Are You Really Stuck?

One of the most common things I hear from coaching clients is:

"Terri, I feel stuck."

Stuck in a career they no longer enjoy. Stuck trying to decide what comes next. Stuck between what they believe they should do and what they truly want to do. Sometimes the feeling of being stuck comes from believing they don't have enough time, enough experience, enough confidence, or enough certainty to move forward.

Maybe you've felt that way too.

For years, I believed feeling stuck meant I simply didn't know what to do. I thought clarity would arrive first and action would follow.

What I've learned over time is something very different.

Most people aren't as stuck as they think they are.

More often than not, they're living inside a story they haven't questioned.

The stories usually sound reasonable:

• "I don't have enough time."

• "I'm not ready."

• "It's too late."

• "I don't know enough."

• "What will people think?"

The problem isn't that these thoughts exist. The problem is that we begin treating them as the truth.

One of my favorite coaching questions is: "Is that true?"

Not, does it feel true?

Not, have you believed it for years?

Is it actually true?

Take a moment and think about one area of your life where you feel stuck. Maybe it's your career. Maybe it's a relationship. Maybe it's a goal you've been putting off for years.

What story are you telling yourself about that situation? Write it down.

Then ask yourself: Is it true?

You may be surprised by what you discover.

Because the moment we question the story, we create space for possibility.

I remember being 19 years old and starting my first business. Most of the women I worked with were older than me, and I convinced myself they wouldn't listen because of my age.

Looking back, age wasn't really the issue.

The deeper story was: "I haven't earned the right to be heard."

That story followed me for years.

The interesting thing about stories is that they often change their appearance without changing their message.

What once showed up as age later showed up as education.

In rooms filled with people holding advanced degrees, that same story would occasionally whisper that I wasn't qualified enough or educated enough to belong there.

Yet the evidence of my life told a different story.

I had spent decades learning, building businesses, reading, investing in my growth, coaching others, and doing the work required to develop my skills.

The story wasn't true.

And that's often the case for many of us.

The stories we tell ourselves eventually become invisible because we've repeated them so many times. They stop feeling like opinions and begin feeling like facts. We organize our decisions around them and allow them to determine what we attempt, what we avoid, and what we believe is possible.

The result is that capable people continue tolerating lives, careers, and decisions that no longer align with who they are becoming.

• Not because they lack ability.

• Not because they lack potential.

• Because they've mistaken a story for the truth.

But what if the story isn't true?

What if you're more capable than you've given yourself credit for? What if you've been waiting for permission that was never required?

More often than we realize, we already possess far more wisdom, capability, and agency than the stories in our minds allow us to see.

The moment we begin questioning the stories we've inherited or created, we create space for something new:

Possibility.

Ownership.

Choice.

That's where change begins.

When we stop treating stories as truth, something shifts.

We begin making decisions with greater confidence because they are rooted in our values rather than our fears. We stop waiting for perfect timing. We stop asking everyone else what we should do and begin trusting our own judgment.

Momentum replaces spinning.

Action replaces overthinking.

And perhaps most importantly, we begin experiencing the peace that comes from living in alignment with what we know to be true.

We begin using our voice instead of hiding it.

One of the most meaningful things a former client ever said to me was:

"At 69 years old, this is the first time in my life I've learned to trust myself."

Think about that for a moment.

After nearly seven decades of life, the breakthrough wasn't greater confidence, achievement, or success.

It was self-trust.

Because when you trust yourself, you stop looking to everyone else for answers.

You stop waiting for certainty before moving.

You stop allowing old stories to decide your future.

And eventually, you find your voice.

Before you move on with your day, I'd invite you to sit with two questions:

What story am I believing?

And if that story wasn't true, what becomes possible?

You may discover that the thing keeping you stuck isn't your circumstance at all.

It may simply be a story waiting to be questioned.

And perhaps, on the other side of that question, is the life you've been capable of creating all along.

Love and BIG Belief,

Terri