We have all felt stuck at one or many points in our lives. That drowning feeling that can overwhelm you and seem to creep into every area of our lives. I have realized that it really stems from one place. One tiny little part of us that we try to ignore. We push it down and try to move forward, but something stops us. That quicksand that overtakes us until you are paralyzed and do absolutely nothing. It is fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of being made to look foolish, fear of what other people think, fear of failure. When you feel this way, you tend to try to blame something. To make it rational that you are stuck, that you don’t know what to do next, so you talk yourself into believing your own excuses. Your level headed reasoning of why you cannot do the thing that you need to or want to do to move forward. Resistance (or fear) keeps you from doing the thing that you were meant to do, the thing that will empower you to evolve and move forward. That fear will keep you from the life you were always meant to live and hold you to the life you are living now. We all struggle with this and if you are struggling now it is time to push through it. You actually have the power to write your own story and choose your own path, all you have to do is start. You have everything you need right inside yourself. The choices you make to either do something or not. If you really want to do something you will find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse. You can start changing the way you do things, you don’t always have to do what you have always done. We all have the ability to learn and evolve. Today is a new day with fresh new beginnings.

Some things to realize…

-The reason why you feel stuck is just a feeling. When you realize there is no one or nothing to blame, you can start taking an account of yourself. The only person that stops you from the life you were meant to live is yourself. You are the only person responsible for you, so stop waiting for the magical juju to fix it, there isn’t any. The solution to getting un stuck is staring back at you in the mirror every morning. Look inside yourself and push through that fear so you can build the life you have always wanted. It is so much worse to be stuck in a life that is mediocre than to get out of our own way and realize that when you break through that fear, it isnt as scary and as awful as you thought. The rewards will outweigh the risk.

– When we are feeling stuck, it is usually a good time to reflect. It usually means that whatever we had been doing stopped working and we need to find a new direction. That could mean a lot of things… a change of mindset, a change of heart, a change of habits. My mentor reminded me recently that before you have a major breakthrough you will have a breakdown. These stuck times are a great time to take a deep breath and understand that we need to really look at what we are doing and see if those habits, or mindsets are driving us towards our vision or further away from it. When we realize our missteps, we can correct ourselves and move in the right direction.

-Letting go of the past is key to moving forward. If you are a grudge holder or you dwell on past hurts and experiences, you will never be able to fully move forward. It will keep you stuck if you let it. Anything that happened in the past is just that. It is in the past. It does not serve you in the here and now. That baggage weighs you down and keeps you under water. You have to release those feelings of resentment and anger and make yourself free of them in order to be able to fully embrace what life has in store for you. Forgiveness is a powerful thing. It can free you from the past and allow you to grow. It can also hold you and keep you from the life you were meant to live. Can you think of anyone in your life that you could forgive? Releasing that will not only free them, it will free and empower you so those feelings that held you where you were will allow you to become the person you were always meant to be.

-Stop comparing yourself to others. This will not only get you stuck, it sometimes will make you backslide. Comparing yourself to others does nothing to help you grow. We are all on our own journey, and all have a different story to write. Life is not a competition, and it is not a race. Just because you see someone else doing better than you does not make what you are doing less amazing. We all have obstacles and instead of comparing each other and feeling inadequate because of someone else’s success, we should be learning from them, gaining inspiration and admiration for their drive and accomplishments. I realize that some people think that when someone else is doing better than they are it lessens their own accomplishments. That is so not the case, though it makes us feel better about our own shortcomings. Other peoples successes do not drown out our own. They should make us realize what is possible and that anyone can do anything they set their mind to. That is what we teach our children isn’t it?

-Surround yourself with people that inspire you, mentor you, lift you up & challenge you. You are the sum total of the five people you surround yourself with. What vision do you have for your life? Who are you surrounding yourself with and do they lift you up or bring you down? It might be time to filter out some of the noise around you and take a good hard look at the type of people you spend your time with. Do they all inspire you to dream bigger? To reach higher? Those are the invaluable people that you need in your life. Life is so full of challenges and obstacles, wouldn’t it be easier if you had people in your corner that encouraged you and pushed you in the direction that you really wanted to go in? One moment at a time, start moving in the direction that gets you closer and closer to the life you really were meant for. Every action, and every movement will take you just one step closer to your goals, it just takes opening your eyes and taking heart realizing that you have the power to change everything if you really want to. No one ever said it would be easy, but it will be worth it.

Now it is your turn, share with me what you do when you are feeling stuck. Leave a comment and let me know what helps you!