"Help! I'm Stuck" Pt. 2: Finding Joy

Before I start the second part of the "Help! I’m Stuck" series, I just wanted to say thank you for such a great response to part one of this series! If you missed it, feel free to check it out here. I received many encouraging stories from people who felt the same way I had and said that it was just what they needed to hear at just the right time! Yay!!! I am so glad that opening up and being vulnerable to my online community, which is what the article was all about, not only brought breakthrough for myself, but for others as well! <3 

Part two of the "Help! I’m Stuck" series is going to focus on finding what brings you joy and how to actually step into that!

I know for me, as I get bogged down with life and things that are not so exciting, I begin to lose my drive and motivation to do anything. It’s almost like I turn into a zombie and just want to eat and watch Netflix all day long! I know that when I start moving towards the zombie like state, I am going to eventually become overwhelmed and experience feeling stuck.

As I mentioned before, I had recently been in a place of feeling stuck but I am now able to be the healthy version of myself. As I talked about in part one of this series, the first step I took was choosing to be in community. When I need to feel encouraged, I have a few friends that I love talking to because it is almost like they have the superpower of remembering every conversation that we have had in the past. In those moments when I forget the things that make me come alive, I love to talk to these friends because they remember all of my passions that I have lost sight of and love encouraging and celebrating me towards those things again. After opening up to the community around me about what my life was looking like and how it was making me feel, I was reminded of the passions and desires in me that I had lost sight of in the midst of drowning in my negative feelings.

After chatting with one of my "superhero" friends, I realized that I had slowly been disengaging from the things that I love because I had turned into the zombie version of myself. When I had that realization, I knew that I needed to figure out how to get back into the things that bring me joy. That sounds like it would be an easy task to do, but when I was in the whirlwind of feeling stuck and overwhelmed it was SO hard trying to see anything positive for my life. Since it was a little more challenging than I thought, I had to start by almost retraining myself in the things that brought me joy in the past. 

This retraining period felt like making a New Years resolution to exercise but never having exercised before. You go to the gym and it feels like death, but deep down there is a itty bitty tiny little thing in your heart that feels excited because you are actually doing something that you said you wanted to do! As I began to take steps towards the things that brought me joy and after weeks of these itty bitty tiny victories in my heart, I started feeling alive again! This process of taking baby steps was not instant but has been totally worth it! Since starting to do things that bring me joy, I have become less of a zombie and more of a normal human being again! I have hung out with my friends, gone on hikes and trips, started blogging again, felt joyful about going to work and exercising!

If you can relate to not engaging in things that have brought you joy in the past, I would encourage you to try these 3 steps!

1. Be reminded of what has brought you joy in the past. Some helpful ways of doing this could be to talk to the “superhero” friends in your life, scroll through your social media feeds or look though old photo albums for experiences and memories that have previously brought you joy, etc.

2. Take baby steps in one thing that brings you joy. For example, if you love to go hiking but have been so stuck that you haven’t had the desire to even get off of your couch, go for a walk around your neighborhood. After you have conquered walking around your neighborhood, maybe walk at a park, then find a natural area close to you that seems like it would be fun to hike! Make it fun! Bring along a friend! 

3. Repeat steps 1-2 until you find the things that bring you joy!!! 

I love that I have been doing these three steps and I am now to a place where I feel like I am thriving again! I have become an adventurer again! I am seeing things other than my TV! As you are on your journey of coming out of a place of feeling stuck, share your journey by sending me an email or post a picture of your journey on social media and use the hashtag #faithfultomypurpose.