I was getting set to record a second ‘stumbling block’ episode when I went back to the podcast episodes I recorded last year when I first had these difficulties, and instead was reminded of the things I found helpful at that time to get out of the funk and keep making progress.

The first was remembering not to beat myself up over losing momentum. Learning a new skillset is a huge undertaking and it’s bound to have times of both high and low momentum. There’s absolutely no value in reprimanding myself for slowing down for a few weeks!

The second benefit was remembering what led to the stumbling block last year…turns out some of the same life events are happening now, so is it really a surprise that I might have a similar response?

The third and biggest benefit helped plan a way forward from here. Since I can refer back to what I did last year (and I know how it worked out for me), I have a good sense of what might help me move forward this time around.

So overall, having documented the obstacles I ran into last year really helped me get to a more optimistic outlook this time around. And as a result, I think I’ve moved past it faster!

This episode was originally published 24 April, 2018.