Why You’re Stuck in Life & How to Move Forward

Being stuck in life isn’t a good feeling. You want to move forward and change something, but it isn’t always clear as to what you want to do or how to do it. It can feel like you’re being held back by some force that doesn’t want you to move forward.

Perhaps fear is keeping you stuck in life without you even realizing it. So, why are you stuck in life and how do you move forward?

Why You Are Stuck in Life

First, it is important to understand why you are stuck. If you don’t know why then you can’t move forward. There might be stuff going on that you don’t even realize, and we are going to uncover that right now in order for you to move forward.

The main reason why most people are stuck in life is because of fear. It can prevent you from moving forward even if you don’t understand where it is coming from. What are some types of fears that can keep you stuck?

1. Fear of the Unknown – As humans, we love our comfort. We seek out comfort and try to remain there.

But, moving forward requires you to face the unknown. This can be scary for many people.

You know what the comfortable past and present looks like (even if it’s horrible, it’s familiar and therefore somewhat comfortable).

But you have no idea what the unfamiliar, uncomfortable future looks like. This can keep you stuck in life.

2. Fear of Getting Hurt – This is a common fear because no one wants to get hurt. Moving forward may require you to be vulnerable and therefore there is always the chance that you could get hurt.

So, in order to prevent yourself from getting hurt, you stay where you are. You are much less likely to get hurt where you are so as a way of protecting yourself you remain stuck.

3. Fear of Being in the Spotlight – If moving forward requires you to be in the spotlight then you may be hesitant to go after it. Even if you think you are ok with it, being seen might scare the crap out of you.

Being in the spotlight can invite a lot more attention and you might not be used to that or feel ready for it. So, you stay stuck in life when it is your fear of being seen that is holding you back.

4. Fear of Disappointing Others – You might not want to move forward because that means that others around you will be disappointed.

Perhaps your parents don’t agree with your career choice and because you don’t want to disappoint them, you stay stuck and miserable. Fear of disappointing someone close to you can hold you back.

5. Fear of Failure – If you try something and the whole world sees that you failed, it can make you feel small and lower your self-confidence. You don’t want that. You don’t want everyone to know you failed at your dream. Instead, you remain stuck where you are safe and where no one can see your failure.

6. Fear of Success – Most people get really confused by this. Why would I be afraid of success? Well, I’ll tell you why, because your whole life will be different and that can be scary.

You might end up more well-known know and that can invite negative reactions from others. Or it can invite positive attention from others which you aren’t used to.

Maybe your best friend will be jealous when you are successful, and you are worried about how they’ll view you. Maybe you’ll be able to buy whatever you want and that is uncomfortable because you’re so used to having to be careful with your money.

There are tons of reasons why success can scare someone and keep them stuck. As humans we love being in homeostasis and staying comfortable; if we become successful that means change.  

7. Fear of Leaving Others Behind – You might be worried that you will leave some people behind if you move forward. It is possible that you may move in different directions.

It is natural to leave some people behind when you shift your energy. But this leaves room for the people that match your new energy to find you. It may be a bit difficult at first but the fear of leaving others behind is only hurting you and preventing you from moving forward.

How to Move Forward So You Don’t Remain Stuck in Life

Bashar says that you always gravitate to where you believe there is more pleasure and less pain.

If deep down, you believe that staying where you are is less painful you then will stay there until you can change the perception of what is more painful and what is more pleasurable. So, you are stuck in a certain situation because you believe it is less painful than the alternative.

How to Overcome Fear in Order to Move Forward

1. Fear of the Unknown – This is where trusting in yourself, your spirit guides, fate, or whatever you want to call it happens. You are afraid that your future will be more painful than where you currently are, and you need to take a leap of faith and believe that it can be better.

In order to overcome the fear of the unknown, it is about understanding that you can create an amazing future and it CAN be better than the present. Just believing that it can be better will shift your perception. Besides, what do you have to lose? If you are unhappy where you are then how can it be any worse? Take that leap of faith.

2. Fear of Getting Hurt – Someone once told me that getting hurt was a part of life. No matter how hard you try to protect yourself, you can’t keep the hurt out. It is all about how you deal with it.

If you understand that hurt is part of life, then you can learn to deal with it in a healthy way. Putting up that wall may temporarily keep out some of the pain, but it will also keep out the joy you seek.

Take a chance and allow yourself to experience life to the fullest. This can mean experiencing some hurt but also experiencing a bunch of joy as well.

3. Fear of Being in the Spotlight – Some people love being in the spotlight and others don’t want any extra attention. It is easy and comes naturally for some and others who are more introverted shy away from it. But what if moving forward requires you to be in the spotlight? What if your dream job requires some attention from others? Are you going to let it stop you from moving forward?

The best piece of advice about this that I can give is that yes, it will be uncomfortable at FIRST. But you will get used to it. You will gradually expand your comfort zone.

If you hang in there for a bit of the uncomfortable feelings, it will be so worth it in the end. Eventually, you will be ok with being seen and the reward of having what you want will be very much worth it. This works for any area of life where you are stuck.

4. Fear of Disappointing Others – If you are worried about disappointing someone, I am here to tell you it is YOUR life, not theirs. You need to follow your heart and do what you want. By being miserable you aren’t helping anyone. Besides, those that care about you want you to be happy.

If you are miserable then everyone loses. Be brave enough and love yourself enough to do what you want to do. You have that calling in your heart for a reason and no one should be able to take that away from you.

5. Fear of Failure – When you start out on a venture you have no idea if you will succeed or fail. But what I can tell you is that if you never try, you will fail. You will fail because you never tried.

What is worse, failing in front of others or failing within yourself and forever regretting never trying? To me, it’s the latter. Never ever trying can be a huge burden to carry for the rest of your life and one you alone will have to carry.

But, if you are brave, try and fail at least you can say you tried. Also, you will learn so much in the process. You will learn stuff that can benefit you for years to come.

They say it is good to fail because that’s how you learn. Everyone has failed at something and it is the people that fail the most that become successful. They learn things others don’t because they’re been there; they’ve personally experienced it.

6. Fear of Success – Your life will be different when you are successful, but that is good! That is the whole point. You are trying to create a new life for yourself.

Your success isn’t hurting anyone and if anything, it is helping others so embrace it. You deserve success, just as everyone else does.

The more successful people in the world, the better the world will be. That is the goal. I believe there’s room for everyone to have the success they are seeking.

7. Fear of Leaving Others Behind – You are in control of your life and no one else’s. If some people are left behind, it isn’t your responsibility to bring them with you. They are in charge of their life and they have their own journey and will move at their own pace.

Yes, sometimes it can be painful especially if you are close to them, but it is for your highest good to keep moving forward with your life and let them choose what they want to do with theirs.

You never know, you may meet up again at some point. But deciding to stay stuck because you are worried about someone else isn’t a good reason. You have to take control of your life and do what is best for you. 

Conclusion – Why You’re Still Stuck in Life & How to Fix It

As you can see, fear may keep you stuck in life and from moving forward. There are a lot of different types of fears as I only mentioned a few. If fear is holding you back, ask yourself “is this helping me or hurting me?” You instinctively know the answer to that.

Really try to see how staying stuck in life isn’t benefiting you or anyone and how moving forward is your best option.

Yes, it may be scary, but you are strong enough to embrace the unknown and take a leap of faith.

You don’t want to look back years later and wish you had done something different. That regret can eat away at your soul. Keep moving forward, you can get yourself out of this and create the life you want.

Thanks so much for your support, I truly appreciate it!

~Meghan