4 Steps to Get Yourself Unstuck

Years earlier, my client had courageously left the security of her corporate world to create a meaningful and successful small business. Our agenda for this coaching session was to review numbers she had put together.Before digging in, I asked, “How are you doing? It appears you might be feeling down and distracted.”

After a slight pause, she responded, “I was wondering how noticeable it has been.”

She described her most recent feelings with words like, fear, hopeless, and discouraged. She said these were a result of being stuck in a particular aspect of her life—and remaining stuck was taking its toll.

Most of us can relate. We’ve all been stuck at some point in our lives. Although there is no single formula for getting unstuck, here are a few principles that have worked for me:

  1. Resist blame and excuses. It’s easy to make our circumstance an enemy. We blame the economy, lack of resources, even relationships for keeping us in a sinkhole. It’s critical that we stop using blame and excuses as a way to justify our predicament.

  2. See the opportunity to grow. This requires a complete reversal in thinking. Not only is our circumstance not an enemy, it’s the exact teacher we need in order to grow and change into the person who can get us unstuck. After all, in order to get unstuck, we have to change what got us stuck in the first place. Us.

  3. Take action. A change in personal thinking and belief is not enough to set us free. Next, take action. This requires us to do something different in order to begin rising from our place of captivity. Remember, getting unstuck is rarely instantaneous. Be patient. Be persistent. Be courageous.

  4. Ask for support. Change is difficult and scary. Some people prefer we remain the same—they like us stuck. Although our ability to overcome is inside of us, we still benefit from the support and belief of those who want to see us fully evolve.

Perhaps you’re stuck on a financial plateau, in a bad relationship, in a career that doesn’t fit, or with a lack of health and wellbeing. It’s easy to overcomplicate the concept of being stuck.

Our life is full of habits. Being stuck is simply a habit we’ve formed that keeps us in a place we rather not be. Becoming unstuck requires that we first recognize, and then undo, those patterns that trap us. You’re designed to be free—today is a good day to start living that way.