Feeling Stuck? Some Tips on Regaining Your Momentum

Sometimes when we talk about personal change and progress, we talk in pretty binary terms. We are either thriving or stagnated; either growing or stuck in a standstill. Those of us who have been actively engaged in personal change? We know differently. 

When you’re making changes in your life, when you’re taking steps toward your goals and dreams, the progress is rarely linear. 

There are times when you feel like all you can do is grow. You are taking the right steps, you’re seeing results, and you’re feeling that forward momentum every day. But even after long periods of growth, we all, at some point or another, get to a place where we start to feel a bit stuck in the mud. 

Maybe something happened that knocked you out of your momentum. Maybe you got sick, had family or relationship drama. Life does continue to happen, whatever our plans. 

It’s easy to think, in these moments of pause or regression, that we’ve lost our progress and we have to start from scratch. But this is just not true. 

Every step we take towards our goals strengthens new muscles. Every time we grow, we put new tools in our toolbox. This means that, even if we take a step back or take a break from our progress, we never have to start from square one again. 

Regression is a part of progress. We don’t like to talk about that part because it feels so much better to be moving forward, but the truth is that life just doesn’t work that way. 

The key to continuing your progress isn’t to never stop or falter. The key is to remember that you can always start again, and that when you do start again, you’re not starting from scratch. 

So, what can you do when you start to feel that stagnation; when you feel like you’re stuck?

·      Remind yourself that progress isn’t linear.

As lovely as it would be, life doesn’t just get better and better every day. Sometimes hard things happen. Sometimes we are knocked off course. That is normal and to be expected. Reminding yourself of this can take away the feeling that there is something wrong with you, or that you should give up, just because you’re in a moment of difficulty. 

·      Do a status check.

Where are you right now? Sit down and be honest about where you’re at in your life and in your work toward your goals. Do this without using negative language or putting yourself down. Take judgment out of it, and simply state the facts of where you are. 

·      Acknowledge the progress you’ve made so far.

If you’re feeling stuck, take a moment to list all the steps you’ve taken that have gotten you to where you are now. Even if you don’t like where you are now, I guarantee you’ve made positive changes in your life, made important choices, and done things of which you can be proud. Making time to acknowledge the work you’ve done not only feels good, but it also provides you with evidence that you already have gotten unstuck before, which means you are completely capable of doing it again. 

·      List the tools you’ve used successfully before. 

Think about those moments of progress you’ve had and write out what tools you used then. Maybe you utilized the support of your network. Maybe you did daily meditation. We all have tools that help us move forward, but we aren’t always aware that we’re using them. Bringing these tools to the forefront of your mind can help you then find ways to use them again to help you get moving again. 

·      Find one thing you can do to move forward.

We often get stuck because the progress we want to make seems too big; the change we want in our lives is too momentous. But change isn’t made in leaps and bounds. Change is made step by step, one move at a time. So, instead of pushing yourself toward your end goal, focus on the one small thing you can to today that will simply get you moving. It can be as small as writing a list, taking a walk, or making a phone call. Take the pressure off and just take one step. 

·      Give yourself grace.

Remember that you are a human being who is allowed to falter, and who deserves love and support. We all get to have times when we need extra help, or when we need a break. Give yourself the same grace you would give your best friend. Sometimes just allowing ourselves to be fallible humans frees us from the shame that gets in our way. 

Yes, we really do all get stuck at one point or another. It’s simply a part of life, but it doesn’t have to last forever. Try these tips the next time you’re feeling stagnant and see if you can get out of the mud just a bit more quickly this time. 

Need more help getting unstuck? Try coaching! You can schedule a free coaching session with me and see if that’s the right next step for you.