The uncomfortable truth: you’re not actually stuck.
“You’re not stuck. Stuck is a feeling. It’s not an actuality.”
How “Stuck” Works
- You want something (a promotion, a change)
- You think of ways to get it
- You don’t like the potential consequences of those ways
- You feel stuck
But notice: you have options. You just don’t like them.
“You feel stuck because you do not like the potential consequences of the ways that you see to get unstuck.”
The Illusion of No Options
Fear makes you think in binary: will it work or won’t it? But there are always many ways to approach something.
“Ask my boss for a promotion” could mean:
- “I want a promotion”
- “What would it take for me to get a promotion?”
- “What would make you excited to promote me?”
Same action, completely different consequences.
The False Endpoint
Fear also makes us see consequences as final. But what happens after the feared consequence? Usually, life continues—often better than before.
Related Concepts
- Fear limits what options you can see
- Self-judgment is a defense against feeling emotions
- The avoidance of the feeling is the stuckness, not the feeling itself