Are you in the messy middle?
Do you feel like you are in the messy middle?
The part of the process of going after your big goals that feels uncomfortable, hard, scary, and you aren't sure if it is really worth it after all?
The part where you are too far in to just walk away, but too far from the finish line to feel like you can see the sweet, sweet light at the end of the tunnel.
The messy middle is where the magic is made.
In some ways this is how I am feeling about my business and career right now.
I am almost 8 months into running my business full-time.
Long enough for the novelty of being self-employed and having 100% control over my time to have worn off.
And despite all of the amazing growth I have seen in my business, the amazing humans I feel privileged to coach, and the amazing leaps they have made in their careers, I still feel like some of my goals are pretty far away.
So I am in the messy middle with a healthy dose of self-doubt, feeling excited about the future and yet tired and unfocused all at the same time. I know what I need to do to make my goals a reality, but I am not taking the action I know I need to take.
Can you relate?
Do you know what you want to achieve, but are having a hard time focusing enough to make it happen?
Do you feel totally stuck and like you are second guessing yourself every day?
Do you feel proud of how far you have gone, yet overwhelmed by how far you still have to travel?
It happens to all of us - especially when we are navigating growth or changes in our career. I got you.
Here is what I do when I am in the messy middle.
Stick with some simple habits that I know keep me grounded. I write out my goal every morning, I go for at least 2 short walks / day and I write down 3 wins from my day every night.
I stay in the Gain - I focus on how far I have come instead of fixating on how far I still have to go.
I keep putting the reps in and iterating. As you go after your goal you inevitably need to show up as a different person - and that takes practice. Keep showing up and getting better every day.
Every time I have achieved a big goal I have gone through the messy middle - and I know how much amazingness is on the other side.
You just need to stick with it and not let the messy middle throw you off your path.
What advice do you have for folks in the messy middle? Let me know and I will consolidate and share it back.
