Feeling Stuck - How To Get Unstuck

January 15, 2024

Are you feeling stuck? Do you need help? Do you feel like your life is one endless maze? These feelings are universal, and most people go through such phases in their personal life or career.

Hi! I am Katie Lister, a practising Registered Nurse and the Founder of Growth Gals, and feeling stuck in life is a pretty common phenomenon. This article will give you the information you need to navigate the feeling of being stuck and how to cope.

Katie Lister

Written by Katie Lister, RN, BScN. An experienced Registered Nurse, Group Facilitator, Life Coach, and Community Leader. Read Katie's Full Author Bio

What Does Feeling Stuck Mean?

Feeling stuck is when you feel like you have tried everything to change your circumstances, but nothing seems to work. You start having negative thoughts and feel hopeless or helpless. Being stuck could be anything from wanting a new relationship, job, or better health, but you have no motivation to do anything about the situation. It could also mean identifying an exciting opportunity, but your negative self-talk stops you from taking any steps toward grabbing it.

Life is challenging, and feeling stuck or trapped is normal. You can sometimes remedy the trapped feeling by doing something out of your comfort zone, but change is never easy. The only way to change your current situation is by recognizing why you feel this way and looking for a solution out of the rut.

Situations that can make you feel stuck include:

Outgrowing a Situation

We all change over time. Our hopes, wants, and needs evolve as we change. You may have outgrown your job and need a promotion or a change of scenery. These feelings of discontentment and a feeling that you can’t change your situation cause the feeling of ‘I’m stuck‘.

Fear of Judgment

When you worry too much about what others think of you, you become too afraid to make a change. For example, if you are in a toxic relationship but are too afraid of what people will say if you leave, so you continue operating on autopilot. Every time you think of people judging you, you take a deep breath and instead of ignoring them, you give in to your fears.

You are Scared of the Consequences

You may desire a new challenge, such as a new job, but you fear the consequences of quitting the old job. If your current job offers stability, you become afraid of starting over in a new job and keep asking what if?

You Have Forgotten to Your Values

Life can lose meaning when you become disconnected from your values. If your daily life does not honor your core values, you start feeling dull and feeling like you are not being true to yourself.

Burnout

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by life or the idea of making changes, it’s possible to feel pressured and stressed out. If you’ve been under stress for an extended period, you may experience burnout. When your nervous system is continuously on high alert, it loses the ability to differentiate between harmful and non-harmful stimuli. This stress can lead to fatigue, a condition that impairs decision-making abilities.

How Do You Get Unstuck?

Getting out of a rut only happens when you accept that you are stuck and take steps towards a solution. There are numerous ways to get unstuck. Here are some approaches on how to get unstuck.

Identify What You Want

When you feel stuck, it can be an unclear feeling that something is not right. To get out of this state, you need to gain clarity on what positive change you want to achieve. Instead of focusing on what you don’t want, it is important to state your desires positively. For example, say, “I want a promotion” rather than “I don’t want to stay in the same position”.

Identify what you want by:

Creating a Vision Board

Create a vision board via visuals or photos as a representation of what you want with your life. The board can have anything you want to visualize.

Know Your Values

Find your sense of purpose and determine what matters most to you. Make a list of your core values. Find the pattern in your values and figure out what you want and how to get it.

Exercise Your Body

Tension has a way of sitting in your body, and a workday can easily end with stiff shoulders or neck. Exercise, especially outdoors, releases the tension in your body and does a lot for your general well-being. Some exercises you can try include:

Doing some yoga

Stretching, especially the arms, shoulders, and neck
Going for a walk

Change of Perspective

Feeling stuck is a perspective and a mindset. With some effort and self-awareness, you can change your self-talk. Eliminate the imposter syndrome and fear of failure by speaking positive self-talk. Tell yourself you are enough and capable, and practice some self-love and self-compassion.

Work toward changing your perspective to stop feeling stuck. Ask yourself how else you can view your situation and how you will feel about the situation in one week or three months. A new perspective will change your mindset into a more positive one.

Strategies for Overcoming Being Stuck

You need to apply some strategies to overcome a sense of being stuck and feeling blah, whether in your career or personal life.

Find a Support System

Find a support system to hold you up when you feel stuck. Surround yourself with people who cheer you on even when things seem bleak. Family members or close friends can give you constructive criticism, and you can use this to improve yourself.

Step into Action

Thinking of doing something and taking action are two different things. When feeling stuck, step into action by making a list of your long-term goals. Break them down into smaller and more achievable goals. Start with small steps to avoid getting overwhelmed with sudden changes. The bottom line is to skip perfectionism and aim for small changes. With time, the small changes add up to big changes.

Improve Your Productivity

Beat procrastination by trying various techniques like the Pomodoro Technique. This technique was invented by an Italian, Francesco Cirillo, who said that it’s possible to improve productivity and know how long you can take on one task by recording how you use your time.

This technique requires you to spend short amounts of time, like twenty-five minutes of uninterrupted work. After the session, mark it as one Pomodoro completed. Take a five-minute break, and after four consecutive Pomodoro, you take a longer break of between fifteen and thirty minutes.

Take a Well-Deserved Rest

It’s important to take care of your well-being when facing life’s challenges. You can achieve this through self-care practices like eating healthy, getting enough hours of sleep, and exercising regularly. Some things you can do are:

Taking a social media break
Practicing gratitude
Practice mindfulness to make you calmer. There are numerous free apps like Headspace or Calm you can use.
Listening to a podcast
Read a self-help book

Healthcare

Taking care of your physical and mental health is crucial, especially when you feel stuck. The symptoms of poor health can worsen your feelings of being unmotivated and hinder your ability to rediscover your sense of purpose. Managing any health conditions with medication or therapy can help you improve your overall well-being.

However, making positive changes can be challenging when you’re dealing with brain fog, pain, or fatigue. Poor health can also adversely affect your professional life, and constant sick leave can impact your job stability. It’s important to see a doctor for any physical symptoms and also talk to a mental health professional for an assessment. Remember, taking care of yourself comes first, and it’s okay to ask for help when needed.

Pursue Growth

Being too comfortable in a company and the same job can lead to you missing out on growth opportunities. Improve your professional life by growing your network. Be on the lookout for opportunities on apps like LinkedIn to expand your network.

Learn a New Skill

It’s always a good idea to step out of your comfort zone and try to learn a new skill. You can enroll in part-time or online classes to learn a new software language that is relevant to your field or attend a leadership course.

By gaining new skills, you open up opportunities for career advancement, whether it’s at your current workplace or elsewhere. Learning something new is always a good investment, as it can give you an edge over other candidates when it comes to promotions. Remember, knowledge is power.

How Growth Gals Can Help You When You are Feeling Stuck

For any woman who is interested in self-improvement, Growth Gals can help when you feel stuck in life. At Growth Gals, we are a community of like-minded women who are committed to self-improvement. Follow us @growthgals_ on Instagram and keep yourself up to date with our coaching groups and support. Check out our newsletter and get the latest self-growth tips. Join us now and learn what to do when you are feeling stuck!

Feeling Stuck - Conclusion

Feeling stuck can make you feel like life is meaningless and have negative thoughts. Many reasons can cause you to feel stuck, chief among them being outgrowing situations, fear of judgment and consequences, etc.

You can free yourself from being stuck by making small but consistent changes. These small changes add up over time and eventually become significant changes that can transform your life. However, it’s important to change your perspective and mindset; otherwise, these changes may never happen. It all begins in our minds.