People embark on a journey of self-discovery for a lot of different reasons. You must have had your reasons too. But, now you’re stuck and not sure what to do about it.
You Need a Shift In Perspective
It’s hard to generalize because everyone is different with respect to their aspirations, experiences, and in many other ways. But, self-discovery journeys are almost always initiated by a need to understand, shift perspective and maybe make a change.
Getting Started On Your Journey Of Self Discovery
At the start of the journey, you may have been determined, energized, enthusiastic, or hopeful. But, now you’re not feeling OK because it seems like you aren’t progressing. You want something to happen or to be different, but you don’t know what or how to make it happen. Maybe you’re even tired, frustrated, or even feeling down. I’ve felt this way before and I’m guessing this is how you feel now.
First and foremost, take a deep breath. We’ve all been stuck before. And, it was temporary even if it felt eternal at the time. This is temporary for you too.
In fact, sometimes the pause is helpful. Your embodied mind is trying to tell you to slow down, don’t take in more, reflect, and rest a bit. The pause offers you an opportunity to breathe, let go, and be open. Many times, this state allows you to see those opportunities and solutions. This short pause is part of the journey. For some, it’s the heart of the journey.
Getting Unstuck Depends on Where You Are In Your Self-Discovery Journey?
Before getting into how to get going again, let’s look at where you’re stuck. At the risk of over-generalizing, we gain insights from three typical situations that many of us find ourselves in. Hopefully, one of these resonates with you and gives you helpful ideas and a solution. Can your self-discovery journey be characterized by one of these three scenarios?
- Busy with experimentation and engaging in all kinds of new activities and experiences (e.g., sports, hobbies, events, volunteer work, etc);
- Deep into internal exploration with many forms of inner work (e.g., mediation, reflective retreats, personal growth workshops, etc); or
- Unable to get started, despite knowing that the journey is definitely what you want or need to do.
Busy With Experimentation
The first type of self-discovery journey is all about experimentation. You might take up scuba diving, running, dancing, fencing, theatre, or gardening. This is excellent if you’re interested in a challenge or self-expansion.
However, this type of journey has its limits if the aim is to search for what’s missing. Perhaps what you’re doing isn’t working, so you want to do something different. Maybe radically different (e.g., drop finance and become a yoga teacher). In this case, gaining experience yields lots of data on your likes and dislikes. But, the realization of your goal ultimately lies in filling the void. To do this, you need to know what that is. So, you feel stuck.
If you see yourself in this scenario, shift gears. Stop doing all the time, and dedicate some time to self-reflection and introspection. Get to know your embodied self because the sense of a void is your body and subconscious talking to you, and asking you to make a change. This doesn’t mean you have to stop trying new things and having fun. Just add some inner work to the mix.
Deep Into Internal Exploration
In this scenario, you dive into inner work. You journal, attend spiritual retreats, practice various forms of meditation, receive energy healing, etc. Yet, despite your commitment, extensive exploration, and beneficial learning you find yourself now stuck.
Generally, you won’t get stuck if your aim is simply self-expansion or self-awareness. You get stuck if your intention is more about transformation. In this case, you don’t want to merely know more about yourself, you actually want to change something about yourself. To get unstuck and move forward you’ll need to put your learning into practice rather than perpetually experimenting and exploring. It’s time to take action. Live what you learned.
Unable To Get Started
Stuck people typically have thoughts and beliefs that prevent them from moving forward. Even as simple as “I don’t have time” or “I don’t know how to start.” In many instances, these thoughts may seem like facts, thus, people don’t question them. If this scenario accurately represents your situation, you might want to challenge your limiting beliefs so that you can imagine alternative encouraging thoughts and they can take hold.
In addition, you can alter your expectations. You don’t need to change your overall goals. Instead, set workable short-term and long-term goals. Reassess the effort you can put forth and the time you have available. Make changes accordingly. When necessary, take baby steps – maybe many baby steps – instead of waiting for the faint opportunity to take a giant leap. The journey will appear less monumental and it’ll be easier to start.
Need or Want Help Getting Unstuck?
For more resources and assistance:
- Try my FREE best-guided meditation for Getting In Touch With the Inside for assistance with sensing inside yourself
- See my related blogs
- Gain the Power of Self Discovery With the Solar-Plexus Chakra (Manipura)
- 3 Self Discovery Techniques to Invigorate Your Journey
- How Spiritual Energy Healing Supports You Through Personal Change
- See my personal growth, natural healing, and wellness workshops:
