5 Tips for Getting Yourself Unstuck and Gaining Momentum

Have you ever been stuck? I don’t mean in the mud; I mean in life.

When you feel stuck, it can seem impossible that you can ever get unstuck. Whether you’re feeling frustrated in your job or career or relationship, or you just don’t know which step to take next, it can feel like this is going to last forever.

I have been there before myself. As an entrepreneur, it is not all rainbows. Sure, I have some freedoms from punching the clock or having others control my time, but there is also no consistent paycheck with things that aren’t going as well as we would like in business.

I have been stuck and not known what to do next. I have been unsure if I was making the right moves and even afraid to make another move.

But do not despair! You can use the stuck feeling to propel yourself out of that rut and into a newer better life. You just have to work out how to get your momentum going again. Here are some practical tips you can lever yourself out of being stuck.

1.  Be Prepared to Walk Away from the Past

Now is the time to be kind to yourself and cut loose from the past. You can choose to let go of whatever is holding you back. Everyone has baggage, everyone has made mistakes. Don’t let the bad things from the past stop you from making a better future.

There is a quote that says, “where our focus goes, our energy flows.” If you spend all your time focused on the past and the mistakes you have made you will stay stuck and will not have the energy to move forward.

You must put energy into what you want and let go of what you do not want anymore. I’ll bet you do not want any more of what is holding you back. Let it go!

2.  Be Kind to Yourself

Self-compassion is probably one of the most underrated qualities. Stop beating yourself up for being stuck. Stop feeling guilty and forgive yourself for those past mistakes.

Mistakes are only a problem if you can’t learn from them. Accept Past You and Present You, and step into being Future You.

I have invested tens of thousands on coaching for myself. Every coach I have ever had has taught me “failure is only failure if we quit trying and give up our efforts.”

Are you a perfectionist? This could be the awareness you need to let go of trying to be perfect and strive for excellence. Work on getting 1% better each day versus being critical when your efforts are up to your idea of perfection. I recommend reading Atomic Habits.

3.  What Are Your Life Lessons?

Instead of beating yourself up for being stuck, turn it around and think of what your stuckness is teaching you. The fact that you know you’re stuck tells you that you already know what’s wrong and that it’s time to change something in your life. Listen to your stuckness. What is it telling you to change?

Napoleon Hill wrote in his famous book Think and Grow Rich, “Every Adversity, Every Failure, Every Heartbreak, Carries With It The Seed Of An Equal Or Greater Benefit." 

When I learned to see the benefit of experience as my greatest teacher, I began to get and stay unstuck.

4.  Think Big

When you feel stuck your vision shrinks right down to what’s immediately in front of you. Nothing else seems possible. But it is!

Step back and just for a moment, imagine a life full of possibilities. If you were given the chance, what would you do to live your dream life? Now give yourself that chance and step up out of the rut.

This can seem difficult in the midst of a rut, but hope is the rope that pulls us up. I call it a rope of hope. If I am stuck, I just need someone to toss me a rope I can grab and pull myself up and out. Sometimes, this rope may be your own voice or your own vision and goals to give you hope.

Remember point #1 and replace the past with a vision of a brighter future.

5.  Acknowledge Where You Are Right Now

Everyone has good times and bad times in their life. Think about where you are in your life’s journey right now. Look back and see where the curve went up, where you were winning at life. And if you feel like you’re in a downturn right now, look down at your feet and imagine the curve going up again, starting now.

Reality is ok, staying stuck is not.

I try really hard to stay in a practice of gratitude to help me not feel sorry for myself when things are going well.

There are so many others in the world that would love to have my bed, my heat, and A/C, or the food I get to eat each day. In reality, my life is not as bad as it could be and for that I am grateful.

I hope you will start a gratitude practice as well and get and or stay unstuck too!