So this week I want to write and expand on the concept of feeling “stuck” in life. I think this topic and idea is something everyone can relate to and when I write, that’s what I want, I want people to read it and say “Wow I totally understand that and have felt that before” I have many internal struggles that I deal with on a daily basis, feeling stuck and like life and everyone around me is moving forward without me is a huge one.
Growing up and currently, I have a problem with change, comparing myself to others and feeling like I was on a treadmill running in place as my friends and others were racing past me in their cars. One example of when I felt stuck was when my best friend was getting ready to go off to college. I was staying home and attending a community college so watching her and most of my friends leave created a deep stagnant sadness that lingered with me throughout my beginning 2 years of college. They were making new friends and experiencing new things as I was sitting in class dreading the fact I had to punch into work after, pour coffee, hear the same people scream in my ear, clean the same counters I cleaned the day before and then repeat. I was so frustrated because I felt I wasn’t going anywhere, yes I was in college earning a degree as they were but I just felt as if everyone was doing better than me, I was alone and so it felt as if any progress I did make was minimal. Nothing means a lot if you have nobody to share it with.
To this day even knowing I will have a Bachelors in Psychology next year, I feel like I’m not where I want to be in life. I feel as if no matter how much education I receive and how much I advance, I think that I’m in the same place, I’m working part time at a grocery store and making minimum wage and I know many people who aren’t even in school making more money than me or doing what they want to do right now. I know exactly what I want to do in this life but I feel I’ll never get there. I talk to my family and friends about it and one thing I realized is that I cannot keep comparing myself to everyone else. I cannot keep concentrated on what they’re doing. I have to stay focused on what I’m doing and it’s not that I won’t eventually do what I want and be where I want to be, it’s just about time, I need to focus my attention on the steps to get there and enjoy the journey of my goals more than worry about when I’ll reach my destination.
Anyone who feels this way, we all need to have patience with ourselves. If you feel you’re stuck or as if the world is moving forward without you, it’s not. Everybody is different, everybody’s goals, dreams and journeys are different. Some dreams just take a little longer to reach. Be patient, don’t compare your life and enjoy the personal road to your own individual and unique dream.
