As you grow up, you hear lots of advice from older generations about approaching life. There are plenty of wise quotes circulating that you’ll end up hearing, whether from movies like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’s iconic quote “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” or from the famous political and spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi who said, “There is more to life than increasing its speed.”
Sometimes when you hear these words of advice, you feel pressured into following them, as if not following them would mean missing out on something so magnificent.
While there is some truth about going out and trying something new, which leads to gaining new experiences, not all people are in the right mindset to be adventurous. With the constant pressure from both ends telling you to step up and take a chance and the other telling you to relax and take it slow, what happens is that end up confused and your perspective gets blurry. Stuck between taking risks and staying in your comfort zone, and you can’t fully articulate how you feel because of the peer pressure on what to do with your life being louder than what’s going on inside your head.
Once again, both pieces of advice are relevant, but they should be applied in specific situations and at the right time. It's important to consider that not everyone has the same motivation and readiness to follow instructions, as these people whether friends, family members, or partners sometimes fail to see the full picture of what you are going through.
The phase where you’re stuck in the middle of the road and with no clear direction, shouldn’t be underestimated, while kudos to you for reaching out for guidance, sometimes the more advice you take, the more confused you end up being.
So what is the solution? How can you know when is it the right time to take risks and when is it to stop and be content being in your comfort zone?
In this article, we will try to provide some advice on how to get out of this phase
Accept Your Situation Without Shame
Understandably, there are feelings of shame and defeat going on inside your mind that you cannot simply shake off.
Feeling helpless and stuck not knowing what to do in your life can make you feel like you’re immature and not a grown adult, but there’s something that trumps all of that, which is the stuck phase happens to lots of people and is a part of life.
So it’s best to accept your situation and not feel any ounce of shame or weakness for simply not knowing which direction to take.
Write What You’re Feeling
Whether on your notes app or your notebook, writing what you’re feeling and the things that happened in your life, helps you vent more and lets you admit things you usually try to hide in your subconscious.
The moment you finally release everything you’ve been afraid to share, admit, or not even aware they is happening in your mind, you will get a sense of clarity on what to do in your situation.
Listen to Your Intuition
Imagine this scenario, you are in the stuck phase and want something new and exciting in life, you have an opportunity to apply for a new job, travel, or meet new people, but the voice inside your mind is telling you no, does this mean you’re afraid of taking risks? Some situations require stepping up and taking risks, especially when you’re in a burnout phase, and other times, being content with what you have now is a blessing in disguise, for you don’t know what these new ventures will hold. Your intuition is never wrong, so if you feel something is off, then you shouldn’t do so, even if you’re desperate for change. Don't let your desire for change lead you into an unhappy situation.
Seek Help From Professionals
The amazing thing about therapy or listening to life coaches is that they don’t impose judgment nor do they force their opinions on you.
What they do best is listen to you and allow you to pinpoint where things went wrong and how can you fix it.
If we describe it in terms of learning how to drive in the middle of a blizzard, they help you calm down so you can take matters into your own hands and be in charge.
Test the Waters
Who said that all you need is to go big or go home? Sometimes all you need to do is take small steps, testing the water as they say, so if you don’t like what you have seen or feel uncomfortable, you can say that you’ve tried and retreat to your comfort zone.
This way you got the best of both worlds, you tried something new but not excessively, and when the results weren’t up to par, you got back to where you were.
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