Let me up, I've had enough!
Fed up with not seeing traction and results? Me too.
Gary Bloomer | SHAKING THE TREE # 301
We’ve all been there.
You’re pinned to the mat by a strategy that looked great on a whiteboard but is currently gasping for air in the real world.
You’ve followed the “proven” frameworks, you’ve invested the hours, and you’ve burned through the budget. Yet, the needle hasn’t just refused to move—it feels like it’s rusted in place.
It’s the moment you want to shout at the market, your desk, or the universe: “Let me up! I’ve had enough.”
Frustration isn’t a sign of failure; it’s a sign of friction. When you’re fed up with a lack of results, it usually means your output is high, but your impact is low. Here is how to stop wrestling with the plateau and start finding the floor again.
1. Kill the activity trap
We often mistake motion for progress. When results dry up, our instinct is to do more of what isn’t working, hoping that sheer volume will break the dam. It won’t.
If you’re digging a hole in the wrong spot, digging faster just gets you deeper into the wrong spot. Stop. Look at your calendar and your task list. If an activity doesn’t have a direct, measurable line to your primary goal, prune it ruthlessly.
2. Audit the last mile
Usually, the problem isn’t the entire engine; it’s the spark plug.
Is your offer actually clear, or is it buried in jargon?
Are you talking to the person who can say “Yes,” or just the person who likes to listen?
Is there a “friction point” in your process—a broken link, a confusing checkout, or a slow response time—that is killing the conversion?
Sometimes, a 5% shift in where you focus your energy produces a 50% shift in the result.
3. Change the input
If you keep reading the same blogs, talking to the same mentors, and looking at the same data sets, you will keep arriving at the same dead ends. If you've only ever looked at things from one viewpoint, that viewpoint is all you will ever see.
Go outside your industry. Look at how a completely unrelated business handles a similar problem. Fresh eyes don’t just see new solutions; they see the “obvious” mistakes you’ve become blind to.
4. Reclaim your momentum
The “I’ve had enough” feeling comes from a sense of powerlessness. To fix it, you need a win—any win.
Set a “micro-goal” that you can achieve in the next four hours.
Close one small deal.
Fix one tiny bug.
Send one direct, honest email.
Success is a habit, but so is stagnation. Breaking the cycle requires a single, decisive movement.
The Bottom Line: Being fed up is a gift. It is the emotional catalyst required to stop doing the “comfortable” work that yields nothing and start doing the difficult work that yields everything.
Don’t just ask to be let up.
Stand up.
Evaluate the friction, simplify the mission, and move.
The results are waiting on the other side of your frustration.
As always, thanks for reading.
—Gary
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Next time on Shaking the Tree: The power of setting micro goals
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Originally from the U.K., Gary Bloomer is a writer, branding advocate, marketing specialist, and an award-winning graphic designer.
His design work has been included in Creative Review (one of the UK’s largest design magazines). Since 2009, he has answered over 5,000 marketing and business questions in the Know-How Exchange of MarketingProfs.com, placing him among the top 3% of contributors. He lives in Wilmington, Delaware, USA.