When You Have the Tools but Still Feel Stuck: How to B.S.E.E.N.
Having the tools does not automatically mean you can use them when it counts.
You can understand the strategy, know what action needs to happen and even recognize that you are putting it off.
And still remain stuck.
I joined Dr. Toni on the How to B.S.E.E.N. Podcast to talk about Brainspotting, procrastination, self-doubt, fear of being seen and why some patterns do not shift simply because you understand them intellectually.
This interview comes from an earlier stage of my work, before I developed SCAN and before my current Execution Block Specialist positioning became as precise as it is today.
But the central problem we were discussing is still very familiar: what do you do when you have already learned what to do and execution is still not happening?
Knowing What to Do Is Not the Same as Being Able to Do It
The episode description gets directly to the problem that originally drew me into this work: feeling stuck despite having tools and knowledge.
That distinction matters.
When someone does not know how to market their business, the logical response is education.
Learn the strategy. Decide on the channel. Clarify the message. Figure out what the next action is.
But once the person already knows those things, repeating the education may not solve anything.
At some point, we have to stop asking only, “What else do I need to know?”
We also need to ask, “What happens when I actually try to do it?”
Fear of Being Seen Can Hide Behind Productive Work
Visibility has been a recurring theme in my own business and in my work with clients.
It can show up around making a video, publishing a website, reaching out to a potential referral source, following up with someone or simply telling people what you do.
The person may not look stuck from the outside.
They may be researching, planning, rewriting, learning, organizing and improving.
The useful question is whether those activities are supporting the intended action or quietly replacing it.
That is one reason I pay attention to selective procrastination.
If you can execute dozens of other tasks but the same visible action keeps moving to tomorrow, that pattern is worth examining.
Self-Doubt Is Not Automatically the Root Cause
This episode uses language such as self-doubt, fear and trauma blocks because that was how I was explaining this work at the time.
My diagnostic approach is broader now.
If someone is avoiding an action, I do not want to immediately conclude that there is a deep internal block.
First, I want to know whether the strategy is appropriate.
Is the action clear enough to execute?
Does the method actually fit the person?
Is the workload realistic?
Is there a practical obstacle that would explain why the task keeps getting delayed?
Only after separating those possibilities does it become useful to look more closely at a persistent execution block.
Why “Just Push Through It” Has Limits
Sometimes pushing through discomfort is exactly what is required.
New things can feel awkward simply because they are new.
Your first podcast interview may feel strange. Your first sales conversation may feel clumsy. Your first video may require twenty takes because you have never done it before.
Repetition often fixes that.
But if the same specific point continues to stop execution despite practice, preparation and a clear plan, then repeating “just do it” gives us very little new information.
At that point, the pattern itself becomes data.
Where Brainspotting Fits
Much of my conversation with Dr. Toni focused specifically on Brainspotting.
Brainspotting is one of the tools I use when a persistent execution problem appears to involve more than strategy, clarity or practical structure.
It is not my answer to every delayed task.
That is an important difference between how I explain this work today and some of my earlier interviews.
I want to know what kind of problem we are solving before deciding which tool belongs in the solution.
The Question Has Become More Precise
Earlier in my work, I often asked some version of:
“What is holding you back?”
Today, I prefer a more useful question:
“Where is execution actually breaking down?”
That shift matters because it prevents us from assuming the answer before we have looked at the evidence.
Maybe you need a different strategy.
Maybe you need a clearer next step.
Maybe the structure needs to change.
Or maybe you have reached a point where the plan is sound, the action is clear and something still interrupts execution when you try to move.
Those are different problems, and they deserve different solutions.
In This Episode We Discuss
- Brainspotting and how Jennie was using it in her work
- Why knowledge and tools do not always produce action
- Procrastination and repeated avoidance
- Self-doubt and imposter syndrome
- Fear of being seen
- How past experiences can influence current behavior
- The mind-body component of Brainspotting
- Why some patterns persist despite mindset work
- What it can look like when someone feels stuck despite knowing what to do
Listen to the Full Episode
Listen to my conversation with Dr. Toni on How to B.S.E.E.N., Episode #9: How Healing Trauma Blocks with Brainspotting Can Help Unlock Your True Potential.
About Jennie Hays
Jennie Hays is an Execution Block Specialist, Brainspotting Practitioner and business coach for coaches, consultants and service-based entrepreneurs.
She helps capable people figure out why strategies they already understand are not consistently turning into action.
Her work distinguishes between a true execution block, a strategy that does not fit the person and a plan that is simply too vague or poorly structured to execute.
When an actual execution block is present, Jennie combines rapid block resolution and Brainspotting with practical business strategy and execution design to help clients return to clear, measurable action.
