Treading Water?

Returning home a few months ago has been an opportunity for lots of deep reflection, causing me to review a couple of key questions.
What do the next ten years look like?
Where am I really heading before retirement?
Recently, I was in a deep conversation with a dear friend.
He mentioned a phrase that really resonated with me.
He said โ€œIt sounds like you are just ๐ญ๐ซ๐ž๐š๐๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฐ๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ซโ€ฆโ€
I discovered the phrase has a couple of meanings.
Firstly, it means โ€œto float vertically in the water by moving the legs and the arms up and down.โ€
Itโ€™s a survival skill and itโ€™s definitely not sustainable for too long.
Secondly, โ€œnot to be advancing in any wayโ€ suggesting lots of continuous effort, yet with little forward momentum.
In essence, its lots of hard work, expending energy, yet, remaining static and I could relate to that.
Have you found yourself in this sort of space before, hoping that you are doing all the right things, but not feeling any progress?
Does it look like this?
โ€ข ๐‘น๐’๐’–๐’•๐’Š๐’๐’† ๐’˜๐’Š๐’•๐’‰๐’๐’–๐’• ๐’ˆ๐’“๐’๐’˜๐’•๐’‰ โ€“ Feeling like every day is similar to the last, with no real forward movement.
โ€ข ๐‘ฌ๐’‡๐’‡๐’๐’“๐’• ๐’˜๐’Š๐’•๐’‰๐’๐’–๐’• ๐’„๐’๐’‚๐’“๐’Š๐’•๐’š โ€“ Working hard but unsure whether itโ€™s leading anywhere meaningful.
โ€ข ๐‘ช๐’๐’Ž๐’Ž๐’Š๐’•๐’Ž๐’†๐’๐’•๐’” ๐’˜๐’Š๐’•๐’‰๐’๐’–๐’• ๐’‡๐’–๐’๐’‡๐’Š๐’๐’Ž๐’†๐’๐’• โ€“ Engaged in things, yet wondering if the time and energy is truly well spent.
So, what can you do when you sense youโ€™re treading water?
1. ๐‚๐ก๐š๐ง๐ ๐ž ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐‘๐ก๐ฒ๐ญ๐ก๐ฆ โ€“ Instead of just keeping things going, consider new ways of thinking, working, or living.
2. ๐’๐ž๐ญ ๐š ๐ง๐ž๐ฐ ๐๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง โ€“ Itโ€™s hard to measure progress, if you donโ€™t have a clear direction. So, what does real movement look like for you?
3. ๐…๐จ๐œ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ง ๐๐ž๐ฉ๐ญ๐ก, ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐ฃ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง โ€“ Sometimes, we need to dive deeper rather than push harder. Learning, reflection, and seeking inspiration can unlock new paths.
4. ๐“๐ซ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐œ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ โ€“ Not all movement is visible, Iโ€™ve learned to be patient. Some seasons prepare us quietly for whatโ€™s next.
If you feel like youโ€™re treading water, ask yourself: ๐‘ฐ๐’” ๐’Š๐’• ๐’•๐’Š๐’Ž๐’† ๐’•๐’ ๐’”๐’˜๐’Š๐’Ž ๐’Š๐’ ๐’‚ ๐’๐’†๐’˜ ๐’…๐’Š๐’“๐’†๐’„๐’•๐’Š๐’๐’?
The answer might just change everything…