Feeling Stuck: 5 Ways To Take Control

I find myself feeling stuck sometimes. It creeps up on me and causes me to feel frustrated at the situation I am in. Yesterday could’ve been the perfect day and yet sometimes the next day can be a day of longing for something more. Feeling stuck where you are is a pretty human experience and it can really kill any joy we had in our current situation.

Maybe you feel stuck in your job, stuck in your daily routine, stuck financially or emotionally, I can promise you there is always a way out of that quicksand that you are caught in.

For me, I feel trapped in my current job. It’s a job I was desperate to do and yet for some reason, as I am writing this, I feel stuck in it. Maybe it’s because I know I can’t leave for the next couple of years, maybe it’s because it is my job that decides my weekly routine instead of me. As much as I know this job is very beneficial to me, I still can’t help but want to have a bit more freedom than I do at the moment.

Whatever you feel trapped in, you might feel a longing for more freedom, desperation for more power over life choices and a stronger sense of fulfilment. Whilst I don’t have a magic wand to fix it, here are a couple of ways that might help you feel better about your situation.

You always have a choice:

We tend to forget that the decisions we make are our own choice. Maybe not if it’s a situation out of our control but for everything else, we always have a choice. For example, I am choosing to stay in my current job, I could leave, find a better paying job, go travelling, but I am choosing to stay because I know that overall it is the best job for me at the moment. Whilst a certain situation can feel like it’s been forced on you, you still have a choice in the matter, a decision of what you will do about this given situation, how you approach it, the result that will come from getting through this situation. Remembering that you have freedom to choose these given factors can help you feel less stuck.

Be proactive:

So, you are stuck in a job you hate or a relationship you are no longer happy with? Be proactive and change the issue, face it head on. The longer you torture yourself in a certain situation the more pain you are going to feel overall. Again, as said I feel stuck in my job, so I have started this blog to help me deal with my emotions and hopefully, eventually create a side hustle from this. I try to stay active at the weekends, going sightseeing, booking cheap flights to random countries for weekend trips. All these things you can do and yet so many of us don’t. We prefer to be lazy and sulk in the misery of our assumed misfortune instead of actively seeking a solution.

Make time for yourself:

Some of these situations limit the time we get during the week for ourselves. This can massively affect how you view a situation if you are feeling like it’s taking up all your time. Make time for yourself, whether that means you need to wake up early, lower the time that other activities in your week take, prioritise what makes you happy most as this will help balance your emotions. Making time for yourself will give you a chance to sit back, relax and then come back to the problem with a different approach, maybe a more relaxed one.

Be Spontaneous:

Sometimes all you need to break out of that cage is to be spontaneous. Book a trip somewhere, try something new, get a second job, visit family and friend. The more fun you have, the more freedom you give yourself, the better you will feel about the situation. By having fun, you are proving it to yourself that even in the hardest of times when you feel stuck, you still have control over the free time that you do have left. You don’t have to spend your weeks living for the weekend. You can act now, change now, claw your way out of that quicksand now.

Speak about it:

Sharing your troubles will make you feel so much better. The amount of people that will be able to relate to your situation is ridiculous. Everyone goes through times of feeling trapped. They might be able to give you a different perspective that you haven’t thought of, a solution even to your issue and they can remind you that everything will be ok, which it will! Sharing can be the best thing you do as it takes some of the pressure off of yourself. Don't be struggling by yourself, people will want to help you, you just have to ask.

Everything happens for a reason:

What if the good times you are waiting for are on the cusp of becoming real. What if you are at the hardest part in the climb before you reach the top? Don’t give up. Remember that maybe, this current situation is for a purpose. It’s giving you the motivation to escape the web you are caught in. Giving you the experience of what it’s like to be stuck so you know when something isn’t right. Giving you the time so that maybe, in the future when someone comes to you saying they feel trapped, you will have just the right advice to give them. Believe in the process you are in. Don’t just accept it, fight to make it as beneficial as possible but believe that it is for a purpose that you are unable to see for now.

Financial:

For financial troubles it will be slightly different as you might not be able to afford to do something spontaneous and getting a second job isn’t something that will exactly spark your excitement. But, a couple months of pain might give you the finances you need to escape your financial trouble, it might allow you to start that business, buy that house, buy that car that will open up a whole new world of opportunity.

Challenge:

So, I challenge you to try to be spontaneous, try to make time for yourself, be the master of the free time that you have.

I will give you 1 month to implement what I have spoken about.

I want you to message me on Instagram to let me know you have started, give me an overview of your situation and then in a month’s time, tell me how it has changed, if it has changed for the better or the worse. Hold yourself accountable.

Hope you enjoyed the read.

SunTide

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