Unstuck

Have you ever felt like you’re totally stuck?  Maybe you’re in a relationship that isn’t quite right, but you love them and don’t know whether someone better exists out there.  Maybe you’re in a career that hasn’t turned out the way you thought it would, but it’s a bad economy and you’re afraid to leave.  Maybe you’re financially stuck dealing with a mortgage or day care bills that keep you from being able to make the choices that you might make otherwise.  Maybe you’re stuck in a routine that is so boring it’s making your eyes glaze over, or in a diet and exercise rut that keeps you from ever really feeling good about yourself.  Perhaps your stuck in the past, reminiscing on the days when things were easier, or dreaming about the future, when things will be so much better because you will (make more money/have lost 10 lbs./have found a spouse/be retired/have won the lottery/found your true calling/be on vacation/have been adopted by Oprah).

Sometimes it seems like the only way that you will ever be happy again is to do something drastic.  To quit your job, sublet your apartment and spend the next 6 months visiting every great breakfast spot on this side of the Mississippi.  To break up with your boyfriend and apply for the next season of The Bachelor with the secret career path plan of hosting your own late night travel TV show.  To send your otherwise charming children away to boarding school so you can have 5 whole minutes to yourself. 

Sadly, for most of us those just aren’t realistic options.  (Or maybe they are and we just don’t have the guts.)  Either way, that doesn’t mean that we are destined to a life of misery until we reach retirement, our kids turn 18, we get a huge payout for inventing a new breakfast cereal, and we have the body of a professional athlete.  Sometimes, one small change can be enough to shift our perspectives and make our otherwise predictable lives seem perfectly wonderful again.  It could be as simple as trying a new class at the gym, or as drastic as planning that trek across Asia that you’ve been talking about since you were a teenager.  Maybe it’s getting up 30 minutes earlier so you can sit and drink your coffee in peace before your kids wake up.  Perhaps it means getting away from your desk at lunch and spending 20 minutes outside.  Maybe it’s going on a real, proper date with your significant other. 

Whatever it might be, give the small change a shot.  It might just be like the first domino tipping over, taking you down a whole new path.