Refusing to Step Outside of Your Comfort Zone Will Keep You Stuck

Confidence – Freeing ourselves from the mire of inertia

Are you dissatisfied with the status quo? Do you need a change in your life? Are you repeating the same routine over and over, like a broken record? Are you stuck in a rut and can’t get out? If so, you need to ask yourself how can your life change if you are not willing to make changes in your life? Obviously the only way we can get out of a rut is by doing something different, by changing. Those who don’t learn how to change are not in a rut; they’re in a grave. So, if we don’t want to be counted among the living dead, we’ll have to learn what is preventing us from moving forward. Let’s look at three possible causes and how to overcome them.

1. Inertia

What would happen if you were to stop using the muscles of your body? Without use, they begin to waste. Eventually, you’ll experience muscular atrophy. You’ll become immobilized, unable to move. The same applies to our mental health. Suppose I begin to slack off. What if I were to stop practicing self-discipline and neglect my tasks? If I were to stop my activities, wouldn’t I develop intellectual atrophy? Wouldn’t I wind up in a rut? Leonardo da Vinci thought so, for he wrote, “Iron rusts from disuse; water loses its purity from stagnation and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigors of the mind.”

In 1687, Isaac Newton described the law of inertia. He explained how a body in motion tends to remain in motion while a body at rest tends to remain at rest. The only way to get a resting body to move again is to apply a force. I am an example of a body at rest when I doze on the couch. My wife kicking me in the behind and telling me to mow the lawn is an example of a force propelling me to action. Kicks in the behind, however, can be self-directed. That is, we can kick ourselves out of a rut. We begin by reviewing our situation and recognizing its seriousness. At first we may think we’re just standing still, pausing for a rest. But once we realize the rest of the world is moving away from us and we’re falling behind, we’ll recognize the need for action.

What is the cure for inertia? Simple, action! However, trying to start a project after a long spell of inactivity is like trying to start your car on a freezing winter day. It’s difficult. If you want to succeed, the trick is to do something that is easy and will bring you closer to your goal. For example, let’s say I have to write a letter to Aunt Matilda and I hate to write letters. To accomplish my goal, I create a plan that is so easy to do, I cannot fail. Here’s an example. Today I will fill out the envelope and put a stamp on it. That’s easy enough, I can do that in less than a minute. Tomorrow, I will make a list of six subjects to write about in my letter (no more than five minutes). The day after, I will write paragraph one. And so on, until the letter is completed and dropped into the mail. Each small action that I take is grease that unclogs the cogwheels of inertia and gets me back on track.

Although the plan I made to write Aunt Matilda should take a week or longer to complete, I would actually perform the task in half that time or less. Why? Because, as Isaac Newton explained, once a body is in motion it tends to remain in motion. Another way of putting it is, the small action steps I take generate the energy to take further action steps. Once started, the project almost completes itself. So, start lifting yourself out of the rut today. Pick a goal and divide it into easy action steps. This is a prescription for fun and success and may be all you need to do to turn your life around.

2. Resistance Syndrome

The Resistance Syndrome is a coping device we develop in childhood. For instance, as a child we may be told to keep our room tidy or mommy will be angry. How can children understand why being organized and tidy is important? They can’t. But what they do understand is that they need mommy and daddy to survive. They can’t survive alone. Fearful of being abandoned and denied love, they are forced to comply with mommy’s wishes. Understandably, children don’t want to yield their wills completely. They want to retain some independence, some identity. They don’t want to be reduced to slaves with broken wills. So, what are they to do? They do what has to be done, but not completely. They resist to protect their individuality. They may clean up the room, but deliberately place some items in the wrong places, or perhaps clean up most of the room but leave a corner undone.

Over the years, the Resistance Syndrome becomes an ingrained habit. We take it to school and later to the workplace. What once helped us to retain our identity in childhood, now prevents us from doing what we want to do for our own good, such as working out in the health club or making repairs on the house. Understand that your boss, your spouse, and others are entitled to make legitimate requests. Don’t misinterpret everything as an attempt by others to control you. You stopped wearing diapers a long time ago, now it is time to stop carrying around the Resistance Syndrome and accept responsibility for your own happiness. By becoming aware of the problem you will loosen its grip on you, and by taking small, easy action steps you will be able to overcome it.

3. Avoidance of Discomfort

Primitive man avoided pain and discomfort and was attracted to pleasure because his survival depended on it. If our ancestors were uncomfortably cold, they could freeze to death. If they were comfortable before a fire, they would survive. The pleasure of eating and discomfort of hunger were powerful forces that enabled them to endure. Today, we no longer have to hunt for our food or make fires to keep warm. Yet, instinctively, we continue to avoid discomfort. This is why we avoid anything that requires effort and take refuge in anything that gives pleasure. But if we allow ourselves to follow our instincts, we will become trapped in our comfort zone, stuck in a rut.

The cure for this problem is the same as the cure for the Resistance Syndrome: awareness and action. The principal component of which is action. For as American folk hero Ben Stein said, “You must take the first step. The first steps will take some effort, maybe pain. But after that, everything that has to be done is real-life movement.” It also helps to change your perspective. The next time you feel uncomfortable, don’t flee from it but embrace it. For discomfort is an indicator that you are going in the right direction, outside of your comfort zone. And that is the road of change and the path to a better you, so welcome it and enjoy the journey.

Case Study 1

What follows is in response to a reader. His lengthy e-mail has been condensed. He writes:

“I have been looking all over the Internet for ways to overcome my bad habits. There must be hundreds of self-help books but none of them offer any solid solutions to my problems.”

A map doesn’t take you where you want to go. It merely points the way. If you have a destination in mind, you’ll have to get off the couch, get into your car, turn on the ignition, and start driving. Books are maps, not solutions. What I’m writing is a map, not a solution. There is only one solution to your problems, and that is you. When you are ready to start your journey to a new, better you, pick a map, study the directions, and do what is necessary to get there.

Our reader continues:

“Self-help books aren’t geared towards the people that can’t find a way to help themselves.”

What you really mean is “books aren’t geared towards people who aren’t willing to find a way to help themselves. You see, it is a decision we make. We either decide to help ourselves (“I will do whatever is necessary.”) or we decide to become a victim (“I can’t or won’t do whatever is necessary.”). Why would anyone want to become a victim? Well, in their mind, it is convenient. You don’t have to do anything; after all, you’re helpless. So, you just sit around and wait for someone or something to solve your problems. This type of thinking is akin to feeding crocodiles. I’m referring to something Ronald Reagan said: “To sit back hoping that someday, some way, someone will make things right is to go on feeding the crocodile, hoping he will eat you last − but eat you he will.” Don’t feed your problems, but face them, and do something about them.

Our reader goes on:

“I’m not asking for a solution to all my problems I realized that only I can do that after all the therapy.

I would however, like to know what you have done to overcome laziness and what steps you took to become a more productive person.”

You mention that you are undergoing therapy, so I’ll share some views on that subject. The word “therapy” has its origin in Greek and means to heal or treat. That’s what a knowledgeable therapist does. Good therapists treat their patients for a short time, enabling them to get on with their lives as soon as possible.

Suppose you were wounded and the doctor applied balm to your wounds. If your wounds weren’t healing after treatment, the doctor would realize that something is wrong and would try another form of treatment. Yet, some patients see psychiatrists for long periods of time. Sometimes as long as 10, 15, or 20 years. Isn’t that odd? If the patient isn’t being healed, how can that be called therapy?

So, be forewarned. There is good therapy and poor therapy. An example of good therapy would be Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (R.E.B.T.) or Cognitive Behavior Therapy (C.B.T.). Both forms of therapy recognize that our problems are caused not by external events, but by our internal beliefs, thoughts, and feelings. So treatment consists of teaching patients how to change their beliefs and thoughts. When patients do so, their feelings and behavior also change, empowering them to handle their own problems. You can learn more about the subject here.

While taking therapy, one of the dangers is some patients put their lives on hold. That is, instead of thinking, “I will start solving my problems now,” they think, “My life will improve after I’m cured.” In other words, they use their therapy as another excuse for not changing (“I will change after I get better.”).

Morita Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy both address this problem. They both teach there is no need to wait until you understand the cause of your problem. There is no need to wait until you master an elaborate coping strategy. You can start right where you are today. You can accept your flaws, weaknesses, and problems. You can say to yourself, “Yes, I’m not perfect, but I’m not stupid either. I know I have problems. I know I have to change. I know what I need to do. So, I will begin taking action steps today. One baby step at a time. I will do something to improve every day, no matter how small the step. And as long as I persist, one step at a time, it is impossible to fail. So, I begin now.”

You can also easily teach yourself Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (A.C.T.). In fact, this will be my first suggestion to our reader. Please pick up a copy of Dr. Steven C. Hayes and Spencer Smith’s workbook Get Out of Your Mind & Into Your Life, The New Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.

Morita Therapy (which is a mixture of Zen philosophy and Western Psychology) and A.C.T. are firmly entrenched in reality. For example, it is well known that it takes effort to achieve anything worthwhile. M.T. and A.C.T. practitioners, are well-grounded people that accept that fact. They don’t fight it. They don’t resist. They don’t run away from a little ‘pain.’ They focus on the prize and do whatever it takes to get it.

But some try to replace ‘pain’, discomfort, and effort with pleasure, such as food, drink, and TV. Now, here is the paradox. Those who seek a life of pleasure end up in pain, for by refusing to make the effort to succeed, they fail and experience regret, shame, and guilt. And those who willingly accept ‘pain,’ end up with pleasure. For what can be more pleasurable than achieving your goals and reaching your dreams? This being so, the effort needed to overcome challenges is the seed that contains our happiness, which is exactly what we are looking for! So it makes sense to embrace ‘pain’ (“no pain, no gain”).

Regarding how I overcame laziness, it is not a matter of being lazy or productive. Rather, it is about having good or bad habits. You are not lazy; you just have a bad habit. As David Hasslehoff said, “If you stand still long enough, you’ll get stuck.” That’s what happened to you. You stood still so long you got stuck. The cure, as suggested above, is to take small action steps every day.

If you’re not impressed by what David Hasslehoff had to say, consider the words of Leonardo Da Vinci, “Iron rusts from disuse, stagnant water loses its purity and in cold weather becomes frozen; even so does inaction sap the vigors of the mind.”

Finally, for the benefit of our readers wanting to become their own therapists, I recommend the following book: How to Be Your Own Therapist, A Step-by-Step Guide to Taking Back Your Life.

Move Forward with an Action Plan

STEP 1. Accept and Appreciate Your Present Situation

Sure, life is a school, but how can we learn anything if we don’t attend classes and fail to study? Let’s use Tom as an example. Perhaps you know someone like him. He is unhappy and always changing jobs. He always has an excuse for quitting. “I can’t stand the petty office politics. The boss is too demanding. The people I have to work with refuse to cooperate. I don’t get the recognition I deserve. This job is too boring. There is no opportunity for advancement.”

Tom wants to graduate from the school of life, but he isn’t willing to do the homework. Rather than complaining about people being uncooperative, he could have studied how to get along with others. Rather than whining about having too much to do, he could have studied how to get organized and manage his time. Rather than demanding respect from his company, he could have studied how to earn it. Rather than bellyaching about tedious tasks, he could have developed self-discipline. And rather than grumbling about lack of advancement, he could have busily created his own opportunities.

Step 1 is important because it is only when we are satisfied with were we are that we will be ready to move beyond it.

STEP 2. Listen to Your Inner Voice

Attending school isn’t helpful if you refuse to listen to the teacher, for the first stage of learning is listening. Everyone gets bright ideas and good intentions, but if they are set aside and forgotten, they become worthless. We need to listen to these urgings because it is life’s way of showing us what is possible.

Accepting and appreciating what we have should not be mistaken for passivity. Just because we are happy with our present situation doesn’t mean it cannot improve. Life is synonymous with change and evolution. It is always stretching, reaching out, trying to become more today than it was yesterday. We can either join in the call of life and march forward, or we can sit by the wayside as mere spectators.

STEP 3. Write Down Your Bright Ideas and Good Intentions as They Occur

There is magic in the written word. By jotting down our ideas we transform intangible thoughts into something concrete. Once we write them down, we can refer to them again and again, clarifying and building on them.

STEP 4. Change Your Ideas to an Action Plan

Now that you have some helpful ideas, how will you bring them about? What steps do you need to take? What resources are needed? When will you start and when will you complete your plan?

STEP 5. Start Acting

The most difficult part of a new plan is starting. Don’t allow yourself to get stalled. Choose the simplest step you can take and do it. No matter how small your baby steps may be, each one moves you closer to your goal. Also, you will find that as you repeatedly take baby steps, you will pick up momentum and baby steps will gradually grow into giant steps, until, at last, you sprint to the finish line. The only thing separating us from where we are to where we can be is action. So, act now.

STEP 6. Follow Through

A good plan isn’t good enough. We have to follow it through to completion if we wish to succeed. The original meaning of succeed is to make the next move, or follow through. Here’s what a successful woman has to say about follow through, “Those who are blessed with the most talent don’t necessarily outperform everyone else. It’s the people with follow-through who excel.” ─Mary Kay Ash

STEP 7. Discover Who, What, and Why You Are by the Actions You Take

Who, what, or why we are here has nothing to do with our occupation, which is just one of many ways we express ourselves. It is not what job we have that counts, but what kind of father or mother, son or daughter, wife or husband, friend, relative, neighbor, employer, worker, coworker, or citizen that we are. In a word, it is not what we do but what we are that defines us. Reworded, it is not our position, but our disposition that counts. Are we generous or selfish, caring or cold, helpful or troublesome, encouraging or demeaning, cheerful or grumpy, arrogant or modest, resentful or forgiving, truthful or dishonest, demanding or understanding, patient or hot-headed, courteous or rude, gentle or cruel, moody or even-tempered, aggressive or friendly, thoughtful or thoughtless? In other words, when we die, will others say, “I’m sorry he (she) is gone.” or will they say, “Good riddance!”

Can you see how we discover who and what we are by listening to the promptings of our inner voice and following through? As we awaken to our power, we discover why we are here as well. We are here to add to life, to contribute to it in our unique way. We are here to make a difference; here to change the world by making it a better place. We are also here to celebrate life, share in and spread its joy. The two great personal moments in our lives are the moment we were born and the moment we discovered why (we were born).

Case Study 2

A reader, Neale Watson (fictitious name), writes:

I am a grateful member of Alcoholics Anonymous for nearly two years now. But I always saw myself as afraid of living life. I still do. I’m finding it hard to be confident, to change my life to what I know it can be. I feel inferior and yet I know I have what it takes to succeed if only I could get off my tuff and do it.

I’m nearly 60 and want to go to college. But I’m scared! I wonder if I’m smart enough and feel overwhelmed by the fear of failing again. I know that to conquer fear one must be willing to place one foot in front of the other and begin the journey. But what if your feet are frozen? What if you’ve been leading a guilt-ridden life for years? I know I was destined to help others − I feel it in my whole being − so why am I so afraid to help myself?

Neale lacks confidence. Because of that he is afraid to act. As time passed, his inactivity became habitual. It is now a life pattern. He is plagued by inertia, apathy, lethargy, and listlessness. He is overcome by feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, and powerlessness. He feels trapped, immobilized, and paralyzed. His plight is as common as the flu, and like the flu, we can recover from it. I’m sure most of us can relate to Neale’s difficulty because we all suffer from the same malady. The only difference among us is the extent to which this insidious affliction has a grip on our lives.
The first step in freeing ourselves from the mire of inertia is to be aware that all success and failure starts in our mind. It is not outside events, but our thoughts that block us. As suggested in my answer to our first reader’s question, when we change our thoughts, our feelings change. When our feelings change, our behaviour changes. (This is because it is our emotions that cause us to act.) When we change our behaviour, the outcome, or our experience, changes. When our experiences change, our beliefs, attitude, and perspective change. When our beliefs and attitude change, we change. And, finally, when we change, our world and the people in our lives change.
One of the thoughts Neale can change is his idea of failure. He says he is afraid to fail. But what is failure? There is no such thing. There is only learning. When our actions result in success, we learn from that and keep repeating it. But when the results of our actions do not turn out as we would like them to, we do not fail, but learn what to avoid and change. Can you see that when we eliminate the idea of failure from our thoughts, we also eliminate the fear of failure?

Dorothea Brande expresses her thoughts on the subject differently, and they are worth repeating: “All that is necessary to break the spell of inertia and frustration is this: Act as if it were impossible to fail. That is the talisman, the formula, the command of right-about-face which turns us from failure towards success.” In fact, there is no need to act as if it were impossible to fail because as long as we are persistent, right action always leads to success. It is impossible to fail. For example, if you start lifting weights every day, you will grow stronger. It is impossible not to. It is impossible to fail.

Perhaps by now you can see the solution to all of Neale’s problems is to take action. Take lack of confidence, for example. We don’t acquire confidence by sitting still and waiting for it to appear. It doesn’t pop up out of nowhere just because we want it. Rather, it is a natural consequence of taking right action. For instance, something was troubling Neale. Instead of sulking in self-pity, he decided to do something about it. He took a small action step by writing to me. Much to his surprise and pleasure, he received an answer. His small action step led to the discovery that he can wrest control of his life. He discovered action leads to power, pleasure, and confidence.

The major hurdle he has to overcome is inertia. There, too, the solution is action. For example, if he wants to go to college, all he has to do is keep applying until he is accepted. Once accepted, all he has to do is keep studying until he graduates. It’s a simple plan. As long as one persists it’s impossible to fail. He took the first small step. Now all he has to do is continue taking small steps until he achieves his goals. He definitely has the power to do so. After all, he was once troubled by alcohol, but decided to join AA and ended up changing his life for the better. He can do it again.

We have an infinite capacity to change, grow, and learn. Don’t be discouraged if your life seems to be crumbling around you. Before a caterpillar becomes what it is meant to be, its cocoon or chrysalis enshrouded body slowly dissolves into a sticky ‘soup’ that eventually reshapes into a butterfly. The rubble and devastation that surrounds you are your sticky ‘soups.’ They are the very source of all you are meant to be. Knowing this, stop worrying about the future. Instead, create it. Create it by drilling through the rock of inertia. The drill’s bit is action. If you remain persistent, like Dr. Alexis Carrel, you will discover that “Life leaps like a geyser for those who drill through the rock of inertia.” What’s more, it doesn’t matter when we begin, for as it was written by George Eliot (pseudonym of Mary Ann Evans Cross), “It is never too late to become what you might have been.”

And now for some caveats and suggestions. At times, the enormity of our goals may make us feel overwhelmed. At such a time, don’t ask yourself, “How will I ever achieve this goal?” Instead, ask, “How can I begin?” Don’t ask questions that inspire fear. Instead, ask questions that empower you, questions that lead to solutions. Although we cannot do everything at once, we can always do something. Do what you can and remain relentless.

Besides being persistent, you will also need to be patient. For before we can change you, we have to change your habits. No wonder you feel frozen in place, unable to act, for you are locked in the grip of the habit of inaction. It will take about ten days of willful action on your part before your bad habit will loosen its grip on you. It will take another ten days for your new habit and self-discipline to establish some roots. Finally, it will take another ten days for your new habit of positive action to become established in your life. Thirty days in all, so be persistent and patient.

Another Case Study

A reader asks, “I was wondering if you had any concrete ways to start the process of overcoming laziness and recapturing motivation. I realize that I have been dealing with laziness. There is an underlying anxiety that keeps me from getting going. With time it has transformed into a hazy, non-living lifestyle where I manage to only do the bare minimum and am always late with my work. Talking with a professional probably could help me, but I also know that I have to take responsibility for my own life and decisions. So, if you have some useful tips on getting motivated and REALLY getting started, I would appreciate it.”

Do I have any tips? Yes, I do. For starters, stop talking, thinking, or writing about your problem and start doing something. I’m not trying to be glib, but trying to make a point. Mainly, the only way to get things done is to act.

“Yes, but,” you may be thinking, “how can I act when an underlying anxiety keeps me from starting?” Who said that anxiety, discomfort, or fear has to prevent you from starting? I don’t remember being told that I have to stop whatever I’m doing if it makes me feel uncomfortable. Again, I’m not trying to pick on you, but trying to point out a common misconception. You see, many people are held back or are stuck in their tracks because they believe everything should feel good.

Such an idea shows a basic lack of understanding of how life works. Like it or not, sometimes the weather is too cold, too hot, or too wet to feel comfortable. At other times, our tasks are too difficult or too challenging to be pleasurable. That’s the way life is. Accept it. Once you do so, you can go ahead and do whatever needs to be done, despite how it feels. We don’t have to be ruled by our feelings. We can choose to let our reason guide us.

The heart of the problem is we are programmed to seek pleasure and avoid pain. The purpose of our programming is to protect us. Primitive man ran from hungry predators to avoid the pain of being eaten alive. He also avoided the pain of fire and frostbite. Moreover, our ancient ancestors sought the pleasure of eating and sleeping in a warm cave. These are all good things as it protected the species.

But the problem is modern man often interprets the slightest discomfort as pain, thereby avoiding important responsibilities. To compensate for this problem, we have the power of reason. But if we wish to benefit from the power of our mind, we have to stop living on automatic pilot and get into the habit of thinking before we act.

Our reader and those who share her problem are standing at a crossroad. One path leads to pleasure, the other to ‘pain.’ For the sake of illustration, let’s say the boss comes to me and says, “I want this report ready by next Friday.” When I get home, I am standing at the crossroad. I can decide to start working on the report after dinner… Work on the report? Ugh! That takes concentration and work. That’s not much fun. That sounds like pain. And instead of working on the report, I can watch TV, play computer games, go out for ice-cream, or party all night with friends. Wow! That sounds like fun! Which path will I choose? That depends on whether I go with my feelings or follow the voice of reason.

Why do we so readily succumb to our feelings and neglect good judgment? Well, there is a bump or hill in each of the two paths. And it prevents us from seeing what is on the other side. So, as we stand at the crossroad, all we can see is the immediate pleasure or pain that awaits us. In other words, we are shortsighted. But if we were to look from a higher vantage point, we would discover that on the other side of the hill what was previously pleasure now changes to pain, and what was previously pain now changes to pleasure. That is, the pleasure I yield to (watching TV, playing computer games, going out for ice-cream, or partying all night) leads to the pain of regret, shame, and lack of advancement. Yet the pain I choose to push through (working on the report for my boss) leads to the pleasure and pride of accomplishment and the exhilaration of advancement in my company.

When you decide to go ahead and do what needs to be done despite your discomfort, you will experience the following benefits:

1. You grow stronger.
2. You will make the pleasant discovery that the task at hand wasn’t as hard as you had imagined it would be, nor did it take as long as you thought it would.
3. You will experience relief, a reduction of stress, and a rise in energy. Remember, when you neglect your responsibilities, it weighs heavily on your mind and drains your energy.
4. You will enjoy the positive results (consequences) of your actions.
5. When repeated often enough, you will adopt a powerful habit that will lead you to success and happiness.
6. You will discover that the long-term pleasure that comes from doing what is right rather than what is easy is far greater than that received by giving in to the temptation of immediate gratification. Conversely, you will find that the long-term pain caused by neglecting your responsibilities is far greater than the small amount of pain or work necessary to do what is right.

If you wish to learn more about how we get stuck and how to get unstuck, I can recommend a good book. But first a word of warning. Those who do get stuck may turn to a self-help book or a counselor not to improve, but to continue avoiding their responsibilities. By getting a good book or counselor, they get a new excuse to continue postponing their life. “I’ll get back on track after this book or my counselor straightens me out.” they muse to themselves. But the fact is they already have the tools to succeed. And those tools are: “A heart to resolve, a head to contrive, and a hand to execute.” ─Edward Gibbon

Here’s the book I’m recommending, a definitive work on the subject: Why Do I Do That?: Psychological Defense Mechanisms and the Hidden Ways They Shape Our Lives by Joseph Burgo Ph.D.

Our reader’s request for a tip on how to get motivated enough to break the cycle of laziness is based on the fallacy that motivation precedes action. It is the other way round. That is, it is action that creates motivation. First you act. Then you experience the six benefits mentioned above. And those benefits motivate you to do more. Well, then, it is clear the time to act is now. After all, if you don’t make things happen, things will happen to you. Here’s another point, we become what we do. So, we become a person of action by taking action.

And now a word to our reader. Push yourself. Start on something you should be doing. You don’t have to do a great deal at once, baby steps will do. But as you act, you will be amazed by the incredible power that lies dormant in you. Tap into it. Use it and discover the joy of productive living. By the way, I’m not just saying this for your sake, but for the world’s sake. You see, the world needs us, for “We are life’s way of getting things done.” (Pirkei Avot, 4:2)

References

BOOKS

Stop Saying You’re Fine: The No-BS Guide to Getting What You Want by Mel Robbins

UNSTUCK: A Story About Gaining Perspective, Creating Traction, and Pursuing Your Passion By Dan Webster and Randy Gravitt

Get Unstuck Now: How Smart People Gain Clarity and Solve a Problem Fast, And How You Can Too by Laura van den Berg Sekac

Get UNSTUCK: 12 Steps to Eliminate Overwhelm and Accomplish Your Most Daring Goals in HALF the Time by Betty Oteri

Get Unstuck, Be Unstoppable: Step into the Amazing Life God Imagined for You by Valorie Burton

Get Unstuck: 10 Tools of Wisdom that Help You Achieve Greater Love, Energy and Growth By Terry Belmont and Nina Engstrand

VIDEOS

Terry Singh: How to get unstuck

Katy Hansell: Getting unstuck in work & life

How To Get UNSTUCK!