It’s easy to feel stuck or stressed. It happens to almost everyone at times as we lead busy lives that include work, home, friends, and more.
Everyone’s situation is unique. But there is a process that is applied across the board to get unstuck and reduce stress. These three steps will allow you to move forward and live more in flow.
1. Create some traction
Has your car ever got stuck in a snow bank? You keep hitting the accelerator, making the car work harder and harder, but the wheels just spin instead. Throw some sand under the wheels though, and all of a sudden it starts moving.
Being stuck or stressed in life can be a lot like that. You feel like you’re working hard to change, but you’re getting nowhere.
What you need is that traction. Identify one or two practical and manageable actions, and get moving.
2. Give yourself a break
When you’re overwhelmed or frustrated (or both), it’s hard to think clearly or find new perspectives on what’s going on.
If you grew up driving in winter conditions, you know what to do when you get stuck. But as a Southern Californian, my first experience of getting stuck in the snow was unnerving. I had no idea how to make the car move so I just kept doing the same thing over and over again, training myself in amazing shape!
It wasn’t until I finally got out of the car and took a deep breath that I realized I needed something for traction. (Everyone who knows how to drive in the snow can stop laughing now.) Fortunately, I had a bag of kitty litter in my trunk that hadn’t made it to the house yet.
Creating room to breathe opens up space for new ideas. It allows you to listen to your instinct, your heart and your intuition. A few minutes of just taking deep breaths, taking a short walk, or dancing around the room to some great music may be all you need.
3. Explore general issues
Once you have traction and room to breathe, it’s much easier to gain clarity. You can be more honest with yourself about what In fact most important and what concessions you are willing to make. You will have more emotional and mental energy to challenge your assumptions and open up to new possibilities.
It’s that kind of expansive thinking that you need to integrate the three dimensions of your life: who you are, what you do, and how you do it. When you put these three elements together, you really are living in flow.
First steps creating traction
The night I got stuck on the snowy road, I was thrilled to realize that I didn’t have to wait for warmer weather to get moving again. You don’t have to wait to get going either!!
Ask yourself where you are stuck right now. Be specific and resist any temptation to criticize yourself.
Pick a small step that you can take to gain some traction. How about shutting down your email program for 30 minutes a day to focus on important projects? Maybe you want to work on your resume for 15 minutes every morning to find a better employment situation. Whatever your goal, you can start your day by writing one little thing to do that day to get you one step closer to what you want.
Acknowledge your progress every day. And if you fall short, learn from what happened, be kind to yourself, and start over.
You can detach yourself and reduce stress. If you follow these three steps, you’ll soon be up and running again.