Becoming unstuck
for when you're overwhelmed and don't know what's next
“As you start to walk on the way, the way appears.”
— Rumi
Sometimes life feels so overwhelming that you don't know what to do next.
There are so many moving parts. So many thoughts flying around your mind.
You’re being pulled in every direction.
And when one is pulled in all directions, they are suspended.
It's interesting. When there is the most to do, it's the hardest to get moving.
The next step is unclear.
But it's the skill of executing in these moments of uncertainty that lets us move forward and live a life of progress and satisfaction.
The Pair Who Were Moved House
A pair were stuck while trying to pack up their house.
There were clothes, shoes and thingamajigs sprawled all over the floor that all needed a home. An impossible task!
They didn't know where to start and walked around in circles for days, making no progress at all.
Then, one of them said to the other,
"Let's just pick something and move forward."
So, instead of searching for the perfect process, they shifted their focus to just moving forward.
And before they knew it, the house was packed and they had moved.
Solving life’s jigsaw puzzles
The more I navigate them, the more I realise these confusing and overwhelming moments are just like jigsaw puzzles.
When you have a pile of random pieces, it feels impossible to solve.
But then you place one piece.
And the next.
And the next.
And before you know it, you put that last piece in.
You experience that completeness.
Not because you found the perfect process, but because you just kept moving forward.
One step at a time
When I'm feeling overwhelmed with life, and I'm not sure where to start or what to do next, I've started to whisper a line to myself in my head:
just move forward
I’ve started to focus less on the final product, or on how messy everything is, and more on simply taking the very next step.
After a while, things begin to take shape.
and,
before you know it,
that last puzzle piece is in!
Sincerely,
eren
