When You’re Feeling Stuck in Life
Remember this.
So many people feel like they live monotonous lives. Especially these days, being confined inside four walls during a global pandemic. It kind of feels like you’re stuck in one place.
Literally and mentally.
You watch the people on your social media timeline posting about the trip they’re taking (making sure to pack their face masks and hand sanitizers, of course), the baby they’re about to have, or the house they’ve just bought, and you feel happy for their progress and achievements but at the same time, there’s this tinge of irritation with yourself for not having anything new or exciting to announce in your own life.
You just feel like you’re standing still while everyone around you is moving forward and thriving.
As a stay-at-home working mom, I know the feeling all too well. I go day by day through the motions with my two toddlers while trying to tackle a writing career. Every day looks like the day before and the day after.
Some mornings, I wake up and think, is this it? But I look at my kids and I carry on with repetition. I’m definitely not blaming my little ones for how I feel.
It’s just how it is when you’re living the same mundane routine, in the same manner, every waking day.
A dear friend of mine reached out to me some time ago and she expressed her own vulnerable side to feeling stuck in life. At the time, I couldn’t put into words what I wanted to say to her on the matter but I can now. So, this is what I want to tell her and everyone who is overwhelmed with the feeling that you’re going nowhere.
Feeling this way — stuck — is a natural part of life. I say this because many people go through this period when not much happens. This anxiety comes along with the perception that something big and significant should be happening. It’s a part of life. It’s a part of living. We struggle with feeling stuck in our lives or in our careers. But if you want to struggle with this feeling a little less, find some clarity within yourself.
Who exactly are you?
What do you want most in life?
How can you be the best version of yourself today?
When you’re able to answer these three questions, you have the potential to free yourself from being stuck. When you ask yourself who you are, you can look at yourself in the light of having authentic self-regard. Pinpoint the key elements in your own value. When you ask yourself about what you want in your life, you are able to determine your goals or your own personal successes you’d like to pursue. From there, you can move on to how you can be the best version of yourself. Which, in turn, would help you achieve what you want to do most in your life.
With clarity, you can take better action in the course of your life. You don’t have to feel like you’re just standing still, stuck in one place.
“If you feel stuck in your present life, if you feel no enthusiasm for anything, if you think that you have no purpose or that you lost that purpose somewhere along the way, I guarantee you are living in a dungeon made of stories. And none of those limiting stories are true.” — Martha Beck
When you’re feeling stuck in life, remember that life is a continuous process. We are always growing as our personal stories leave off on chapters to be continued.
