Are you stagnant or stuck? We are starting today’s post with a question. As I write this post or type it up if we are going to get into the technicality of things, it dawns on me that this is the last post for the month of April. How time flies. Somehow we have completed a quarter of the year 2019 already. So with a quarter of the year gone how is that new year resolutions going? Like me are you feeling stuck or stagnant or are you moving along just fine?
Gratitude first, Thank You
I just want to say thank you to all my readers for your constant engagement on ThisJaneAintPlain. It would not exist without you. I am very grateful to have the opportunity to share on my here my story, motivation for myself and others and all those ‘adulting’ things like finance, travelling, bills and the rest. I am not an expert in any of these fields but what I have is an experience which I am more than happy to pass on for others to learn if they can from it.
So which one is it, Stuck or Stagnant?
The question at the beginning of this post is one I have had to ask myself quite recently. Am I stuck or stagnant? This came about as I was reflecting on the goals that I had set at the beginning of the year. Some of them I had achieved and stayed consistent but they were areas that I was feeling stuck, remember that running goal I had set? But why was I feeling stuck? Was I actually stuck or was I using the wrong term for where I was? And if I was actually stuck, what had led me there. Here is an idea for you to reflect on. Your final results in your goals in a years time are decided by what you decided to do this morning, this day. Sounds crazy right.
Power in Words
Firstly I had to admit to myself I was not stuck I was being stagnant. There are many underlying reasons why I was being slow and sluggish and not seeing results the way I wanted to. Choice of words is important, so rather than complaining, here are a few things that I began to do to break out of feeling ‘stuck or stagnant’ mode.
1. Honesty / Self Aware
Being honest and self-aware allows you to view the ‘stuck situationship’ in an alternative way. Rather than saying I am stuck try this instead. I am not stuck, I am in a learning environment. I am progressing at a slower stage than I would prefer, but I am progressing. Because really it was not that I wasn’t moving, It was that I was not moving at the pace I felt I should be. I’m sure you know what that feels like.
2. Stay Active
There is a saying that “success leaves clues”. Which means that there is a way to get there. Whatever there is to you. So what can you do to progress today? Control the things that you can control. If you are stuck is it because you are looking at things that you cannot control? Have a constant activity that build on your overall goal. If you shake a tree long enough eventually some leaves will fall. So if you are feeling stuck is it because you have stopped shaking the tree?
3. Keep it moving
To be stuck is the inability to move, outside of your control. To be stagnant is the choice to not move, or move sluggishly. You get what you put in. So knowing that I have the choice to either go for a run and eat healthily, whether I am my summer body ready or not is determined by me and me only. The same goes for us all.
If you can relate to the stuck and stagnant mode I hope that you have a takeaway from this post. One thing I am going to bring back to ThisJaneAintPlain is quote of the week.
“Maybe you’re stuck because you’re pushing a door that says pull”