The Greek Islands offer the most stunning sunsets and beautiful vistas in the entire world.  With crystal clear water and white powder beaches, there is no more exotic place to unwind and let your troubles melt away.

All that is well and good, but many years ago, a close group of friends and I made the trek over to the Aegean with a far less relaxing agenda in mind.  The “party island” of Ios boasted legendary nightlife,  and our plan was to spend two days and two nights on this festive atoll before pushing on to more serene destinations.

There was a single boat off the island which departed at 8am every day.  But on the third morning, after taking full advantage of the charm of Ios, we all slept through the alarm and missed the boat.  Oh well!  One more night in this party paradise wouldn’t hurt us, would it?

On the fourth morning, the exact same thing happened. Wash. Rinse.  Repeat.  After 5 days, we were still “stuck” on Ios!

We had no concrete plan to get off the island.  And we weren’t particularly motivated to change things.  But that 5th night, we met a hulking, gregarious Icelander named Agnar.

“5 days is nothing”, Agnar snorted.  “I came to this island for two nights as well.  That was six months ago!”

Uh-oh!

Compelled by this cautionary tale, we quickly came up with a very simple plan to extricate ourselves from our self-induced confinement.  And on the sixth morning, we “escaped” from Ios on the 8am ferry.

It all worked out for us.  But how many of us get stuck in our own work and personal lives?  And how many of us lack the proper motivation to get ourselves out of this rut?

We Can’t Wait Around for Our “Agnar Moment”

In our work lives, we may hit a wall.  Our compensation flat lines.  Our ideas stop flowing and lack originality.  Our peers leave and it becomes increasingly difficult to find motivation.

If we are not careful, we can go on for years without ever changing our course of action.  We are in danger of moving that goal line forever.  And if we are not moving ahead toward our goals, we are moving backwards!

Our time is too precious.  We are wasting our talent stuck in neutral.  We need to act now.  We can’t afford to wait around for that “Agnar moment”!

Come up with a plan.  It doesn’t have to be complicated.  Perhaps we need to take additional classes.  Perhaps we need more training.  Perhaps we need to seek motivation and direction outside our peer group. Perhaps we need a change of scenery.

Stagnancy and complacency are the twin killers of productivity and happiness.  But they can be controlled if we recognize the severity of our dilemma.  We need to come up with a simple strategy to get “unstuck”.

Things Aren’t Going to Get Better Without Action

The same is true in our personal lives.  Are we truly satisfied with our relationships?  Have we thought through our financials?  Do our hobbies inspire us?  Are we making the most of our leisure time?  Too often, we are drifting like a rudderless ship without an anchor.  How long are we going to let this go on?  Does Agnar need to deliver the ice bucket challenge and shock us back to reality?

If things are not changing for us, we need to make change happen!  Take a pledge to meet new people.  Take the time to map out the monthly budget.  Don’t be afraid to explore new hobbies and attempt new exercises.  Things won’t magically get better.  If we want to get off the island, we need to come up with a plan!

There Is No Such thing as a Bad Plan

But what do we do when we try to change and still remain stuck?  What happens when we come up with a plan but it  fails to get us off the island?  That is okay!  Coming up with the plan is more than half the battle!

At least we recognize the need for change.  At least we are actively fighting against stagnancy.   No plan if foolproof.  But only the foolish bury their heads in the sand and continue to drift.

Our next plan will work.  We will overcome our complacency.  We will get out of our rut.   It is the self-awareness and effort that count.  Our resilience will eventually carry us out into the calm, clear waters.

Wake Up and Make it Happen

I am not sure if Agnar ever made it off the island of Ios.  His two nights may have turned into a lifetime.  And while that is not a bad place to get “stuck”, we cannot let that same thing happen to us!

We need to fight complacency! We need to recognize that we are stuck.  We need to break out of our rut! And we need to come up with a plan and execute!

Action is the only way forward.

Agnar missed the boat.  But we won’t let that happen.  All we need to do to is wake up, make a plan  and sail off to our next glorious destination.

Until next week, keep smiling!