A few ideas for when you feel stuck…
Are there places in your life where you feel stuck right now?
Or maybe almost everything seems to require a boatload of effort and struggle?
And I’m not just talking "stuck" like where the heck do those yellow letters go in your daily Wordle. "Swill", really?
Recently, when folks have mentioned feeling disappointment about where they feel stuck or blocked, I hear an extra dose of self-judgement.
Like they know what they “should” do to move forward but they have absolutely no motivation to actually start and it's tempting to beat themselves up about it.
Oooohhhhhh boy, can I relate!
I recently got back from a glorious trip to San Francisco to watch my dear friends’ birds while they were out of town.
(Here’s an SF sidewalk pic of what I think is an iris whose center petals almost perfectly matched my lilac sneakers!)
During my trip, I was walking a lot every day. The weather was beautiful, and I loved exploring the gorgeous Bay Area flora and fauna. Plus, the weather was unseasonably warm during my visit - it even got up 78* one day!
At some point on the trip, I told myself that I wanted to keep up my daily walking practice after I returned back to Georgia.
Guess what?
I haven’t gone walking once since I got back almost a week ago. I feel stuck around creating a movement practice I actually want to do.
And you know what?
I’m approaching my lack of follow-through on the daily walks in a kind and gentle way.
I’m not blaming myself or making myself wrong and bad, I’m asking myself some questions.
What made my daily walks in San Francisco so much fun?
What felt different there?
Is there a way I can access that energy here?
What else might be possible? [And even more than that...]
What would actually feel fun for me?
Part of me wishes I could say in this note to you that I went on my first 10,000+ step walk this morning and "wow, did it feel great!", but to be completely honest with you, I just didn't feel like it.
Is there a place where you’re feelin' stuck?
Here are three ideas that I hope you might find helpful...
1) Remember what brought you joy as a child. In Season 4 Episode 8 of my Outgrow The Grind podcast, I interview Iffy Ibekwe. In this episode, Iffy shares how an unexpected clearing in her time, energy, and attention invited her to get back in touch with what she loved doing as a kid. Tune in to this episode for Iffy's vulnerable, insightful and joyful advice in Follow What’s Fun.
2) Look at where you’re choosing effort over ease. Are there places where you’re making things harder than they really need to be? In Monday's episode, I share two stories from my personal life about when I found myself trusting effort waaaaaaaaay more than ease. One was while looking for a place to live in New York City and the other was on the dance floor in Colorado. Listen to my stories + my riffing on ease vs. effort in Explore Ease Over Effort.
3) When nothing-nada-zilch seems to shift inside of you, be kind and gentle with yourself. Hold the whole thing lightly. Try putting your foot on the brake instead of the gas pedal. You’re not bad or wrong or lazy - you just haven’t decided to commit to the new thing yet. And maybe with a little exploration (like in the questions above), there's something else you'd rather do instead!
In my humble opinion, I don’t think growth is about having zero places where we aren’t doing or being what we want to do or be... [⬅️ that actually feels pretty boring and stagnant to me].
I think growth is about how we treat ourselves along the way.
Sending a smile to you,
Stacy
P.S. A relevant quote by Louise L. Hay that I love 💜 - "Remember, you have been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn't worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens."
