Have you felt like you're standing still when you wanted to be moving forward? I've felt like this many times over the past two years. I would see a little bit of forward motion, then I would stall, and then there would be some more forward motion and another stall. In this episode, we're talking about what to do when you feel stuck and like you're not moving forward.
Welcome back to the Purposeful Impact podcast. I'm Crystal Wagner, and today we're going to be talking about what to do when you feel stuck and like you're not moving forward. Have you felt like you're standing still before, when you wanted to be moving forward? I've felt like this many times over the past two years. I would see a little bit of forward motion and then I would stall, and then there would be some more forward motion and then there would be another stall. I heard a sermon recently that was really helpful in allowing me to embrace this season of feeling stalled.
Speaker 1:
My pastor was talking about sailing and sometimes when you're out sailing, suddenly the wind stops and there is nothing to move you along. As he talked about that, he explained that the wind has to be completely still before it can change direction. The wind can't turn 180 degrees. If it is going to shift, there has to be calm. I love this illustration because, yes, we may not be moving, but we're not stuck. I think of stuck. I think of being stuck in the mud, not able to move. You are not going anywhere. Instead, if you're stalled, we're drifting in the water. We may not be getting where we want to be going as quickly as we want to get there, but we're not actually stuck. This is a good reminder that God is still working in the background and sometimes I just need to be patient and wait for him to change the wind direction. I need to get me sailing again so I can get moving forward.
Speaker 1:
During these times, there are four things that I try to remember. First, I have to breathe. I have to remember that this is just a season and it is okay. I don't have to be anxious, I don't have to be worried about not moving forward. When I breathe, I am able to get out of my amygdala or emotional thinking and get back into my prefrontal cortex, which allows me to think more logically, which leads me into the next step. After I have breathed, I have calmed my nervous system and I am re-engaging my prefrontal cortex. I can then reflect on my progress. Sometimes, if I will just stop and pause long enough to look back over the past month, six months to a year or past 11 years, when I think about my entire time in business, I can see the progress that I've made. I can see all the little things that I've learned, all of the big jumps that I've made, and I realize I didn't get there overnight with those previous accomplishments and progress either.
Speaker 1:
It takes time. I then have to trust. I have to trust that God is in charge. He is the wind in my sails and when it is time for me to move forward again, he will provide what I need to move forward. But I don't have to be doing nothing in this process. I can still be preparing, as I'm in a season of waiting for the wind to pick back up. I can be working on my character. I can be working on my trust in God. I can be working on my obedience to take those small baby steps to Do what needs to be done, so that I have prepared the groundwork for when God's ready for me to move forward. And some of that just takes time to figure out. It takes time being in the word and being in prayer so that I know what to do next and what I can do to prepare.
Speaker 1:
So if you are in this place that you are feeling stuck and like you're not moving forward, take a deep breath, relax, allow your emotions to move through your body. They are real. They are a chemical that happens, but that chemical only lasts six seconds. So allow yourself to experience them, but then take a deep breath and allow yourself to re-engage your thinking brain and then reflect on the progress that you have made. What have you been doing? Where have you been moving? You may find it helpful to download the Thriving Life Journal. That journal has life assessments that will allow you to assess where you are, where you want to be, and there are reflection questions to help you think through some of these things like what progress have I made? What do I want to be doing, and it will give you something to think about as you're in this season of waiting. Until next time, I hope that you continue pursuing your dreams and impacting the world.