7 Actions to Take When You’re Feeling Stuck

Feeling stuck can make you feel trapped, frustrated and overwhelmed.

There are many reasons why we might feel stuck in life or your career. Feeling stuck often leads to inaction because we lack the clarity, direction and motivation to get unstuck.

When you feel stuck you want to move forward but often lack the commitment, courage or confidence to do so.

If you’re feeling stuck right now, know that you can change things and do something about the things that are causing you to feel stuck.

If you feel trapped in the same routine or you feel stuck in life, here are 7 actions you can take to stop feeling stuck.

7 Actions to Take When You’re Feeling Stuck

Here are 7 actions you can take to stop feeling stuck.

1. Reconnect with your goals

We often feel stuck when we have no clear direction in life and nothing to focus on. If you’re feeling stuck, take a moment to clarify your goals so you can get clear on what you want to achieve and what really matters.

Goals provide motivation, excitement and direction. Having goals can provide a clear plan and path to follow to help you stop feeling stuck. Exciting goals can transform inaction into focused action.

2. Make a commitment

You can stop feeling stuck by making a commitment to take action, be that making a decision or taking action on something. We can feel stuck by the fear of making a decision or going outside of our comfort zone.

Don’t let fear stand between you and your goals. Get clear on the outcome you want to achieve and have the commitment, courage and motivation to follow through.

You may not get it right on the first attempt but treat every act of courage as a learning experience.

3. Change the way you think

If you are feeling stuck treat it as a sign that you need how you think about things.

Personal growth happens when you can think about your thinking and use that insight as catalyst for change.

Get clear on why you feel stuck by looking at the obstacles that are holding you back from making a decision or taking action.

Once you understand the situation or circumstances that make you feel trapped, you can come up with a plan of action to get unstuck.

4. Do something

The simplest way to stop feeling stuck is to do something. Whether you’re procrastinating, feeling overwhelmed or want to break a bad habit taking action gets you into motion. Getting into motion creates movement and momentum.

Take action and do something to stop feeling stuck. Even a small step forward is a sign of progress.

5. Let go of the past

One of the main causes of feeling stuck is constantly thinking about, and worrying about, the past. People let past experiences and failures stop them taking action in the present to help them create a better future.

It’s difficult to think about an exciting, motivating future if you’re stuck in the past. Remaining stuck or moving forward is a choice you can make in the present moment.

Feeling stuck often comes from a fixed mindset. Instead, switch to an abundance mindset and focus on what decisions, communications and actions you can make in the present to make the progress you want.

6. Focus on your positive progress

When you feel stuck it’s easy to lack the confidence and self-esteem to take action. To stop feeling stuck, focus on the positive progress you’ve made in every aspect of your life and career.

When your mind identifies something positive you feel better, more confident and more motivated to take action. To stop feeling stuck, start and end each day writing down your achievements or something you feel positive about.

7. Get some perspective

When you feel stuck, it’s important to gain some perspective on why you feel that way.

You can self-diagnose by thinking about why you feel stuck and identifying the causes.

Alternatively, you can gain some perspective by talking to someone about why you feel stuck. This could be a friend, family member, colleague or coach.

The simple action of talking it through with someone will help you gain real perspective on why you feel stuck and give you an action plan to overcome it.

Summing up

When you feel stuck it’s difficult to feel motivated to take action. If you’re feeling stuck right now it’s important to diagnose the causes so you know what you can do to get over it.

Clarifying your goals, taking action and gaining perspective by talking to someone will help you transform inactivity into forward motion. Hopefully one of these tips will help.

This article originally appeared at Lucemi Consulting.

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