Before the New Year decided to poke it’s head over the horizon, promising us all a new decade, more resolutions, and emotions of disbelief that another year is upon us, I was deep in thought over why I felt stuck with something.
I had made some decisions earlier in the month that I wanted to start specific new projects and continue working on existing ones, but something inside of me was stirring. This stirring was real and raw and yet, I couldn’t get it to surface.
I had a few ideas of what was trying to peak it’s way through in my heart, but each time I thought I knew what it was, the stirring continued communicating to me that I was not getting it. I was stuck and that produced some great anxiety within me. When you are about turn 40 and you know you are supposed to be doing something, but you have not figured it out yet, you feel time is no longer friendly and you need to hurry up and piece it all together.
A lot of this anxiety and fear comes from comparing ourselves to others that are doing or making the impact we want to make and yet, they are light years ahead of us (or so it feels), and some even younger than ourselves. It strikes a chord deep inside that we need to hurry and run after the dreams we once had, but because of life, we got sidetracked.
This was me a few months ago. I was stuck and super anxious that I was not a young twenty year old who had plenty of time to make decisions and be okay with making mistakes and changing one’s mind. We had plenty of time back then.
But then I learned and realized, just because I am turning 40 this new year, does not mean that I am running out of time to achieve the things my heart wants to achieve. I DO have time. If I would just stop comparing my journey with someone else’s and be content with where I am at in my life, then the anxiety and fear will melt away.
Now, all of this does not answer how we get unstuck in our lives, but it does help to calm us down when we are. Life is unpredictable, we don’t know how long we will remain here on this earth, but we can continue to pursue goals and dreams for ourselves at any age. Sometimes when we compare ourselves and our journey with those around us, it can cause us to become stuck.
Sometimes when we believe certain lies about ourselves or our circumstances, that too can be the reason we feel stuck. In order for us to become unstuck we need to first explore what caused us to be stuck in the first place and then work from there.
For me, I was stuck because I was not choosing to pursue what I knew deep inside of me I really wanted to pursue. I wanted to do something safe, comfortable, and risk free. Having that mindset, however, kept me stuck. It was holding me back from what I knew I wanted to be and do.
And when I finally allowed myself to pursue “the thing” that I was afraid to admit that I wanted to pursue, all of a sudden I was no longer stuck.
So what does this mean for you? If you feel stuck I encourage you to explore why and to be super honest with yourself about that why. Do not compare yourself with others and set yourself free from the limitations we put on ourselves as a culture and pursue what you really want to do. I give you the permission you need to do so!