Feeling stuck in life? 6 powerful ways to free yourself

Are you feeling stuck in life? Many people do. Sometimes it feels as if we simply cannot move on with our life. As if there was something that kept us from pursuing our dreams. Consequently, we feel limited and simply do not know what to do. We have no idea how to break free from the limitations that are imposed upon us. What is worse, we do not even know what it is that imposes these limitations on us. It’s quite scary to be confronted with an invisible obstacle you cannot seem to tackle. Even though the situation may seem hopeless, there’s much you can do about it. In fact, there are a variety of highly efficient tactics and powerful tricks you can use to free yourself from being stuck in a rut.

There’s an interesting aspect to the feeling of being stuck. Many people who report that they’re feeling overwhelmed, confused or stuck in a rut are—in many cases—quite talented, intelligent and ambitious. In fact, various brilliant people found themselves stuck in life, ranging from Albert Einstein to Walt Disney. These prominent examples show us that people who are feeling stuck in life still have the potential to accomplish a great deal in life IF they are able to overcome what is holding them back.

Breaking free from feeling stuck in life

So what you can you do to get unstuck? As we have already established, you won’t be able to break free by digging deeper. What is necessary is to find another approach that helps us to address the underlying issue.

It doesn’t matter so much what obstacle is blocking your progress. What matters is that you learn to move forward despite being confronted with challenges. You have all the power you need to take the necessary steps to break out of the rut. However, every fibre of your body must be willing to effect this change. Breaking free from whatever holding you back is always a choice. Take this choice and learn to gain more control over your feelings, thoughts, and behaviours.

Here’s what you can do to free yourself from being stuck in a rut.

1. Face your fears

People are unable to move forward because they are afraid.

Whatever we fear limits us. In many cases, fear prohibits us from making any further progress in life. We’re afraid of the unknown, which is why we (unconsciously) sabotage our own development. We learn to accept the situation we find ourselves in. It simply seems more comfortable to remain where we are than to move on. Living a life without risks might seem a logical thing to do. But after a certain time, we become so used to our comfort zone that it’ll be difficult to ever break free from it. Slowly but surely, we begin to realise that this habit led us to become stuck in life.

At some point in life, we simply became afraid of going any further. We gave in to our fears. We allowed fear to stop our progress in life.

If we want to get unstuck, it’s important to change how we perceive our fears. We might not be able to stop being afraid of that which is to come, but we can learn to control our fears:

• Acknowledge your fears, but do not allow them to limit you.
• Seek to confront that which you are afraid of.
• Running away from your fears will most likely make things worse.
• Keep pushing forward in spite of your fears.
• Don’t allow your fear of losing what you have to stop you from moving on.
• Be not afraid of the work and time it takes to affect change.
• Feel your fear and do it anyway.

Everyone on this planet, and I mean really everyone, has fears. It’s not something to be ashamed of. Instead, try to think about the worst possible outcome of that which is causing your anxiety. While you think about this outcome, try to realise that even if the worst-case scenario were to happen, you would still be able to find a way out.

There’s no need to be afraid of failure. Be concerned about not having the courage to try.

If you really want to initiate positive change in your life, let go of the feeling that you are helpless. Do not allow your perceived powerlessness discourage you from making a change in your life. Most likely, it’s just your fear trying to persuade you to do nothing about your situation.

2. Break your routine

Feeling stuck in life can be the result of unhealthy and restraining routines.

Developing a routine can be quite beneficial. It helps you to keep moving when the going gets tough. The development of habits will aid you to do quite complex things with the greatest ease. As such, routines provide you a fundament and structure you can work with.

While it’s certainly true that routine is helpful, it can also limit your progress in life. It can develop into restrictive rules and obligations difficult to break. Yet, we willingly abide these rules, because they give us a sense of security and control.

Moving on in life, however, requires us to break the existing structures from time to time. Breaking the rules gives us the opportunity to explore something out of the ordinary. It helps us to discover something new, surprising and exciting.

• Expand your horizon. Do something new every day.
• Avoid time-wasting and mindless routines. They prohibit your progress.
• Routinely break your routine. Make it a habit of exploring the unknown.

Break restricting routines whenever they need to be broken. Overcoming that what you’ve always done is really important. It will help you to break free from feeling stuck in life. Breaking out of the ordinary allows us to unstuck ourselves from everything that is keeping us behind. There is so much to be found outside your usual routine, you’ll only need the courage to explore it.

3. Effect change, one step at a time

If you’re feeling stuck in life, it’s important to overcome that which prevents you from moving forward. This might sound simple in theory, but it can become quite a struggle in real life. In fact, most people get overwhelmed by their attempts to break free from a rut. To them, it will seem as if they do everything they can, without ever accomplishing something.

For this reason, it’s not so important how much you do, but how you go about affecting change. Make sure to maintain your motivation by keeping a constant level of change. It’s better to tackle one problem after another than half-heartedly trying to address everything simultaneously. Not only will the sheer size of the problem overwhelm you, but it could also make you reluctant to truly free yourself.

It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.

Confucius

Just don’t be too hard on yourself. Try to stick to one problem until it is solved. One problem after another. This way you can affect positive changes in your life step-by-step.

4. Change your perspective

When we feel stuck in life, we most certainly do not have a good overview of the situation. Unfortunately, the feeling of being stuck in a rut can heavily affect our perception of life. Instead of seeing a great deal of the broader perspective, our mind is imprisoned in a tiny little box.

It’s time to broaden your perspective!

Often times, we get stuck in life because we do not allow ourselves to become who we want to be. Instead, we adapt to the role various people expect us to play. We do not like it, but deep down we are convinced that it’s impossible to realise these dreams.

Time to break these negative beliefs.

Stop walking the same path you’ve always chosen. Explore new perspectives by taking other paths. Ask yourself what your real goals are. Explore what you’re passionate about. Discover what it is that truly energises you. Find your true purpose in life. Challenge yourself to have a vision for your life.

All these things can fuel your motivation in the most astonishing ways. Discovering your vision and the pursuit of your passions can create a powerful drive. It can help you to liberate yourself from the vicious circle of being stuck.

By having the coverage to live your authentic self, you will liberate yourself.

5. Differentiate between feeling and fact

You feel as if you’re stuck in life. Therefore, you conclude that you cannot move on. Sometimes, however, our emotions might not be telling the (entire) truth. The inability to get unstuck may feel very real, but in the end, it’s just a feeling. And this very feeling creates our perception of the situation.

For this reason, it’s important to remind yourself that feelings are not facts. Try to look at your situation more objectively. Emotional responses might cloud your perception of reality. Feeling stuck in life could be a response to exaggerated expectations or mere fantasies.

Perhaps, if the situation is not that bad at all. It’s simply external influences that make you think you’re not moving on with life.

6. Stop comparing yourself to others

While it’s a natural tendency to compare yourself to other people, it’s not the best thing to do. While we think we compare ourselves in an objective manner, quite the contrary is the case. Our measures are superficial and unfair. In most situations, we take our weakest spots and compared these with people who are above-average in this area.

These comparisons are really not helpful. We’re simply too individual to compare ourselves with another. If you’re feeling stuck in life, try not to measure your life’s worth based on other people’s accomplishments. Measure your life based upon your own standards. Don’t just mindlessly adopt society’s definition of success, find your very own.

In the end, the only one that is holding you back is yourself. Do not fall prey to the mistake of focusing all your attention on lousy excuses. Look for the steps you can take that will get you out of your situation.