What To Do When You Feel Stuck

For the most part, I’ve lived by the maxim that says if you don’t like something in your life, change it. Don’t complain about it. Don’t blame someone else for it, and don’t merely tolerate it. Instead, get busy, and get to work doing all you can to change it. It’s a strategy that’s paid off for me time and again, and I highly recommend it for most of life’s troubles.

Still, there are situations that are beyond our ability to change. No matter how hard we try, we’ll never make them different than what they are. The loss of a loved one, for example, or the ending of a relationship that’s run its course.

These are the times when we must surrender to what is. These are the times when the greatest act of compassion is to give yourself time to mourn. Care for yourself and know the sun will rise tomorrow, life will go on, and time will heal your pain.

There are also situations that fall somewhere in the middle. It’s clear that you have the ability to create change, and you put forth the effort to bring it about. Yet, as hard as you try, nothing seems to be happening. Perhaps you try harder. Maybe you take a different approach. Still, you seem to be stuck.

I find these times the most challenging. Your heart is telling you to persevere while the Universe seems to be telling you to surrender.

Over the last few years, I’ve come to understand times like these call for wisdom, trust and patience. Wisdom to understand the Universe has its own timetable. Trust that things are happening for your greater good; things you can neither see nor understand. And patience to allow everything to unfold just as it should.

In other words, if you’ve done all you can do, and nothing seems to be changing, maybe it’s time to let it go for a bit. Loosen your grip. Go to the beach. Take a walk in the woods. Laugh with friends and family. Breeeeeath. Enjoy life, and allow things to happen in their own time. It’s much more enjoyable than the alternative.