Taking Imperfect Action to Navigate Setbacks

If there is one thing I have learned over the last 20 years of creating change to design each new chapter in my life, work, or business, it is that the path is never linear.

Setbacks happen, often at the worst time possible.

That happened to me over the last few days.

I was creating a load of videos and resources for new members of my Outside of the Circle online membership.

On the day I was to upload them into our private resource platform, I realised that there was a technical problem with every single video. All of them.

I was frustrated with myself for forgetting to check each video as they were created. I was mortified that I only discovered the problem on the day they were supposed to be added to the resource portal.

I realised I would have to re-record every video, and pretty damn quick as they needed to go out that day. It felt overwhelming.

In order to get all the video resources out on time, I realised that I would have to adjust them and do them in a different way from what I had originally planned.

It was less than ideal. The recovering perfectionist in me was horrified. I needed to take imperfect action and that felt uncomfortable.

But I have been here many times before. Setbacks happen. It's part of the deal when you choose to create change or want to achieve new goals.

I reminded myself of three of the things I tell myself and clients a lot:

• Taking imperfect action is still progress.
• When setbacks happen, to avoid getting stuck in them, learn the lesson, apply the learning, and then move on.
• The path is never linear.

So, I started the arduous process of finding a way to re-record every video from scratch in a different way so that I could get them out in just a few short hours.    

Long story short, I adapted what I had planned and did them in a different format to what I had planned. The resources all got uploaded to the resource portal on the day I had promised my new members.

The point is this:

When you encounter setbacks, it is easy to fall into the trap of dwelling on them. But that just keeps you stuck in the problem.

You might not be able to move forward as you had originally planned. But you can move forward in a different way.

Taking imperfect action is still progress. It gets you into action despite the setback.

Using imperfect action as a way to dig yourself out of a setback can be a powerful way to get yourself moving forward again.

The next time you experience a setback in your life, work, or business, consider how taking imperfect action, even if it feels uncomfortable, might help you to get back on track quickly.