How could you cut your losses — while adjusting your NUTs — so you can move forward today?

cut your losses, men's life coaching blog

Start with Frost.

That’s Robert Frost up there, as a young man. And you know the poem that made his career: “The Road Not Taken.” Some folks confuse the title of that poem, thinking the poem is called “The Road Less Traveled,” or some version of a title like that. And while the meaning is still there more or less when the title is off, the real power is in the actual title of that famous poem.

The road not taken.

So cut your losses: take the spirit of that title and eliminate one of your roads today. Why? Because a big part of your problem is that you are too smart and too creative for your own good. Which also means you hold more possibilities in your pate — all at the same time — than most. So to help you make decisions you can trust, take at least one of the possibilities off the table today. This is what Frost was getting at when he titled his poem The Road Not Taken. Practically speaking, then, choose something or someone to eliminate today.

Start by listening.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood, and

Looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Then take two.

The trick is to take two at a time. Don’t start with the world of possibilities. Just start with two possibilities and eliminate one of them. For example: let’s say you’re trying to figure out how to fit more exercise time into your day. And you know that in order for that to happen, something has to change. Here’s what you could do: write down two ways to change your day. Just two. For example: you could write down:

Make time in the morning.
Make time at night.

Or you could just as easily write down:

Make time in the morning.
Make time at mid-day.

The point is to give yourself just two to choose from at a time.

Then choose one.

And then choose one of them. Two roads. One taken. The other not taken. (Otherwise, your NUTs will overwhelm you: too many Negative Unconscious Thoughts calling out to you). Once you’ve chosen one of the roads, it’s time to cut your losses. Even if you have invested some time and energy into the other road, proceed down the road you chose, to figure out how to make that one work. There are many examples of this. Try it. Even if it seems silly, this one small adjustment to your decision making process will help you take control of your narrative today.

So please do this.

Write down two possibilities. Eliminate one. Write down that one next to one other new one, if you like. But only two at a time. Repeat as necessary, but soon you will want to begin moving down one of the roads, to test it out. Otherwise, you’ll be trapped once again by your paralysis by analysis. Time to make a move.

More like this?

Would you like some help with your decision making process? I can help you. It’s what I do every day with men such as yourself.

And you have a couple of options for your next step. You could contact me and describe what you’re going through. And I’ll be in touch with suggestions. Or you can book a free session to make a time to get together and talk it over in person. Either way, I’m here to help you focus, overcome resistance, and get moving again.

Contact me today.

Cut your losses: take control of your narrative now