October 21, 2025
Are you feeling frustrated, stagnant, even claustrophobic, but you aren’t sure what’s next? All you know is that *this* is not working for you anymore. Maybe you’re trapped in an unhappy marriage, or a dead end job, or maybe you’re just ready for a change.
When you feel that itch, it can be tempting to just bury your head in the sand and hope that by ignoring your problem, it’ll fix itself; or maybe you’re hoping that someday the motivation you’ve been looking for will just magically appear. But the truth is: your life does not get better by chance; it gets better by change. If you don’t face it now, all you’re doing is pushing it off until later – and one day, you may look back and regret all the time you wasted. We know because we’ve been there, and so have many of our clients.
You deserve better than to stay in a situation that no longer serves you. That’s why we’ve compiled this guide, to answer the question: How do I move forward when I feel stuck?
When you feel stuck, it may be difficult to even imagine tomorrow, or next week, but how can you map out a route when you don’t know your destination? Think ahead: be it a year, three years, or five years from now, and start dreaming.
Ask yourself questions like: What do I want my life to look like? Where do I want to live? What do I want to see when I open my eyes in the morning? How does the house smell when I walk in the front door? Does a dog rush to greet me or do I simply get to savor the peace and quiet? No detail is too small, and no dream is too big.
Once you have a vision, start testing it out in the real world. Go for a drive around the neighborhood you want to live in. Start looking at listings for that job you’ve been dreaming of. Seek out people, on social media and in real life, who are living the life you want to live – be it opening a small business, finding a truly fulfilling relationship, or moving across the country. Seeing others achieving the things you want can be motivating, and can make your goals feel more real, so that you can envision yourself accomplishing them too. Once you’ve cemented that vision? Few things can keep you from it.
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Now that you know what you want, it’s time to map it out.
Psychologists say that people tend to feel most motivated at the beginning of a project, when any progress feels good, and towards the end, when your goal feels closer than ever. The middle is where things get sticky: feeling like you have so far to go instead of focusing on how far you’ve come. Setting smaller milestone goals helps you measure your progress all along the way, and when things feel daunting or overwhelming, you can tune out the noise and focus on just putting one step in front of the other until you get to the next benchmark.
Even small steps deserve to be recognized as progress! Get yourself a little treat or make space for a special act of self-care (e.g., a massage, an expensive haircut at that fancy salon you can never justify, etc.), and share your wins with loved ones who will lift you up and revel in your achievements alongside you.
But don’t forget: it’s not just your successes that deserve recognition - celebrate your stumbles and fumbles, too because when you ”fail” at something, you’re really just figuring out one way NOT to do it. Besides, you can’t make mistakes if you never take any risks – and risks are required if you want to move forward.
“Just do it” feels like the kind of obnoxious advice you’d get from the same people who’d tell you to “just stop worrying about it” when you’re feeling anxious, but the best way to get un-stuck is to just do one thing, no matter how small.
We hear a lot about “fight or flight,” but our nervous systems have another defense mechanism: freeze. When you’re in freeze mode, even one step can feel monumental, but that first step creates momentum, and tells your nervous system, “see, it’s okay, we can do things,” which makes the next step less daunting, and same with the one after that. Before you know it, you’re well on your way.
There are a lot of things in life that will keep you feeling stuck, but all it takes is a few minutes of courage to start a new chapter. And if you can’t believe in yourself right now? We’ll do it for you. You have the power to change your life and create a new beginning – and it all starts with one small step.
If you’re sick of living in a toxic situation, let us help you take the first step: call us today at (301) 781-7930 to schedule a free case evaluation.
Disclaimer: This article is current as of October 2025, and all content is provided for informational purposes only. None of the information provided in this article, or elsewhere on this website, shall constitute or be construed as legal advice. For information specific to your individual circumstances, call us at (301) 781-7930 today.