If you feel like your life is stuck, like you’re living your days on autopilot, then you may need to be more intentional about it. Most people feel that their lives are moving along on their own, but this feeling of powerlessness means that they’re actually living their lives on someone else’s terms—their bosses, their parents, the government’s—but not theirs. We are going to talk about how to get unstuck in life and find the freedom you actually want for yourself.
Are you stuck?
In life, it seems like you never feel like you’re moving forward?
You’re not alone, and I can help you move on from these feelings to start living the life you want to live. If your life feels stuck and you want to move on, read on to learn more about how I can help you get unstuck and feel the freedom that comes with finally moving forward with your life goals.
5 Surprising Signs That You Are Stuck
You are:
- Unable to live without your cell phone, television, or some other form of technology
- Easily stressed out.
- Have become cynical about your job or career path.
- Feeling trapped in a rut of monotony at work or in life in general
- Realizing as you look back on your life so far, that most of it has been full of mediocrity rather than greatness
5 Things That Could Be Causing You To Be Stuck
You lack the knowledge necessary to make a change
If you’re trying to change something in your life but can’t figure out how, you might not know enough about it.
If you want to be a writer, for example, but you don’t read anything except tweets and Facebook posts, there’s no way you’ll be able to make progress.
Learn as much as possible about your goals before taking action. It will give you context that leads to clarity, which leads to action. As James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, puts it, “If education is not used for enlightenment then what is its purpose? By definition, education serves no purpose if not used for understanding one’s reality more clearly”.
You don’t know specifically what you want
If you think you might like to be a fireman, but also think becoming an accountant sounds interesting, you’re stuck.
As obvious as it sounds, one of the main reasons you might be struggling to get unstuck is that you simply don’t know what you want.
There might be pressure from friends or family. You may even feel pressured by external factors such as societal expectations or have guilt or fear which keep causing more problems rather than solutions when it comes to moving on with your life.
Maybe you feel stuck in a job where your talents aren’t appreciated like you don’t receive any recognition for hard work. Or maybe even despite you trying very hard, nothing seems to go well in your life.
It’s possible that just a little bit of self-reflection tells you that no matter how much effort has been put into trying to achieve a specific goal, positive results have been nonexistent or minimal at best.
In any case, it becomes increasingly clear over time that perhaps you haven’t been living out what you desire most in life.
At some point, it’s necessary to make a clear decision and set a goal. If you can’t choose a vacation destination, you’re stuck at home.
You lack willpower or fail to use it effectively
Willpower is limited, but it’s great for creating new habits and behavioral patterns.
If you’re a chronic procrastinator or someone who continually gives in to temptation or distraction, chances are your willpower needs a tune-up.
“The one thing people always get wrong is they think that willpower is something you either have or don’t have”, says Roy Baumeister, PhD, author of Willpower: Rediscovering Our Greatest Strength.
But it turns out that it’s actually like a muscle that can grow stronger over time. Habitual practices, like meditation, can help. To boost your own willpower, practice getting rid of bad habits by replacing them with good ones.
Sticking with a task after the urge to quit surfaces can develop willpower.
You can’t deal with being uncomfortable
The fact that change makes us uncomfortable is no excuse for putting it off.
Anxiety, nervousness, and fear are great for preventing you from jumping off a 10-story building. But they’re worse than worthless when it comes to keeping you stuck. Some level of discomfort accompanies any change, but your emotions are misleading you.
Fear of being uncomfortable should stop you from improving yourself, achieving your goals, or realizing your dreams.
Sure, change is scary—but in a perfect world, everything would be easy. When you avoid discomfort, you actually make life more difficult for yourself.
An unwillingness to face uncertainty is an illusion of safety that ultimately leads to unhappiness. So face your fears instead of avoiding them—they won’t kill you!
You give up too quickly
Change can take time. 80% of the change you ultimately see won’t reveal itself until at least 80% of the work has been completed. Your early efforts show little results, but things are happening behind the scenes. It’s necessary to persevere to see a meaningful change in your life.
We all have setbacks—from romantic relationships that don’t work out to jobs that end too soon. If you’re feeling stuck, it may be because you’ve given up on your dreams too soon or haven’t had someone who supports you through your struggles. Whether it’s figuring out how to lose weight or transition to a new career, there are ways to get past a plateau. You just need to be open-minded enough to change your approach.
That requires talking to yourself honestly about what isn’t working. Once you make some changes, look for success to follow.
Learn to be a finisher. Start completing all the little tasks in your life. If you decide to walk on the treadmill for 20 minutes, keep going until you’re done. Avoid letting yourself off the hook until an activity is 100% complete.
How To Get Unstuck In Life
Sometimes we can get ourselves stuck in a rut. We feel like life is passing us by and we’re stuck there while everyone else moves on to better things.
If you’re stuck, it might be time to look inward and figure out what you need to do to move forward. Maybe you just need a change of scenery. Or maybe there’s something you should be working on that’s been getting put off for too long now.
Whatever it is, think about what’s preventing you from moving forward. Chances are, once you figure out what your problem is, it will be easier to solve than you think.
Making any change can be a challenge. Understanding your roadblocks to change can enhance your ability to bring about meaningful changes in your life. Have an objective and develop habits that support that objective. Learn to lower and deal with uncomfortable emotions. You have everything within in you necessary to create a spectacular life. Go for it!
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