By Brandon Alter:
"I feel stuck." How many times have you said this? Maybe you are feeling this way right now. Or maybe stuck only visits you once a year. Well, here’s the dirty little secret about feeling stuck nobody talks about: you are sticking yourself.
I realize this may not be a popular teaching. But the truth is that YOU ARE CHOOSING TO BE STUCK and stay stuck because the idea of stuck is serving you somehow. Maybe you’re afraid of your next chapter. Maybe you need a fucking break and are resistant to admit that to yourself. Maybe you are just holding beautiful space for your next big adventure to come through.
If you genuinely don’t want to be stuck anymore, you need to understand why you are still imposing it upon yourself. Once you have a sense of what stuck has been giving you (i.e., why you feel you need it), then maybe you can start to release it.
Consider stuck a house guest that you invited in. If he’s overstaying his welcome, you can kindly suggest he go get a hotel somewhere. But if the company of stuck is still thrilling you, or soothing you, or tucking you in at night, there is no reason to send it packing. Not until you're ready.
Being stuck isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's a sacred weigh station, a reprieve, and a chance to reorganize and reconsider. But if you’re really ready to send stuck packing and get on with your bad self, sit down and figure out what purpose stuck has been serving.
The good news is this: since you are the one who got yourself stuck to begin with, you have always been the key to unsticking yourself.