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Stuck in Time: How Past Regrets and Future Fears Keep Us from Moving Forward
Why “being stuck” isn’t about your circumstances — it’s about where your mind lives in time
We use the word constantly.
“I’m stuck in my career.”
“I’m stuck in this relationship.”
“I’m stuck in life.”
But what if stuckness isn’t really about our circumstances at all? What if it’s about our relationship with time?
The Illusion of Stuckness
Here’s what I’ve observed in hundreds of conversations with people who describe themselves as stuck: they’re rarely actually immobile. They’re working, making decisions, moving through their days. But they’re measuring their movement against the wrong timeline.
A client — a successful attorney — spent our first session explaining why she couldn’t leave her firm. Ten minutes in, I noticed something: every reason was either about decisions she’d made five years ago or fears about financial security fifteen years from now. She wasn’t stuck in her job. She was stuck everywhere but the present.
This is the real trap: stuckness happens when we’re pulled out of the only place where action and growth are possible — the present moment.
