Stuck People Bingo
A persistently stuck person is a paper shredder on steroids.
They’ve “tried everything.” They’ve already scaled Mt. Doom on a three-legged donkey and it didn’t help. When you suggest something, they say with the confidence of a true loser, “That won’t work.”
Translation: “If it’s not perfect, I’m not interested. Pass the cookies.”
The Stagnant Person’s Survival Guide:
- Step 1: Turn past efforts into legends.
- Step 2: Torch new ideas.
- Step 3: Hold a parade celebrating hopelessness.
- Step 4: Repeat steps 1-3 with vigor.
Stupid Thinking
You’re marinating your brain in expired mayonnaise when you think like stagnant people. Congratulations! You now own their confusion, frustration, and lack of progress.
You can’t help by agreeing with stupid thinking. It’s like throwing a rope to a monkey with no arms and yelling, “Grab the rope.”
Dreamers and Doers Get Delightfully Stuck
Dreamers live in the clouds: “How will I ever achieve my dream?” They need a series of next steps so they can finish something before the turn of the century.
Doers live in the weeds: “How will I ever get everything done?” They need a big picture. Remind them there’s more to life than preparing to do something meaningful. Arranging paper clips doesn’t move anything forward.
4 Strategies for Unstucking People
- Extreme Shock – Take them skydiving and shout the solution on the way down. They’ll either be too distracted to argue or too busy pulling the parachute cord.
- Use Pudding – Work “pudding” into every suggestion. “Yes, we can solve low morale by buying beanbags full of pudding!” Maybe they’ll get sane if you go crazy.
- Hostage Negotiation – Give them a walkie-talkie and negotiate their release from their own stubbornness.
- Play Stuck Person Bingo
Tip: Think otherwise when dealing with stuck people.
How can you help a persistently stagnant person move forward?
Solution Saturday: Three Types of People Who Always Get Stuck
Thanks, Dan, I enjoyed the smile this brought. Happy Friday to you!
Happy Friday, Pete.
Dan, Will you pass me the cookies??? This article gave me a good chuckle…
MaryBeth, I don’t share cookies. But I have a coupon for Oreo’s Double-Stuffed.
I have read your posts and found them incredibly inspiring and HELPFUL for many years. This one, though, came across as a little superior and condescending to me. The phrase ‘like a true loser’ is a dreadfully flippant on horrible phrase. Stagnant people. Stupid thinking. Thanks.
Yes, I am stuck, and I am not in a great place as far as my career and work life is going and has gone since I lost my job after Covid. I have had to rely on a string of temporary contract positions. It is not that easy for all 58 year old white males in the South African job market. It has taken its toll on my mental health and as a result confidence, which is a fantastic evil feedback loop. We all carry different baggage, and are not all entrepreneurs, contrary to what social media pundits would like us to believe.
We are not all stuck because we are losers, stagnant or stupid. You know nothing of what has made my life what it is.
Dan,
THIS IS BRILLIANT!
You described perfectly those who chose to spend their work life as a “living martyr.”
Thank you for this gift!