Earlier this month, I made a post about feeling stuck. In that post, I offered some personal reflections about how I have felt in the last few months and a mantra I was beginning to implement when I felt stuck. I invite you to read that post here in case you’re curious.

This time of reflection made me begin to consider a simple question, “What leads us to get ‘stuck?'”

It’s not like anyone wakes up one day and feels a dramatic urge to be paralyzed and unsure about a part of their life.

No one yearns to feel stuck, and yet so many people find themselves in that very place.

So here are a few circumstances that may help you identify how you became stuck, or more importantly, keep you from getting stuck in the first place. Each one might end up becoming its own blog post. But for now, I’ll keep it to a few sentences of commentary.

For nearly every person, business, and organization, the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 was seen as a major setback. All momentum and future plans abruptly went on hold as the world navigated a pandemic.

Yet, setbacks don’t need to be global to be impactful.

Personal interruptions, organizational adjustments, and even weather events can cause setbacks arresting all advancement you previously had.

When we start on a new project, hobby, goal, or dream, we are often starry-eyed with high levels of motivation.  However, this can quickly get derailed by uncertainty.

Uncertainty shows up when you don’t know what to do next…either because you seem to have no options, or perhaps because there seem to be an infinite number of options.

When you are not sure where to go with your book, career, relationship, or recovery, it’s easy to get a sense that you’re stuck.

The unknown and the different intimidate us. Fear will force us into the known and familiar. Fear will tell us we can’t, and shouldn’t, and give us one million reasons why.

Yet, as the classic quote from J.A. Shedd goes, “A ship in harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.”

A decade ago I had never even heard of imposter syndrome. Now, I recognize it in my own life as well as the lives of many others. I even wrote about it here. A cousin of fear, imposter syndrome will tell the author of a dozen best-selling books that they’re not a “real” author. Imposter syndrome will tell a respected professional that they have everyone fooled and don’t really know what they’re talking about.

Imposter syndrome can also keep you from taking the step toward your goals and leave you feeling stuck.

These are four examples of what emotions or circumstances can lead us to feel stuck in some area of our lives. What would you include that has made you, or others, feel stuck?