𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐜𝐤?
One of the most common phrases I hear from the women professionals I work with is “I feel stuck” It has different flavors like “I know I need to do XYZ, but I just can’t” “I can’t explain, but when I have to take action, I don’t have the motivation or energy” “I feel I have lost my passion, I don’t look forward to anything, I do things because I have to” “I tried meditation, mindset, yoga, leadership coaching, yet, I can’t move forward." If you are one among them, I feel you, I understand you, I know you, Because I was you! Tackling the problem of “feeling stuck” has to be done at multiple layers – mental, emotional and somatic. 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐏 𝟏: At the first layer, we need to explore the personality patterns. While there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, certain personality patterns may contribute to women feeling stuck. Some of these patterns are Perfectionism, People-pleasing, Fear of failure, Self-doubt, Avoidance, Overthinking and Over Analyzing, Need for control, Success Addiction, Lack of assertiveness, Self-sabotage, Lack of self-care, Emotional Sensitivity, Negative Self-Talk It's important to recognize that these personality patterns are not inherently negative, and have been developed as coping mechanisms or adaptive strategies in response to past experiences, events, traumas. However, when these patterns become ingrained and when they become the identity we carry, they can limit one’s ability to live a fulfilling life. 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐏 𝟐: Being aware & having the honesty, courage within to see if your drive & motivation is actually based on fear. Start with recognizing and seeing if the above patterns and symptoms are spawning from a deeper held hidden fears like self-worthlessness, loneliness, helplessness, feeling insignificant, insecurity & uncertainty. At this stage, accepting, understanding, & dissolving any suppressed feelings with curiosity, compassion & trust is the way For some deeply rooted fears, just thinking positive or positive affirmations won’t help Hidden childhood traumas & conditioning like imposter syndrome, emotional repression, shame & guilt have to be met with and the fragments have to be integrated 𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐏 𝟑: Once these patterns are identified and hidden fears are unearthed, we need to go beyond mindset practices to make sure our shifts are sustained in the longer term. We may be able to put in some mindset practices and trick into feeling a certain way, and it may give us instant results, but they don’t last long. The reality is that our bodies cannot be tricked. We store emotions and feelings within our body, and somatic approaches are absolutely needed for the body and nervous system to feel safe. Transformations at the deepest level have to be done for sustaining the shifts. Otherwise, we can be on a never-ending chase of one methodology after the other, one coach after the other, one program after the other