What to Do when You’ve Got Nothing

So I’m staring at a blank screen where this week’s blog post is supposed to be. And I’ve got nothing. My mind is just blank. So I pray, “Lord, I got nothing.”

“So write about that,” came his soft, whispered, answer.

“What?!?” was my bewildered response. But then I thought, “Ok, let’s go with that. What do you do when you’ve got nothing?”

So this’ll be a little different post. I’m writing something about having nothing to write about. That’s meta. 🙂 And it’ll probably be shorter than usual.

So here’s 3 steps to follow when you’re trying to move forward, but you’re stuck and you’ve got nothing.

1) Admit the obvious to God. Ask him for guidance.

This takes humility. But God knows we’ve got nothing. He knows we’re stuck. It’s not like it’s going to surprise him. And, honestly, the people closest to us probably know it also. So who do we think we’re fooling?

When we pretend to have it all together, but we’re really stuck, we’re just fooling ourselves.

It’s like flooring the accelerator when we’re stuck in the mud. We think we’re moving because the speedometer says 60 mph, but really the tires are just spinning. Everyone else knows we’re not going anywhere. And we’ll never get unstuck until we admit we’re stuck.

2) Take one giant step back. Get some distance.

Sometimes it helps to sleep on it. It always amazes me how insurmountable obstacles look so much smaller and more manageable the next day after a good night’s sleep.

Or maybe you take a walk. Get outside and do some yard work – that’s a favorite of mine. Not that I particularly enjoy yard work, but the fresh air and doing something physical does me good.

Maybe you read a chapter in a novel. The point is, move away from the problem, do something you enjoy, get a little distance from it. Distance gives perspective. And a different perspective sparks different ideas.

I’m writing this on a different day, and at a different time of day, than I normally write. Because doing something differently gives distance, distance gives perspective, and a different perspective sparks different ideas.

So here we are. And I think this post has a different feel than my usual posts, and sometimes different can be refreshing.

3) Try something.

It really doesn’t matter what. Just try something. Maybe you know your idea isn’t very good. But if it’s the only idea you have, give it a try.

One of two things will happen, and they are both positive. Either it fails, and you learn something, which is a positive outcome. Or, surprise, surprise, the darn thing actually works. Bonus!

Try Something. There is no failure, only learning.

And probably, what will most likely happen is a mixture of both. It will partially work. So chew the meat, spit out the bones. Double-down on what worked, and dump what didn’t.

Success is iterative failure.

Really, and this is really true, there’s only one thing you can do to fail. Quit. If you don’t quit, you win. Eventually. Because if you don’t quit, you keep trying things, you learn and you get better. So here’s to learning!

Your Turn

Does this resonate? What do you do when you’ve got nothing? When you’re stuck? Tell us your story in the comments. And share this post if it would bless others.