If you are feeling stuck in life, you're in good company. Sometimes it feels as if you simply cannot move on in life. Sometimes, we have no idea how to break free from the limitations that are imposed upon us. What is worse, we do not even know what it is that imposes these limitations on us. It’s quite scary to be confronted with an invisible obstacle you cannot seem to tackle.
Many people who report that they’re feeling overwhelmed, confused or stuck in a rut are in many cases quite talented, intelligent and ambitious. Various brilliant people found themselves stuck in life ranging from Albert Einstein to Walt Disney. These prominent examples show us that people who are feeling stuck in life still have the potential to accomplish a great deal in life if they are able to overcome what is holding them back.
It
doesn’t matter what obstacle is blocking your progress. What matters is that
you learn to move forward despite being confronted with challenges. You have
all the power you need to take the necessary steps to unlock your barriers.
Breaking free from whatever holding you back is always a choice. There are a
variety of highly efficient tactics and powerful tricks you can use to free
yourself from being trapped:
Face your fears-Fear
prohibits us from making any further progress in life. We’re afraid of the
unknown, which is why we (unconsciously) sabotage our own development. We learn
to accept the situation we find ourselves in. It simply seems more comfortable
to remain where we are than to move on. We allowed fear to stop our progress in
life.
If we want to get unstuck, it’s
important to change how we perceive our fears. We might not be able to stop
being afraid of that which is to come, but we can learn to control our fears:
·
Acknowledge your fears, but do not
allow them to limit you.
·
Seek to confront that which you are
afraid of.
·
Running away from your fears will
most likely make things worse.
·
Keep pushing forward in spite of
your fears.
·
Don’t allow your fear of losing what
you have to stop you from moving on.
·
Be not afraid of the work and time
it takes to affect change.
·
Feel your fear and do it anyway.
Break your routine-Developing
a routine can be quite beneficial. It helps you to keep moving when the going
gets tough. The development of habits will aid you to do quite complex things
with the greatest ease. As such, routines provide you a fundament and structure
you can work with.
While it’s certainly true that
routine is helpful, it can also limit your progress in life. It can develop
into restrictive rules and obligations difficult to break. Yet, we willingly
abide these rules, because they give us a sense of security and control.
Moving on in life, however, requires
us to break the existing structures from time to time. Breaking the rules gives
us the opportunity to explore something out of the ordinary. It helps us to
discover something new, surprising and exciting.
·
Expand your horizon. Do something
new every day.
·
Avoid time-wasting and mindless
routines. They prohibit your progress.
·
Routinely break your routine. Make
it a habit of exploring the unknown.
Effect change one step at a time-If you’re feeling stuck in life, it’s important to overcome
that which prevents you from moving forward. This might sound simple in theory,
but it can become quite a struggle in real life. In fact, most people get
overwhelmed by their attempts to break free from a rut. To them, it will seem as
if they do everything they can, without ever accomplishing something. Just
don’t be too hard on yourself. Try to stick to one problem until it is solved.
This way you can affect positive changes in your life step-by-step.
Overcome the perception of impossibilities-If every solution you can think of seems impossible to
accomplish, you’ll get even more stuck. It’s an overwhelming situation. On one
hand, you want to do something to affect change. On the other hand, everything
that comes to mind seems unrealistic or impossible. As a result, you’re being
pulled apart by multiple options that do not seem helpful to you.
As you can see, our thinking
patterns can greatly contribute to the feeling of being stuck. If we think
every option we have is impossible, no progress can be made. It’s our
inflexibility what keeps us stuck. We might over think the situation in our
desperate attempt to maintain control over our life.
Instead of getting trapped by these
thinking patterns, try to explore your options. It’s very likely that you
already know a lot of directions you could move in. If that’s the case, try to
find the one solution that you like the most and commit to the decision.
Be honest with yourself-If we do want to break free from being stuck, it’s
necessary to be honest with ourselves. Astonishingly, we almost always
have the answer
within ourselves. It might take some time
to discover it, but it’s always there. The problem is that we do not act upon
this knowledge. We prefer to keep this answer locked within ourselves.
Have the courage to at least think
about the possible solution. It might be challenging to even consider
acknowledging that you took a wrong path in life. But ultimately, it might
prove to be better than suffering from this decision for the rest of your life.
Change your perspective-Often times, we get stuck in life because we do not allow
ourselves to become who we want to be. Instead, we adapt to the role various
people expect us to play. We do not like it, but deep down we are convinced
that it’s impossible to realize these dreams.
Stop walking the same path you’ve
always chosen. Explore new perspectives by taking other paths. Ask yourself
what your real goals are. Explore what you’re passionate about. Discover what
it is that truly energizes you. Find your true purpose in life. Challenge
yourself to have a vision for your life.
Differentiate between feeling and fact-You feel as if you’re stuck in life. Therefore, you
conclude that you cannot move on. Sometimes, however, our emotions might not be
telling the (entire) truth. The inability to get unstuck may feel very real,
but in the end, it’s just a feeling. And this very feeling creates our
perception of the situation.
For this reason, it’s important to
remind yourself that feelings are not facts. Try to look at your situation more
objectively. Emotional responses might cloud your perception of reality. Feeling
stuck in life could be a response to exaggerated expectations or mere
fantasies.
Avoid blaming others-It’s
relatively easy to blame others when we feel stuck. While this is a great
strategy to maintain peace
of mind, it will contribute nothing to the
solution of your problem. In the worst case, blaming others will get you even
more stuck.
Even though you’d like to find an
external cause for your situation, try to seek that cause within yourself
first. Try to take control over your life by not seeking the fault for your
problems in others.
Stop comparing yourself to others-While it’s a natural tendency to compare yourself to other
people, it’s not the best thing to do. While we think we compare ourselves in
an objective manner, quite the contrary is the case. Our measures are
superficial and unfair. In most situations, we take our weakest spots and
compared these with people who are above-average in this area.
Stop making excuses-Do
not allow excuses to keep you right where you are. Stop trying to rationalize
why you can’t get on with your life. Don’t focus on all the different reasons
that keep you stuck. Shift your attention to what needs to be done to effect positive
change.
Be grateful for what you have-Developing the habit of being grateful can help you to ease
the feeling of being stuck. It helps us to rediscover what is beautiful about
our life. Gratitude can also enable us to find what makes our life worth living.
As a positive side effect, we spent a lot less time chasing evermore. Instead,
we learn to find joy and fulfillment in everything we already have. Stay victorious.“Being stuck in the past is like walking forward with your back facing the front. You’ll always miss out on what’s in front of you.” (ILiketoQuote.com) [i]
[i] Adapted from “Feeling Stuck in Life? 10 Powerful
Ways to Free Yourself” By Steve Mueller
I'm struggling with this right now in my life. I reread this post to take my own advice.
I'm struggling with this right now in my life. I reread this post to take my own advice.
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