Feeling Stuck in Life? You Are Avoiding the Discomfort of Uncertainty

Feeling stuck in life? You’re probably avoiding the discomfort of uncertainty.

Uncertainty has a way of paralyzing me. I fall victim to some kind of doubt rather frequently. Sometimes it is a big doubt, other times only smaller doubts.

But I have learned that doubt and uncertainty can easily spin me into mania.

The Busy Work Trap

To counter uncertainty, historically I have gone into busy work mode. Taking any action for the sake of taking action because to sit with the discomfort of doubt was too unbearable.

But this kind of manic action often led to impulsive choices which I later regretted, and of course also learned from.

The busy work feels productive. It scratches the itch of needing to do something. But it’s often just motion without direction. Activity that burns energy without creating progress.

I’ve wasted months of my life this way. Entire seasons spent in frantic motion that led nowhere meaningful. All because sitting still felt like dying.

Feeling Through the Discomfort

What I learned was that if I allowed myself to feel the discomfort of my uncertainty, then my mania would begin to subside and in its place would be clear actions I could take to start building some momentum in the direction I wanted to go.

Now when I feel stuck, I do my best to go into a kind of prayerful contemplation, instead of chicken-with-my-head-cut-off twirling.

This isn’t passive. It’s actually harder than manic action. Sitting with discomfort requires more discipline than staying busy. The mind screams for distraction. The body wants to move. Every instinct says run.

But if you can stay, something shifts. The panic burns itself out. And underneath it, there’s usually clarity waiting.

The Contemplation Process

That contemplation looks something like this:

First, define the unwanted condition in generic, non-specific terms. Then make a list of all the times I have experienced said condition historically until nothing else comes to mind.

Next, pray to God for the energies, emotions, and sensations that are trapped in my body to come to the surface and express. Sit with those feelings, watching them burn out, until the condition no longer feels triggering.

Then allow myself to focus upon the new, wanted condition. Allow those desired feelings to express within my nervous system, body, and mind. Rinse and repeat as needed.

This process works because it addresses the root, not the symptom. The stuck feeling isn’t the problem. It’s pointing to something unprocessed underneath. Once that gets felt, the stuckness dissolves on its own.

Getting Unstuck

It is okay to feel stuck. Feeling stuck in life is often just a sign that you’re avoiding discomfort.

But giving yourself the space to get clear on what you want, what you are feeling, and how you can bring some level of playfulness to your next step is usually all that is needed to unstick me.

The playfulness part matters more than people realize. When everything feels heavy and serious, even small tasks become impossible. But when you can approach the same task with curiosity instead of pressure, it often completes itself.

Stuck isn’t a permanent condition. It’s a signal. Listen to what it’s telling you, feel what needs to be felt, and the path forward will reveal itself.