3 Key Reasons Why You Get Stuck

Getting stuck

Who wants to be stuck? Raise your hands. Well, I’m guessing that’s no one. After all, who wants to be trapped in the same place. It is not fun. There are reasons why you get stuck.

In 3 Simple Ways to Know When You Are Stuck, we looked at the signals of the loss of clarity, capacity, and confidence. Just as there are signals to let you know it is happening, there are reasons why you get stuck.

So, why does it happen? How do you get to that place?

Here are three key reasons why you get stuck and seem unable to make progress in life. 

Why You Get Stuck #1: Rapid Change

Change is inevitable. Trying to stop it is as futile as trying to stop the tide from coming in. Yet, any change can throw you off balance. This may be change at the national level, in your workplace, in your personal life. It doesn’t matter much. Change has an impact on us. The impact varies from person to person. It can be negative.

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Not only is change inevitable, you are also dealing with rapid change.

Here is what I mean. Due to technological advances and other factors, we are in a time of rapid change. Jobs, relationships . . . everything is changing at an ever increasing rate. What you planned today for tomorrow, may not work when tomorrow gets here. This is because when you reach tomorrow, it is vastly different from what you envisaged. This is at the personal, familial, societal, national, and global levels.

One of the things with rapid change is that it is often unexpected. Now, there is a certain type of unexpected change with which we have always have to deal. This may be…

• A sudden death
• The unexpected firing from a job
• Aquarrel that leads to a rupture in a relationship . . .

Unexpected change is particularly hard. These days it seems to occur more frequently. Rapid and unforeseen changes are one of three key reasons why you become stuck.

Why You Get Stuck #2: Crisis

Crises comes in many forms. The changes you encounter can also be crises or bring them about.

Loss is a form of crisis.

• This could be the type of loss we mentioned earlier—the death of a loved one and the loss of a job.
• In addition, there is the loss of savings, the rupture of a relationship . . . all of these can have a devastating effect on you.

You go into crisis mode and shut down.

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• What do you do now in the face of these losses?
• What do you do now that the plans you have made can no longer come to fruition?

There is also the crisis that comes from a natural disaster that disrupts your entire life. For some people, a technological failure brings on a crisis. You go to your favorite website or social media platform. It is not working or you’ve been banned. Your routine is disrupted. As simple as that may seem, it is a crisis for some people. They may be part of their income stream. Or, your primary means of communicating with loved ones or the outside world. In the face of such failure, you become non-functional.

A crisis can also be produced by a challenge to your identity. You may be falsely accused or wrongfully terminated and you experience an identity crisis. You face divorce or a child who accuses you of being a terrible parent. When you who are is wrapped up in any of these external realities and associations, you go into crisis mode. You shut down. You’re stuck.

Indeed, crises are real and experiencing one could be a reason why you get stuck.

Why You Get Stuck #3: Inadequate resources

There are times when the resources that you have are unequal to the situation with which you are faced. That is another key reason why you get stuck. 

Initially, it seems as if your resources are enough. Then something changes. It’s like the person who set out on a journey with a full tank of gas. However, they ended up burning a lot of it on the highway because they were stuck in traffic due to an accident. They ran out of gas and got stuck.

For you, anyone of those rapid changes we mentioned earlier could deplete your emotional or financial or other resources. This is a reality of the world in which you live.

Inadequate resources also happen when you take on too much. You don’t factor in the full time and other resources involved in making a commitment. This is one I see with my clients. Before you know it, you are out of time, stressed, and overwhelmed. It is a reason why get stuck.

Indeed, time is a big resource that we run out of easily. If you find pleasure in serving others, chances are you have a hard time saying the word, “no.” What you don’t realize is that “no” is a service to you and others. This way, you manage your resources better and are able to present people with the best you. You serve with confidence because you are neither stuck nor feeling trapped. In a similar vein, be sure to check out 3 Simple Ways to Know when You Are Stuck.

• Financial resources. That’s a big one. Some people seem to have so much that it doesn’t matter what they do with it. However, for the average person, you need to manage your financial resources well. Otherwise, it will be a big reason why you get stuck. 
• Yes. Careful management. When you’re stuck because of finances, it looks like you needing something but not having the money with which to get it. Or, your rent is due but . . . It may be that you need to upgrade your skills to earn more, but . . . where is the money? It is an important resource and a possible reason why you get stuck.
• Here is another resource that could lead to you being stuck—your health. How does it show itself? Physically, you want to do a lot but, you just can’t. You are not well enough. Of course, the physical aspect could just be that you need a realistic appraisal of your capacity. Superman and Superwoman only exist in the movies.
• There is also the issue of your spiritual resources. When you don’t take time to stop and breathe, pray, if you are a person of faith, reflect on Scriptures and other inspirational writings, you run empty. You become like the car which got stuck in traffic on the highway and ran out of gas.

Whether your lack of resources is real or imagined, it is real to you. This lack can stop you in your tracks and is a reason why you get stuck.

Rapid changes, crises, inadequate resources—these are three key reasons why you get stuck. Now this is not an exhaustive list of reasons, but these are important ones. 

In closing, note that fear often runs through all of these.

SEE ALSO: If you want to get more from your life, and are looking for concrete action steps to get you there, check out our Request a Coach page. It’s a “cut the fence-sitting and take action” way to tackle your issues and actually find success. You’ll be matched with the coaches most suited to you to get you from where you are to where you want to be. To get off the fence and start to take action, click or tap here.

• You are afraid of what the change brings, of embracing and moving with it.
• Or, you are afraid of the future in the face of changes and crises.
• It could even be that when your resources run out you become petrified with fear instead of looking at the 3 Critical Things to Do to Get Unstuck Now

Over to you

What do you do to move from being stuck?

More in the series

Be sure to read my other articles in the series:

3 Simple Ways to Know when You are Stuck

3 Critical Things to Do to Get Unstuck Now

If you want to get more from your life, and are looking for concrete action steps to get you there, check out our Request a Coach page. It’s a “cut the fence-sitting and take action” way to tackle your issues and actually find success. You’ll be matched with the coaches most suited to you to get you from where you are to where you want to be. To get off the fence and start to take action, click or tap here.