The Truth About Feeling Stuck.

Kristina Kotouckova
Aug 18, 2024
4 min read

Updated: Mar 4

I wake up every single day in hopes of a new idea striking and finally knowing what my next step in life will be. Yet somehow I feel like I struck out. Am I the one holding myself back? Or is there a bigger reason for this lack of direction towards my future?

Am I Sabotaging my Own Future?

It's been four months since I said goodbye to my finance corporate job in central London. As terrifying as it was to let go of one of the biggest young adult safety nets I came across, I knew it was the right choice for me.

But now, fast forward to today, I am sitting at home in my parents' house with loads of ideas of what I would like to do, but not a single definite plan of what I’m going to do.

travelling has been on my mind since I decided to leave that job, but now all I can think about is working for myself. So, I tried to start investing time and effort into my social media platforms... but even that feels like a very slow-burning candle.

I keep trying to remind myself that it's all a matter of patience, belief, and consistency. but why does it feel like it's never enough?

I wake up every single day hoping for a spark—an idea so compelling that it finally allows me to get myself in position and dive into my next adventure. This internal battle has forced me to ask some hard questions: Why do we hesitate, even when we know what we want? Why does it feel so impossible to bridge the gap between where we are now and where we believe we should be? Is this hesitation a form of self-sabotage, or is it something deeper?

The Fear of Choosing the Wrong Path:

For a while, I thought I was sabotaging my own potential. I had all the freedom in the world—no job, no financial burdens, no obligations holding me back. But with that freedom came paralysis. I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of possibilities. With so many choices, how do you know which one is the right one?

When I finally began travelling, things started slowly. I ventured to Scotland, Croatia, Paris, Venice, the South of France, Monaco, Slovakia, and Budapest. But after three months of adventures, I felt my motivation fizzle out. So I returned home, thinking I’d reset and plan my next steps. Yet two weeks later, I feel as if I'm back to square one, once again feeling stuck in my current life situation.

That familiar feeling of frustration and restlessness has crept back in. Am I the one blocking my own way forward?

Finding Growth in the Messy Middle:

But here’s what I’ve realized: maybe it’s not about me failing or doing something “wrong.” Maybe that sense of feeling 'stuck', the fog, the uncertainty- maybe it’s all part of the process.

What if this isn’t self-sabotage but rather life pushing me to slow down and realign? What if the “pause” is exactly what I need, even if it’s uncomfortable?

When I finally let go of the pressure to “figure it all out,” something shifted. I stopped fighting against the present moment and began to embrace it. I started reconnecting with people and addressing old issues that resurfaced during this downtime. It wasn’t glamorous or easy, but it was necessary. Slowly, creativity began to flow again. Ideas started to resurface. I began to trust the timing of my life.

Sometimes, I feel we’re so focused on rushing toward the future that we miss the gift of the present. We run after plans, only to look back later and wish we’d appreciated the “in-between” moments more. It’s in these moments of stillness—when nothing seems to be going as planned—that we’re often recalibrating for something greater. So what if this is in fact the the truth about feeling stuck... perhaps that's what redirecting and realigning to a new path feels like.

The Truth About Feeling Stuck:

I’m not saying we should accept being in a rut and stay there, miserable. Absolutely not. But maybe, just maybe, if we stop resisting the present and instead learn to sit with it, we’ll begin to see the bigger picture. Maybe this period of uncertainty is not a punishment but a preparation. Maybe our paths are being realigned in ways we can’t yet understand, guided by forces beyond our control. And maybe, just maybe, this pause is what we need to grow into the next version of ourselves.

Healing, rebuilding, and redirecting aren’t glamorous. They’re messy, uncomfortable, and often frustrating. But they’re the building blocks for the life we dream of. Trusting the process is hard, but I do think that with time the pieces start coming together and things begin to make sense. It's easier said than done, but in hindsight I now look back at the not-so-easy days with gratitude, knowing that it shaped me into the person I am meant to become.