3 Critical Things To Do To Get Unstuck Now

There is no shame in getting help

What happens when you're stuck?

What do you do when your car gets stuck in the mud or the snow and you want to get unstuck? If you’ve never experienced this before you might press harder on the accelerator, rev up some more. You do this in the hope of becoming unstuck.

However, if you’ve had any experience with it, either personally or seeing it happen with others, you know that is the worst thing you can do. You’ll burn up gas, mess up your engine, and just go deeper. What do you then? You stop, cut the engine and get help.

What does help look like? It depends. First of all it depends on how deeply you’re in. Similarly, it also depends on whether or not you have everything you need in your trunk. These are things that you can use to either give you traction at your wheels or dig you out. It’s simply using those implements. However, if you don’t have what you need, you have to find someone who can assist you. Either way, you have to get help beyond sitting at the steering wheel and putting your foot on the accelerator.

Why then do you try to “keep going” in life when you’re stuck? All you’re doing is burning up energy while finding yourself in a worse situation. You’re living in denial, living with stress and frustration. You’re also affecting your health and relationships negatively.

Here then are three things to do when you are stuck to get unstuck now:

Get Unstuck Now #1: Stop

This might seem counter intuitive. Your instinct is to keep going and try harder. Activity seems to signal progress so you go into the do-something-do-anything mode. However, when you keep going without stopping, you’re hitting out blindly.

First of all, you still do not know why you got stuck in the first place.

Is it because of the situation you’re in?
Was it something someone said that shook your confidence?

There are many questions that you can ask as you look around and seek to find the reason for being stuck. This is necessary to get unstuck now.

In seeking to find out why you are stuck, remember that we looked at three of these key reasons in the article, 3 Key Reasons Why You Get Stuck. Check it out and see if your reason is there. Those are broad so they would give you at least a clue as to what is going on.

Now, here is the great thing about stopping. It allows you to assess yourself and your situation. It keeps you from going around in circles. You avoid simply pressing on and digging yourself into a deeper hole. Yes. When you are stuck, stop to get unstuck now.

Get Unstuck Now #2: Get help

There is no shame in getting help. As a matter of fact, it is wisdom. You were not meant to be alone but to be in relationship with others. There are so many resources available to you.

Help will allow you to effectively assess what is happening. Two heads are better than one. Other people see things that you are unable to see. Moreover, when you get help you will broaden the pool of resources from which you draw. This will greatly help to propel your forward movement.

What are some ways in which you can get help?

You can go online and use a search engine to find out how to solve the problem. The internet is a great resources. In addition, there are books on many subjects that you can read. Furthermore, you have friends or other loved ones who have experienced what you’re dealing with to whom you can turn. If you are a person of faith, you can pray and ask God for wisdom and direction.

What about courses? A course may help you become unstuck. You can also go the professional route to consult with trained counselors, mentors and coaches.

Getting help can be as simple as a click or drive away. Don’t stay stuck. Use help to get unstuck now.

Get Unstuck Now #3: Engage

You’ve stopped and done your assessment. You know what is happening and why. You’ve gotten help. Through it all, you have also come to a greater understanding of who you are. Now, you have your solution. What remains is for you to engage.

Engage the solution. This may seem simple but it is hard to get going after being stuck in a rut. It calls for a determined effort. It calls for added strength. Why? The solution is going to require some type of change. Change, we found out in “3 Key Reasons Why You Get Stuck,” can be paralyzing. However, it need not be.

First of all, make a commitment that you are going to move forward regardless of what happens. You will move, even if you have to crawl. Make that commitment to yourself. Make it to an accountability partner. Such a person could be a friend, relative, mentor, or a trained professional like a counselor, mentor or coach.

Engaging begins with you and you alone. Own it and take responsibility for it. Then, engage to get unstuck now.

As you go forward, continue to draw on your inner and outer resources. As noted above, you can extend the help you received into this period of change. Do so without guilt. It’s wisdom.

Being stuck is not fun. Anyone who has been there can tell you. If you’re there, you know it. I can even share some personal stories, but the point is, you don’t have to live there. Use the 3 critical keys and get unstuck now.