3 Practical Steps to Getting Unstuck
Ever felt stuck in a rut? Chances are like most of us you have. What tends to happen then is we are so stuck in our minds, unable to see the big picture, to make a move, to the extent that we feel it in our bodies. Our shoulders and necks are tense, our minds are full and we can’t think of anything else. We feel anxious, and it all becomes a vicious cycle that feeds into itself.
There are 3 steps you can take to get unstuck.
1) Watch your language
Being stuck is a metaphor, and metaphors are powerful. They take over our minds, keep us in a specific a way of thinking. Really, in most cases, the kind of ‘stuckness’ we are talking about is not really being stuck. Using that language makes us FEEL stuck, and thus unable to make decisions. Are you really stuck between a rock and a hard place?
The first thing is to watch the language that we use when we communicate these feelings, these states of mind. You can change your life by changing your language.
The first step in shifting this state is to set an intention and commitment. It does not have to be a whole resolution, with a process and plan, simply an intention. This intention can drive everything that you do. Use it as a daily reminder. Then, make the commitment to that intention.
Still related to language, catch if you are speaking in extremes, or ‘black or white’. It’s amazing what can happen when you change a ‘this…or that’, a ‘yes…but…’ to a ‘yes…AND…’.
2) Move
The fastest way to shift your state is with your body. You can shift your state, from overwhelmed, depressed, anxious, whatever is in your mind, to a different state by physically shifting your posture.
Amy Cuddy, Harvard professor of leadership, conducted scientific research on this. “Expanding your body causes you to think about yourself in a positive light and to trust in that self-concept. It also clears your head, making space for creativity, cognitive persistence, and abstract thinking”. She talks about Power Poses, and expansive posture, which shapes the way we feel and think about ourselves. When you are continuously slumped for example, you feel less powerful, less confident, more anxious.
If you continue to stay thinking about getting out of your funk, you will keep feeding into the cycle. Move, breathe. All it takes sometimes is 2 minutes. The act of changing your breathing can significantly give you a feeling of strength, significantly altering your nervous system, thereby attenuating an overactive fight-or-flight response.
3) Uncover
Once you have started shifting and moving away from the rigid state, start to unpeel what is stopping you. Dig deep inside yourself to figure out what is holding you there, what limiting belief system is present, what story it is that you are telling yourself about your situation. When you see the truth, it instantly changes the game.
Doing this kind of work, raising your self-awareness, allows you to start tapping into your internal leader, your best self, and eventually train yourself to snap out of it.
I partner with leaders to transform their mindsets and behaviors so that they lead and live wholeheartedly and powerfully. If you are looking for a partner to get unstuck, contact me.