Stuck? Don’t Look for a Solution. Look for an Experiment.
Think of any place in your life – work or personal, intrapersonal or interpersonal, substantive or more emotional – where you feel stuck: you’ve got a serious challenge, and you just can’t seem to crack it.
Don’t have anything like that? We’re all happy for you.
For high-achieving people, the natural response to a challenge is to use your immense willpower, brainpower, and other resources to solve it. But if it’s something really important, and you haven’t solved it yet … well, maybe you’re stuck and it’s a good time to try something else.
The first step is to give up on finding a solution. That’s right. By giving up (for now) on a solution, you can lower the pressure and give yourself some freedom.
With that freedom, my suggestion is you try an experiment, specifically a SMART experiment. I learned about the SMART experiment from two Harvard professors, Bob Kegan and Lisa Lahey. SMART is an acronym but different from the one associated with goal setting. A SMART experiment is:
Safe and Modest. If your experiment doesn’t go well, it won’t be a big problem. Let’s say your challenge is overwork, and you feel there is no escape from the unrelenting demands. Then pick one small thing to delegate, outsource, or defer – and reward yourself with an hour off.
Actionable. Pick an experiment you can do now. You don’t need permission, money, or anything else.
Research-based Test. The goal of the experiment is not to solve your challenge. It’s to learn. Let’s say you have a very difficult work relationship. You might just try asking that person a little bit about their life outside of work to see if a more human connection warms the relationship at all. Or you can share something about yourself. You’re not trying for some quantum leap; you’re just trying something different.
The SMART experiment is a bit like loosening a knot. You’re not trying to undo the knot; you’re just poking at it. The great thing about SMART experiments is they get you moving again, when the magnitude of your challenge may have caused you to stop trying.
In a situation where you feel stuck, SMART experiments – best of all – can give you hope.