Want to know why people stay stuck for years? They demand answers before they start moving.
When people feel stuck, they don’t want options. They want answers. They don’t want possibilities. They want guarantees.
People will stay stuck for years — in a job, a habit, a lifestyle, a relationship — because none of the potential solutions feel certain enough. Feeling stuck is bad. The uncertainty of the alternatives feels worse.
It’s a deeply familiar behavior pattern. A timeless human reaction. Say it with me, “Better the devil I know than the devil I don’t.”
People stay in jobs where they count down minutes until 5pm. They work for leaders who make their stomachs turn. Why? Because starting over feels scarier than staying miserable.
When people feel stuck, they don’t want to stay stuck. But instead of facing the open road of uncertainty, they want ready-made solutions before they move.
They may feel stuck, but more often than not, they’re unwilling to leave the stuck space until they feel certain that the path they take will reach the desired destination.
But remember:
- The answer does not emerge before the effort.
- The solution does not appear before the problem solving.
- The reward does not reveal itself before the work.
- The light is not visible before the end of the tunnel.
- The destination, and at times the path, is not visible from the start.
Sometimes the destination is a belief before it’s a reliable plan. You must see it in your mind first. You must pursue it with action. Only then does it become something you can see with your eyes and touch with your hands.
Getting unstuck doesn’t require certainty. It requires courage. Take those first steps into uncertainty. They are the only steps that lead to answers.
Event + Response = Outcome. Do the work.
Share your thoughts