How to Get Unstuck
photo taken by Rachael Lorraine Grosz Jones, Soulquestt photography
Today is day 5 of my 30-day blog challenge! And I’m not gonna lie, I’m feeling rather stuck today. When I started this challenge, I decided that I was going to trust in the flow of the universe and write what comes. I have a few topics in mind, but for the most part, I’m allowing life to tell me what to write.
Today my mind is all over the place. I’ve thought of different topics and started writing on several of them, but nothing feels inspired. Call it writers block. Procrastination. Resistance. Or, all of the above. When you’re full of ideas, how do you choose one to move forward? How do you know which is the right one? Is there a right one?
The right one ends up being the one that moves you into action.
And oddly enough, what’s moving me into action is writing about being stuck. It’s similar to the Choose Again Method that I wrote about in “Everything is Wrong”. The first step in the Choose Again Method is to Notice the Thought. The moment you notice and acknowledge what’s going on is the moment you can take steps towards moving through it.
When we’re stuck, the longer we stay in the place of stuck, the harder it will be to shift.
We often shy away from calling ourselves out when something is out of alignment. We fight with it, resist it, distract ourselves from it...until we choose to lean into the discomfort, or let ourselves off the hook by saying we’ll start again tomorrow. And saying you’ll start tomorrow is a dangerous slope. You might as well not do it.
This is why commitment is so important. When we’re not fully committed to something, we have one foot in and one foot out. As long as there’s a foot out, we don’t really have to go all in. Yet when we’re committed and have both feet in, we’re more likely to do the actions we said we were going to do. This is why challenges work well for me.
When I create a challenge and enroll others in what I’m doing, I’m more apt to fulfill on my promises.
I’m 2017, I enrolled in Yoga Teacher Training. As with most things I say “Yes!” to, I wasn’t quite clear what I was getting myself into. I knew I loved yoga and wanted to enhance my knowledge and practice. When I arrived for our first day of training, I learned that the program would be an intense 8 weeks of classes, teaching, and training. As part of our 200-hour certification, we had to take 60 yoga classes. I was determined to complete my certification on time by completing all of the coursework and attending all of the classes within the 60-day period. Determination, enrolling others in my commitment, and action kept me going. I was still working a full-time corporate job at the time in addition to being involved in a 5-month leadership course. By normal standards, it was too much to do at once and unlikely that I’d keep my commitments. I was committed though. I committed to showing up even when I didn’t feel like it. In the end, I completed all of my coursework, 73 yoga classes, and obtained my certification.
There’s power in giving voice to what we’re doing or what we want.
It’s even more powerful when we enroll others in our commitment and take inspired action to fulfill upon what we said we were going to do. I’ve been afraid of commitment most of my life. I used to have the view: “If I commit to something, I’ll be trapped”. This view caused me to keep loose plans, let myself off the hook, and not do the thing I said I was going to do. It’s taken a lot of transformative work for me to realize that commitment actually leads to freedom. And even with this realization, I still have emotions stored in my body that show up every time I’m faced with a commitment. The emotions cause resistance. Luckily, I don’t have to sit with the emotions for too long. I can feel what’s coming up, acknowledge it, ask myself, “Isn’t that interesting that I’m in this place again?”—and create a new interpretation around it.
So today, when resistance and feeling stuck showed up, I was able to move through it by acknowledging what it is (“I feel stuck”) and take steps to move me into action for completing today’s commitment.
How do you identify which steps to take when you’re feeling stuck?
Make a list of activities or practices that will support you in moving into a higher vibration. My go-to’s are meditation, going for a walk, yoga, and dancing.
Choose the practice that feels best for you in the moment. Ask yourself, “What do I need in order to move through being stuck?” Allow the answer to come.
Do the practice. Notice how changing your environment or getting into your body causes you to shift into action.
Take inspired action with your commitment.
Celebrate! Once you’ve completed your commitment, do something that feels good to reward yourself.
I knew the moment I was getting stuck that I needed to get outside and go for a walk. I took my phone with me and began writing as I was walking. As a result, I was able to get out of my head and into my body, and even get in 1.5 miles around the neighborhood! I’ve honored my commitment, completed today’s blog and now can celebrate!
My littles dubbed today as Aunt Robin Day, so I’m going to celebrate by having a dance party with my them.