Five Signs your Life Might Be Stuck
Does your life need a jumpstart?
At Onsite we help people optimize life and build meaning and value into the human experience. We believe it’s not something we need but rather something we all deserve. However, many of us don’t fully recognize our need to optimize our lives, we’ve gotten too used to living one way when a better, fuller life is just on the other side of our curiosity.
What we’ve found is that people can’t always fully articulate their experiences; they just know something isn’t right. They feel it. They know what they’re doing isn’t working, but they’re not sure how they got it or what to do next.
Even when they can articulate what they’re experiencing, people often use vague words and phrases. They say things like: I feel stuck. I’m in a funk. My life just isn’t working anymore. I just feel off.
Have you been there? Not sure if you’re currently there?
Here are Five Signs Your Life Might Be Stuck
1. What Used to Work Isn’t Working
It can be a paralyzing experience when you realize that everything that used to work in life simply stops working.
From well-worn habits to relationships to the type of breakfast you eat, when our lives are stuck and stagnant, it is common for things to stop serving us.
Three questions to ask when you feel this way:
- What in my life feels like it is working?
- What things have served me in previous seasons that aren’t serving me now?
- If I could wave a magic wand and fix something in my life, what would it be?
2. You’re Apathetic
Sometimes we’ve gone beyond where things have stopped working to the point where we have stopped caring if our lives aren’t working.
If you’re feeling apathetic and indifferent toward your circumstances, that might be a solid sign that your life has reached a bit of a plateau.
Three questions to ask when you feel this way:
- On a scale of 1-10 (1 being not at all, 10 being completely) how invested do I feel in life?
- Are there fundamental parts of my personality that feel like they are missing?
- In what areas do I feel de-vested? How does that make me feel?
3. Safe Voices Are Expressing Concern
One of the main ways we can identify that our lives need a jumpstart is by listening to the safe voices around us. What kind of feedback are the people you trust providing you about your current season of life?
Are you hearing consistent themes? Are multiple people expressing similar unsolicited and solicited input?
If you’re hearing it from multiple sources, it might be time to heed their concern and get curious about the state of your life.
Three questions to ask when you feel this way:
- What are the safe people in my life telling me?
- Have I invited my people into my life in this season?
- Am I isolating and avoiding hearing feedback that I don’t want to hear?
4. You Feel Exhausted
In her book Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts, Dr. Brené Brown dives into the idea of exhaustion amongst leaders. She recalls a story from a high-ranking military officer who asked a crowd of subordinates to raise their hands if they felt “exhausted.” She then pressed them further and asked those that identified exhaustion to raise their hands if they feel lonely.
It prompts us to ask the question, are we exhausted, or are we lonely?
Seasons of exhaustion are often an indicator of burnout. Your resources have been depleted, and can’t sustain your current demands. One of the resources few of us factor in is the presence of safe community. (Perhaps even the last sign felt foreign because you don’t have safe voices speaking in your life)
When we’re lonely and disconnected, our likelihood of feeling stuck is higher. We’re wired for connection, and community has a way of offering us a path forward we couldn’t find on our own.
Related: Building Healthy Community
Three questions to ask when you feel this way:
- On a scale of 1-10, how connected do I feel in this season?
- How often in the week would I identify that I’m exhausted? How does it feel to substitute lonely for exhausted?
- What is one small action I can take to reach out for connection this week?
5. You Want to Escape
Sometimes we can identify that we’re in a funk earlier by paying attention to our actions. For example, you may not be able to name that you’re being activated by something, but you can key into the unhealthy, escapist behaviors that you tend to partake in during times of stress and turmoil.
At Onsite, we often call these behaviors medicators. We define them as anything external we use to turn down the noise and distract ourselves from what’s going on in our internal world.
Medicators come in all shapes and sizes, from overtly destructive like addiction or substance use, but they can also be covert, like workaholism or busyness.
If you find yourself pursuing behaviors that help you numb and ignore what you’re feeling, your life might be stuck.
Three questions to ask when you feel this way:
- Do I feel present in my life?
- How am I coping in this season? Am I turning to escapist behaviors?
- How connected do I feel to my internal world?
We’re all stuck from time to time, but there is a path forward—and it starts right here, right now. When we come to a crossroads like this, we can either choose to stay stuck or recognize that this moment can serve as a catalyst for real, lasting change.
We’ve created a brand-new free micro course just for you. You don’t have to stay in your funk alone! Join us for What To Do When Your Life Needs a Jump-Start. Together we’ll explore 3 Steps to Get Unstuck!
