I know this firsthand. As an Olympic BMX racer, I spent years preparing for a single moment. And in those years, there were stretches where nothing seemed to be working. My training plateaued. My results stopped improving. And sometimes, the biggest obstacle was not physical at all, it was mental. I did not believe I could break through to the next level.
Getting unstuck is one of the most critical skills any elite performer can develop, whether you are competing for a gold medal or driving results in the boardroom. The ability to recognize when you are in a rut and take deliberate action to get out of it separates those who reach their potential from those who fall short of it.
Here are the three strategies I relied on throughout my Olympic career and that I apply to every area of my life today.
1. Make Minor Adjustments
The first instinct when you feel stuck is often to either push harder doing the same things or tear everything down and start over. But there is a powerful middle ground that most people overlook: making small, intentional changes.
Repetition is essential to building any skill. You cannot shortcut the fundamentals. But if what you have been doing stops producing results, minor adjustments can create a dramatic shift in how you feel and how you perform.
For me, that might have meant rearranging my training days, switching up my course, or adjusting my nutrition. On the surface, these sound like small tweaks. But the impact they had on my energy, my mindset, and my momentum was anything but small. Changing the routine made things feel fresh. It gave me a renewed sense of engagement and made me want to attack my goals again with full intensity.
In business, this might look like restructuring your weekly schedule, approaching a problem from a different angle, or simply changing where you do your best thinking. You do not always need a massive overhaul. Sometimes the smallest shift is enough to get things moving again.
2. Change Your Environment
If minor adjustments do not get you there, and you have tried that first, it may be time for a bigger move. Changing your environment is a more significant step, and it is one that deserves careful thought. But when you are stuck and nothing else is working, a new environment can change everything.
For me, this sometimes meant changing my training partners or even my coach. Those were not easy decisions. I deeply valued those relationships. But at a certain point, I had to ask myself what I needed to become the best version of myself, and sometimes the honest answer was a new environment.
There is a reason this works. When you change your surroundings, you change the stimulus, the energy, and the perspective you bring to your work. You stop operating on autopilot. You start noticing things you had been too comfortable to see before.
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. If you are stuck in your career, your relationships, or your performance, and you have tried adjusting your approach without success, ask yourself whether the environment itself might need to change. That might mean switching teams, shifting roles, or simply putting yourself around people who challenge and inspire you in new ways.
3. Change Your Perspective
The third strategy is perhaps the most powerful, and it is often the most overlooked. When you feel stuck, the problem is frequently less about your external circumstances and more about what is happening inside your own head.
Getting out of your own way requires a shift in perspective. One of the most effective ways I have found to do this is to ask yourself: if I were coaching myself, what would I say? If a close friend came to me with the exact same challenge I am facing, what advice would I give them?
We are often far harsher and far less creative when the problem belongs to us. Stepping outside your own perspective, even temporarily, can reveal solutions and possibilities you could not see from the inside.
This approach also reminds you that feeling stuck is not a permanent condition. It is a natural and normal part of any meaningful journey toward success. Every high performer goes through it. The athletes who make it to the top are not the ones who never feel stuck. They are the ones who refuse to stay there.
You Cannot Accept Being Stuck
The moment you accept that you are stuck is the moment you stop improving. That is the hard truth. Feeling stuck is inevitable. Staying stuck is a choice.
Whether you are training for the Olympics, leading a team through a difficult season, or navigating a personal challenge, the path forward almost always starts with one thing: a decision to act. Make a small change. Shift your environment. Look at your situation from a new perspective.
The momentum you are looking for is closer than you think. Keep pushing through, and you will get to the other side.
– Connor Fields
