I was reading Dr Suess’ book, “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!” to my kid yesterday. I really love that book. It has a beautiful message about life and going for your dreams. And luckily my boy was tired enough that he just cozied up in my lap for the entire thing, rather than attempting escape half way through. Each time I read this book, I always have a different take out. Yesterday the key take out for me was feeling stuck and down in the dumps is a normal part of life.
It resonated for me because right now I am feeling a little stuck. Not having a lot of motivation but a zillion things I want to do has led me to feel overwhelmed and then stuck. Stuck in not knowing what to do.
And I’m sure we’ve all been there. In fact, according to Dr Suess we HAVE all been there
- Remind yourself of your goal. Do a little bit of visualising and put yourself in the not too distant future where you have achieved your goal. How does it feel? What are you saying to yourself? How is life different now? Soak in all of those feelings. Immerse yourself in those good feeling vibes. Feeling good will always put you in a more resourceful mindset and reminding yourself of your goal will only help to inspire action.
- Give yourself a break. Literally give yourself some time off to do something completely different to what you were trying to focus on. Do something just for laughs. Go see a really funny movie, have a day trip with a great mate, book a spa day and indulge yourself. Sometimes when we are stuck we take up all the space around with anxious, worried energy. But by giving ourselves a break, we can clear that negative energy away and instead bring back the fun and spontaneity to our lives.
- Take tiny, small action steps. And I mean teeny, tiny. For example, write 1 email. And job done for the day. Because taking one action step is still progress forward – no matter how small. Don’t attempt to take on too much or over commit yourself. Small action steps are just as important as big ones and will feel easier to accomplish when you are in stuck mode.
- Acknowledge all the work you have already done. You need to take a step back and see exactly how far you have come. You aren’t the person you were before. You have grown. You have changed. And you need to give yourself credit for that. Be proud of exactly how far you have come and trust that you are exactly where you need to be.
- Remember: it’s all temporary. Things are constantly changing – our moods, our thoughts and our actions. Nothing is ever permanent (even though sometimes we’d like things to just stay as they are). So if you can do nothing else, just remember that this won’t last, you won’t be stuck forever and you will get through this. Because you have some serious shit to do.
I hope that these tips help you to feel better about being stuck. We ALL get stuck and we ALL move through it. So now I’d like to hear from you – what is keeping you stuck right now? And what tips above will you use to help move through it?
Oh and my last tip? Read “Oh, the Place’s You’ll Go!” by Dr Suess. You will love it!