Stuck? 6 Steps to Shift yourself… {Part 1}

Stuckness.

That icky, gooey, “help-I’m-moving-through-treacle” feeling.

We ALL get stuck at times; experiencing slumps and troughs.

Those times when it feels like NOTHING is happening.
You are in the forest and have completely lost your way.
The path of your dreams seems like a faint memory. Fear, self-doubt and criticism creep in.

Or you have no idea what your dreams and goals are or how to access them.

Or you are in a situation that sucks and you have no clue how to shift it.

“Stuckness” is an inevitable part of life.   

Stuck can be Fear (which shows up as procrastination, distraction, laziness)
Or
Stuck can be part of Divine Timing eg. it’s not the right time to be moving.
Or
Stuck can be “It’s time to rest”

So, how do you tell the difference?
You don’t.
Because they all feel very similar and when you are Stuck it is really hard to distinguish.

No matter which form of “stuck” you are experiencing, here are 6 steps to shift that feeling of being stuck.

1. Become Aware that you Stuck (and in a negative space)

Awareness is always the first step in overcoming anything.

So if you already know you’re stuck: Congrats!  You’re 85% of the way out of it.

The best barometer for your life is your emotional state.

Ask the question – “How do I feel right now?”
By becoming AWARE of your spiral into negativity and frustration you can begin to work your way out of it.

By becoming aware of the “stuckness” you suddenly become the observer of the situation rather than being the drowning victim in the sea of drama.

Once you can be both the observer and the drowning victim at the same time, the observer can help the victim get out of the perilous situation.

2.  Be Kind and Gentle with yourself

Once you are aware of being Stuck, can you be kind and gentle with yourself?

Often what keeps you in the “stickiness of stuckness” is your harsh inner critic that moans about what “should be happening” and how useless/ not good enough/ lazy (etc. etc.) you are.    Sound Familiar?

Can you treat yourself in the same way you would handle your 5-year-old daughter if she was stuck?

Kindness.  Gentleness. Love.

A question I ask myself often is

“What is the kindest most gentle thing I can do for myself right now?”

If a “nap” is the answer.  Then take a nap.
This is often a clear indication that your stuck feeling is actually your need for rest.

3. Get the emotion out

The quickest and best way to move emotion is to move the body.

E-motion is merely “Energy in Motion”.

Our upbringing, culture and conditioning has taught us how to suppress negative emotions and ‘not show them’.

Watch young children and notice how quickly their emotions shift and change.

They go from being excited and upbeat and two minutes later in angry tantrum and a few minutes later in silent curiosity.

They are young and haven’t been conditioned and thus express all of their emotions as each emotion arises and they do not suppress their emotions.

For this reason they are able to experience the emotion in the present, let it go and move onto the next emotion.

This fast cycling of emotions is incredibly healthy (and natural).

It merely demonstrates energy moving in its natural rhythm and expressing itself through emotion.

So, when you feel negative emotion or being stuck:  Move your Body.

It can be as simple as breathing deeply – breathe is highly effective for moving energy.

It could be getting up and walking around, or doing some exercise until you feel a shift.

Or you may want to shift the energy with sound and your voice, which is also incredibly effective.  This means sigh, shout, cry or make frustrated noises – whatever it takes to move the negative emotion out of the body.

Step 4 to 6?   Will be popping up here next week. Look out for it 

In the meantime, I’d LOVE to hear from you what techniques you use to shift out of being stuck.