Inside: Learn tips on how to get unstuck in your life so that you can move forward.
Have you ever felt like you were stuck in life?
Maybe your circumstances seemed like they wouldn’t change or you struggled to find the motivation to create change.
Regardless of how you go there, here are 12 ways to get unstuck in your life.
How to Get Unstuck in Your Life
These 12 tips will help you if you want to get unstuck in your life so you can move forward. Change is possible in every situation even if your circumstances stay the same.
Learn to move forward doing what you can to make progress.
1. Shift your perspective
At times we get stuck because we keep looking at a situation the same way. We don’t change our vantage point or try to see things any differently.
Perceptions are malleable. You can change them if you choose to. Try looking at your circumstances from a different point of view. If the situation you’re stuck in involves another person, try looking at it from their perspective.
You have to be willing to change the way you look at things if you don’t want to stay stuck. You might be surprised how much this one thing can change how you see your situation.
2. Focus on what you can control
It’s tough when things have been the same way for so long and you don’t feel like you can affect change. There are circumstances that may be beyond your control.
To get unstuck, focus on what is within your power and control. Own your situation and be willing to accept responsibility for the choices you’ve made. Even when circumstances occur that are not a result of your choices, you can choose how you look at the situation.
In life, you can choose to be a victim or you can choose to get unstuck and move forward. You get to decide how you respond.
Focus on gratitude and see the good in and outside of the situation you currently feel stuck in. You get to control your thoughts and how you behave. Take responsibility and choose to stay positive.
3. Try something new
Look at all potential options for how you can change things. Be willing to think outside the box and consider ideas you haven’t considered before.
Don’t shut down ideas because you think they won’t work. This is your chance to dream bigger and imagine what seems impossible.
Be creative and open to new options. Consider the possibilities and be willing to grow and learn new things. Trying something new takes bravery, but with practice, it gets easier.
4. Change your habits
The idea of changing your habits can feel overwhelming. On the surface, it seems like a big undertaking. The reality is that even small changes can yield big results over time.
Consider the small habits you could change. Try stacking them with existing habits to make it even easier. Before you know it that repeated action will become normal and you won’t have to think about it.
Choose to add positive habits and eliminate bad habits to propel you forward toward your goals and help you get unstuck in your life.
5. Be consistent
As you work to make changes to help you get unstuck consistency is key. It’s easy to slip back into old patterns of thoughts and behavior.
Change takes intentional effort. Work on being consistent in the areas you are working to change. Consistency, combined with bravery, will take you far.
6. Choose to let go
So often what keeps people stuck is an unwillingness to let go. I see this play out with how people choose to keep both physical clutter in their homes as well as emotional clutter in their lives.
People are creatures of habit. If you’ve been holding onto something for a long time, deciding to finally let it go may not come easily. Therapy can be helpful.
It takes inner work and a desire to get unstuck in life over choosing what may be comfortable and familiar. Emotional clutter holds people back and keeps them stuck.
It doesn’t feel good to hold onto anger, resentment, bitterness or any number of negative emotions. Letting go may not be easy, but it is essential for getting unstuck in your life and moving forward.
7. Examine your thoughts
So much of getting stuck has to do with our thoughts and beliefs. Take the time to think about what messages you tell yourself.
Do you have self-limiting beliefs that are holding you back and keeping you stuck? Are you believing lies that simply aren’t true based on something someone told you in your past?
Regardless of how these thought patterns came to be in your life, it’s time to replace them with the truth. Create a growth mindset and embrace imperfections, stop seeking approval from others, reframe criticisms, and be ok with being on the journey without reaching the destination yet.
8. Set your goals
As you’ve gotten out of negative thinking and combatted the lies, now is the time to set new goals. Part of getting unstuck is realizing the possibilities and setting goals that align with your new dreams.
Look at your motivations as you make decisions. Are your motives aligned with your goals?
Once you get unstuck a world of possibilities may open for you. Choose goals that are meaningful and important to you. You’ll be more likely to achieve your goals when you are passionate about them.
If you need a resource for setting goals, I created the Simply Focused workbook to help you think through your goals and create an action plan.
9. Take action
Feeling stuck can lead to feeling paralyzed in the situation. It’s hard to be motivated when you feel like you can’t move.
After setting your goals, break them down into smaller steps. Then decide every day that you will take action even if in small ways.
It may not be easy. You may not feel motivated, but make a commitment to take action anyway. That is the surest way to begin to get unstuck. You can’t make progress if you don’t take action.
10. Slow down
The pace at which we go through life can contribute to a feeling of being stuck. When your schedule gets out of control, it’s tough to feel like you can make changes. Assessing your schedule and making sure it is aligned with your priorities and values.
There are many different ways to slow down during the day. Don’t let yourself get used to being busy all the time. You do have a choice in what you allow into your schedule and your life.
How you spend your time is how you spend your life. Choose carefully.
As you seek to live more intentionally leave space for rest. Allow yourself margin so that you have the ability to say yes to the great.
11. Practice self-care
Part of creating a more balanced schedule means incorporating self-care. Ignoring your own needs is more likely to land you in a state of being stuck.
By self-care, I don’t mean spa days. Although those are fine on occasion really taking care of yourself means knowing yourself and what your mind, body, and soul need.
Self-care can look like time alone in silence. It can be coffee with a friend or taking a walk. It’s about being intentional with your choices and honoring your needs.
12. Choose supportive friends
As you get unstuck in your life, choose friends who will support and encourage you in making the necessary changes. It’s much more difficult to make changes when you don’t have a support system.
“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” -Jim Rohn
Be selective with the messages that speak into your life. Unfollow people and pages that don’t help you move forward or that keep you stuck.
Find encouragement where you can. You create your community so select the influential people in your life carefully.
Whether you are stuck with your goals or with your current circumstances, use these 12 tips to get yourself unstuck in your life.
What tips have helped you get unstuck in your life? Share them in the comments section below.
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Julianna, that was a lovely and meaningful article. I really appreciated the feeling you gave me that I can do it!
I have found that when I feel stuck in my life I need to start working towards a goal I’ve been slacking on or try to learn something new as you said but I also learned that sometimes I’m just becoming too internally focused and when I start focusing on others and how I can support them things start moving a a much better direction and I start feeling much happier! “There is more happiness in giving than in receiving.”
While allowing myself to get stuck in life, Ive choosing to get “unstuck by letting go of social media platforms that appear to be more negative than influential and devoting more time to my children and grandchildren, while working on each of my goals, say by day…
Thank you so much for this. Current circumstances have been unkind lately, and I needed to be reminded that there are things that I can control.
excellent article…boy, i needed it.
Really helpful info much needed in one’s life these days! Thanks
As I am navigating a new phase in my life (taking care of an aging parent and letting go of my own goals and aspirations) this is what I needed to read today.
I truly wish there was more discussion when we are young of how impactful caring for aging parents will be. Sadly, my own parents died some years ago leaving me with the conflicting feeling of wishing they were here to care for but since they are not taking the blessing that comes with not having to manage such a big undertaking. I have watched my friends struggle desperately to care for aging family, and it is not for the faint of heart. I hope you can revisit your dreams and aspirations as you manage caring for your family. It is an enormous undertaking. My best to you.
Positive ideas we can all use in life. Being stuck means not able to come up with solutions. Thank you for sharing some great ones. Encouraging words are beneficial to all.
As I contemplate retirement, I am faced with which directions to take. I have worked so many years as a nurse, caring for people, which was a very gratifying job. I am looking for change in my life, with balance and connection. I am fortunate to have many avenues to choose from, just trying to see where life takes me. Reading through your steps, it has opened my eyes and helped me focus. I have clutter and my intentions are to get rid of most of the things that have filled my home after four kids have moved on with their own lives. One room at a time. Thank you