Episode 22: The Real Reason You Feel Stuck (It’s Not What You Think)

Are you spending your energy on the wrong things?

Most leaders don’t lose their way because they lack talent, ambition, or opportunity. They lose their way because they get distracted. 

In this episode of The Navigating Leaders Podcast, Gabriel Griess introduces a powerful framework he calls “The Puzzle or the Path.” Through a simple but unforgettable illustration, he explores why so many people find themselves consumed by problems, distractions, relationships, and pursuits that pull them away from the purpose they were created to fulfill. 

If you’ve been feeling overwhelmed, stuck, pulled in too many directions, or uncertain about your next step, this conversation will challenge you to examine what’s truly deserving of your time, attention, and energy.

The question isn’t whether you’re moving. The question is whether you’re moving in the direction you were meant to go. 

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RESOURCES

🌎 Website: navigatingleaders.com

👀 Vision Engine: navigatingleaders.com/vision-engine

📖 The Results Tree—A Proven Path to the Life You Really Want: TheResultsTree.com 

CONNECT WITH GABRIEL

🎥 YouTube: @navigatingleaders
📸 Instagram: @navigatingleaders

👍 Facebook: @navigatingleaders

🎵 TikTok: @navigatingleaders

🗣️ LinkedIn: @navigatingleaders

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ABOUT GABRIEL

Gabriel Griess is a retired US Air Force officer, the CEO of Excel Medical Staffing and MedForceX, and the founder of Navigating Leaders. A graduate of the elite Air Force Weapons School, he has spent decades leading teams in high-pressure environments and equipping others to reach their full potential. As a combat veteran and an entrepreneur, Gabriel helps individuals cultivate self-awareness, resilience, and the ability to create lasting impact.

An internationally sought-after keynote speaker, he addresses audiences on personal transformation, strategic leadership, and veteran empowerment. The Results Tree is the framework he lives by, and when applied, it will unearth your destiny.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Have you ever put a jigsaw puzzle together only to find out you're missing a piece? That has gotta drive you nuts, and I know it drives me nuts. My name is Gabriel Grease, founder of Navigating Leaders, your host for the podcast, or we awaken your vision to live boldly. Thank you so much for being here. And today I want to talk about the puzzle or the path. So I had this vision the other day thinking about life and thinking about what we're doing and trying to find our way to the path in life, right? The purpose, the path that God has for us and how to go and be in service, to be on purpose, right? And so as I think about this, um, I visualize that path through through the jungle, through the, through the meadow, through the woods, you know, along along the side of the road, whatever it is for you, wherever it is that you you see when you visualize your life or your purpose, like there's a path, right? But it's for me at least, it's not like this super highway that's you know got guardrails and lights, and that's it's perfectly perfectly secure and paved. It's it's it's narrow, right? And and it and it twists, it wanders a little bit, and it moves up and down and over hills. And some I can see and some I can't, and sometimes it's some it's beyond the horizon. And and so that's a metaphor, it's a picture for the journey, right? And we've spoken before about enjoying the journey because we're not gonna get out alive, we're not gonna arrive safely at death and have accomplished everything, right? It's it's gonna happen. And so, and so what is the process of being on that path, being on purpose? And where does a puzzle come into this? Well, so bear with me as we explore this a little bit, right? So, so I have the path. You have the path, you have your path, right? And so the first thing is connect with what's true to your heart and why you're here and what God had provisioned specifically for you, right? I was talking to a guy in one of the earlier podcasts, and it was, you know, he kind of called himself a dork, right, when he was younger, right? And he was kind of unique and funny and just different. Well, in some rights, we're all a dork. We're all a little different. We're like, like none of us are really cool, right? And so we're just who God made us to be. And that is that is perfect in our own right, right? And so, and so step one, figure out where your path is and get on it. Step two is do everything you can to stay on the path, right? And so there's, you know, the light into our under our feet, right? It's only gonna illuminate a little distance, right? I think back to ancient biblical times, right? And and uh you think about an oil lamp, right? There's stories about people who let the oil run out of their lamps and whatnot. And and so we're seeking to illuminate just a little bit in front of us, right? There aren't, there aren't, you know, I'm a former aviator, right? There aren't like runway lights and approach lights that you can see from, you know, tens of miles away leading you, right? So that lamp is only going to illuminate a little bit, right? Especially in the dark times. And some days it's clear and shot sunny and we can see clearly where we're headed. And other times it's a different season, right? And so faithfulness in the seasons of uncertainty, right? Faithfulness in the darkness. And the devil wants us nowhere near our path, right? He wants us nowhere near our path. And it's when we're on the path that he acts. It's with when we're in purpose, when we're on purpose, when we're in service, when we're living boldly outside of ourselves, giving, loving, being vulnerable, like uh that that he acts, that he comes after us or comes after somebody around us, anything to distract us from staying on this path. And that's what I call the puzzle. Right. So if I'm on this narrow path, right, through again the meadows, the woods, the uh the jungle, the wherever it is, the mountainside for you, um, it is only a small percentage, narrow is the path, only a small percentage of all the space around us. And so the puzzle is everything else. So if I look left and get distracted by what's over there, maybe I'm enticed by what's over there and I wander off the path. Or I look right and I'm distracted and I wander off the path. And I begin to sort of seek to control, seek to manage, seek to understand, seek to fit in, seek to explore what is not on my path, but over here in the puzzle. Right. Well, now the devil doesn't have to worry about me because I'm over here monkeying around with something that's totally not what I'm here to do. And um, you know, it could be a business, it could be a hobby, it could be um, it could be uh, it could be a thorn, right? It could be something intentional that it could be a weakness that is we're being drawn into, called back to, sucked back into some addiction, some uh some way of being that's hurtful, some way of being that is is a victim itself, victim mentality, right? Whatever it is, if I'm off my path, the devil has won. He can forget about me and go back to messing with other people who were on their path. And so if you imagine that jigsaw puzzle, right, that we talked about, and you're trying to figure out and you're you know, matching pieces and making the lines line up and you're putting it all together and you're stacking those pieces in, and you think you just about got it all figured out, and then you're like, oh, I'm I'm missing a piece, right? And now you can be totally consumed with trying to find that piece. You know, you're now you're under the couch, now you're flipping, flipping uh sofa cushions over, moving furniture, rolling up rugs, going outside, looking in the dog dish, anywhere to find that puzzle piece, right? And now I'm completely distracted. I'm completely distracted and doing the devil's work for him, right? So in Philippians three, it says, forget what is behind and strain towards what is ahead. I press towards the goal to win the prize, right? And so that's the point, right? Is get connected to who you are, who you be, who you're here for. Surround yourself with, you know, a group of three or four or five people who truly love and adore and support you. Surround yourself with people who are continuing to grow, right? Growth is progress.

unknown 7:25

Right?

SPEAKER_00 7:26

Can I be 1% better tomorrow? That's it. I don't have to be perfect tomorrow because I won't get there, and perfection is the enemy of good, and it will keep me from achieving anything, right? It'll hold me in paralysis. All right, we talk about that in the book, the results tree is is being a paralyzed person, unable to act. And find your way back to the path, right? So my invitation to you is to inventory those puzzles in your life that you like to find yourself engaged in. Examine those distractions, examine those places you invest your time, your talent, your treasure. Examine those things that take you away from what is most valuable to you, right? We go back to priorities: God, self, spouse, kids, mission, currency. Right. So if something's pulling you away from those elements, it's not for you. It's against you. Right? It is setting you up for failure, and you are doing the work for the devil. So um I hope this alliteration, this vision of a puzzle versus a path can spark something for you today, tomorrow, maybe multiple times in the day. Um, but it's a tool I'm using right now. It's something I'm really in discovery of. Um, so I imagine we'll talk more about it in the future. But each of us are called to a path that only we can walk, right? You are unique. You are a champion, you are gifted, you have dignity, you have a heart capable of infinite love. If you'll first love yourself and allow yourself to be vulnerable and caring and giving and sharing to those around you. And I promise you, there are so many people around you who are thirsty for the genuine you. They're thirsty for your heart, they're thirsty for your acknowledgement, they're thirsty for your for your just love and support. And um, and those are the people, right, that you get to you get to invest in. Right. Quit throwing yourself to people who don't value you, right? Quit trying to get the attention of people who uh don't don't honor you, right? But you deserve to be honored. Right. And some of those relationships that you may get to examine, should you choose to examine the puzzle or the path, they could be difficult, difficult to truly look at. But I invite you to evaluate it because um the devil will use other people, right, to keep us off track. Right? People who need us, oh what happened if I if I don't help, if I'm not there, who will? Well, here's the thing. I promise you God has a plan for all of us, He has a purpose for all of us. And if we're off investing time or spending time or supporting or or or pouring into a broken vessel that isn't who we're called to support, then we're actually blocking their ability to grow. Right? When we hold somebody small, when we see somebody is less than, when we think of somebody else as a victim, right? And I'm not talking about people who who have had epic, tragic stuff. I'm talking about people who who are in self-pity, right? Like if we don't honor them for the great person that's inside of them and what they are capable of, then we are undermining their capacity. We're undermining their future. And that's that's not the path either, right? So the invitation is figure out what your purpose is, right? Get grounded in your vision, have that clear intention of where you're gonna go and what you're gonna do. And then do the work. Do the work to stay on the path. And I promise you the results you're gonna find will just light you up, right? And it will be uh an inspiration to those that look up to you. And I promise you, there are countless people who are observing you today, exactly where you're at, going, one day I want to be like that person. One day I hope I can do that. One day I hope I can step into that arena like like you do, because you're a champion. I promise you. May not feel like that every day, but if you will honor yourself and get on your path and take the next step and go towards what's hard, that it will get easier and it will become repeatable and it will become the pattern of the path that you are destined to walk. So uh as this works, right, in your life, please shoot us a note. Let me know. I I love to see see when these wins come out for folks. Uh, and so if you find yourself looking for that puzzle piece, know that it's a distraction, that you are not on your path if you're out flipping over sofa cushions uh looking for puzzle pieces. So uh I pray this was useful for you. If it wasn't specifically for you in this moment, this time, I'm sure you thought of somebody. So drop this in a tech, shoot it over to them, share the Apple, Spotify, any of the places people can get their podcasts so that they can have an opportunity to hear this and share it, right? We don't know, we do not know what the ripple effect is of the action we're gonna take. Um, but it starts with you, right? You with you and you sharing, you having the courage, the boldness, in fact, to say, I heard this and I thought of you. Give it a listen. So until next time, I'm Gabriel Grease, the founder of the Navigating Leaders Podcast. Awaken your vision and live boldly. Thank you. God bless you.