What To Do When You Feel Stuck In Life
My tried and true tactics of unstucking myself.
Truth be told: you’re not stuck. You’ve just thought yourself into that imaginary prison. The power of your jail cell is fed only by your negativity, anger, and self doubt. And even though the door is wide open, you’ve conjured up terrible beasts that growl nearby— beasts that are just as imaginary as the cell you’re stuck in.
What I’m getting at is that you feeling stuck is just a makeshift perspective created by you. You have the power to strengthen its grip on you, but you also have the choice to get up and get free. It’s all on you.
This is important to note because, despite your hopes, no-one else has the power to free you from your imaginary prison cell. It really is all on you. The good news is, you’ve acknowledged your stuckness by clicking on and reading this article.
You clearly want to get free, and I can tell you that that is entirely possible.
Of course, the simple answer to getting free is by moving; wriggling your way out of the chains you’ve created and pushing on. But, as you might have guessed, it’s easier said than done. Which is why I’m here, bringing my tried and true tactics of unstucking myself.
As a writer, feeling stuck is an unmissable initiation process. It’s part of the job, whether we like it or not. So, it’s in a writer’s best interest to find tools that can help them get unstuck.
Here’s what to do when you feel stuck in life:
Discern your desires
When I say discern, I mean more than just knowing what you want. Knowing is one thing, discerning is quite another. Pluck your desires out of the wilderness and sit them on a pedestal. Worship them if you must. The main objective is to breathe fuel into your goals.
It’s the first and most important step in unstucking yourself.
Once you have your true desires in sight, you can move onto the next step.
Be your own best friend
Stop beating yourself up over why your life is shit. Regardless if it is your fault or not, this kind of self-torture is never helpful. In fact, it’s much like digging your own grave.
Instead, be your own best friend. You know, the kind of best friend who encourages you to go further. To pursue your hearts desires. To get a little risky, if you will.
A motivational best friend!
Indeed, while many of you can tap into your friends list and gain this encouragement by proxy, I believe it’s best to bring your own self into the mix.
To tweak a popular saying: if you can’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love anything else?
Be nice to yourself. Someone has to.
Shift your perspective
For so long, you have been consumed by your stuckness. Focusing so much attention on it is as helpful as reeling through a recent mistake you just made. It doesn’t solve anything and you’re just wasting valuable time.
Of course, while you could roll up your sleeves and try to fix it, sometimes the better choice is taking a break first. A breather. Think of it as a cigarette break, even if you don’t smoke.
The goal is to shift your perspective. Your feeling stuck is but a fraction of your entire life right now. So find some good in your life and focus on that instead. Invest in a new hobby, or seek out a long lost one. Hang out with friends and talk about something other than your wallowing despair. Have fun!
Because it’s much easier to fix a problem in a good mood than a bad one.
Say yes more
Have you ever found yourself making up excuses to avoid an opportunity? I know why you do it. You’re worried you’ll regret it. But I think it’s more regretful to not try.
‘You try, you fail, you try, you fail. But the only true failure is when you stop trying.’ — Madam Leota, Haunted Mansion
If we knew about the future, would we ever get out of bed? I doubt it. Risks are what make life worth living! Even failing isn’t a failure, because now you know what not to do.
And isn’t a new opportunity exactly what you want? You want to feel like you’re getting somewhere. You want to feel proud of yourself. But how can you feel proud if you’re not giving yourself a chance?
So say yes more. Indeed, don’t do it blindly. Decisions, especially big ones, require some thought. But don’t overthink it either.
Overthinking is what led you to your imaginary jail cell.
