself at least seven days to judge. If you implemented the solution and find that the change is still challenging, ask if you picked the right main root. Go back to step 3 and start again. Never be afraid to start over. It’s a chance to rebuild what you want.
Now, if you continue to tell yourself that it “won’t ever happen”, you may be making an excuse. Check out Part 2 - Roadblock or Just an Excuse?