How to get unstuck

I know, I know, it’s been a while again. I could swear that time goes by at double speed between my posts. It feels like it’s been a couple of days since my last one and all of sudden it’s been weeks. But I’m getting there, I needed to think again and I decided to change the name of this blog. You probably won’t even remember what it was before and that’s just fine. Nothing much else has changed.  

I guess the biggest reason why I’m bored with my life and nothing much is happening is because I’ve been feeling quite stuck for a while now. I got thinking about it tonight because I knew it was high time to post something here and I remembered that when I first started the blog I felt I was moving a little, getting unstuck.

But that also meant that I needed to change what I was doing, and sometimes change just doesn’t come easily. It means having maybe to do something else than what you’d rather do (what? I can’t read or watch TV all night??). And so I would slowly revert back to not posting and feeling stuck because short term it was the safe option and didn’t require me to stretch myself. Easy peasy, not doing anything.  
 

People, feeling that you’re stuck in life in a rather joyless situation is not to be taken lightly. I once felt so stuck with nowhere to go that I developed quite a severe case of gastritis and had to take medication for four months just to be able to eat without pain. It wasn’t pleasant at the time but at hind sight it’s been one of the best things to ever happen to me, mainly because it made me realise how important it is to move away from an unpleasant situation. (And because I lost tons of weight and felt absolutely fabulous. It wasn’t to last, though. I got better.) Life’s too short for that.

Time to get moving then. So how do you get unstuck? Usually when I feel stuck I tend to decide that it’s time to change the scenery and move to another city/country/continent, get a new job and when there move houses at least every three years but I realise that most people would be quite put off by such drastic advice. I’m getting a bit tired of that sort of gallivanting myself and besides, I really like living in London and don’t want to go anywhere for a while so need to think of something else.  

Here’s something that could get you going: 

•  Start doing something to move away from your stuck situation. Anything is better than nothing. If what you try first doesn’t work out, it’s a sign that what you were doing wasn’t quite the right direction. It may give you a better idea, though, and a lead to follow. That may again to lead to something else. Or get back to square one and try something totally different. There is always something you can do to get moving.
•  Can’t see any open doors in your life? You know what they say when you’re not quite there yet? Fake it till you make it. Pretend that you have several options open before you, all you need to do is pick the one that appeals to you most.
• Still having difficulties? Why not ask a friend what they think might be something for you to try? We’re often so embroidered in our own worlds that we can’t see a bigger picture. Someone outside your own head who knows you might easily be able to suggest taking a step in a direction you hadn’t even thought about.
• Start a project doing something that you enjoy doing. It doesn’t have to be anything big, in fact something small might be just the thing to get you going without overwhelming you. 
• If it’s your work/career where you’re stuck, check out this book by John Williams called Screw Work Let’s Play. I’m a fan. He recommends starting a play project to get your creative juices flowing and has lots of other ideas to get you thinking of all the enjoyable things you could be doing in your life. He has a website of the same name, too.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/
FreeDigitalPhotos.net

This blog is my project and while I admit that at times it does overwhelm me a little bit, mostly I’m glad I’ve started it and I’m learning loads along the way; about myself, life in general, technical blogging stuff that may not seem very exciting but which all the same makes me feel quite clever, and many other things. And, the all-important, I’m experiencing something new in my life!

 

And the really great thing about getting one area of your life moving is that other areas tend to follow suit without very much effort. I can already see that happening in my life. More about that in my next post. Get moving!