1 Question for Clarity to Get Unstuck

Have you ever wondered how to get unstuck in life? I had this problem with one goal, but one question helped me get unstuck!

Many people emotionally eat due to stress. Becoming unstuck is one way to stress less!

Let me share the situation in which I was “stuck.”

When you Feel Stuck

My stuck situation was having dozens of unread books on my Kindle app. 

This year, I finally got tired of seeing the books and thinking, “Oh, I need to read that.”

And yet, I did not read them year after year! I constantly spent my time on other things.

So the books would pile up – bought yet unread.

I subconsciously thought buying the books was enough to benefit from them.

That’s probably why many Bibles are gathering dust on coffee tables – untouched and unread. Ouch!

The Clarity to Getting Unstuck

This year, I decided to stop ignoring the problem. I looked at the book titles and decided to read 12 books this year. One book per month seemed doable at first (more about that later).

I picked the 12 books I thought would benefit me the most at this stage of life.

Out of the 12 books, I listed them in order of reading priority.

Finally, I made a checklist in my iPad Notes app to check them off the list as I read each.

Our minds are always asking, “What do I do next?” So it would be helpful to get specific as to your next step. 

Specificity is important for accountability because you can ask yourself at the end of the day, “Did I take that step or not?”

Taking Action to Get Unstuck

One of my favorite scriptures concerning the wise use of time is Psalm 90:12:

So teach us to number our days, That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

To apply this wisdom, I needed to fit the Kindle book reading into my day.

Reading a minimum of 10 minutes from one of my books each day would fit in perfectly after my wake-up time. If I had time to read more, I would.

However, I thought 10 minutes was a good start.

I already do my Bible reading/journaling upon awakening each day. So adding my Kindle book reading increased my probability of getting it done.

Consider each day to consist of “time blocks”; each block is an opportunity to invest in relationship building, learning and developing a skill or goal that matters to you.

Here are the time blocks I use for my day:

• Upon awakening
• Around breakfast
• Morning work time
• Around lunch
• During your afternoon break
• On your way home from work
• Around dinner time
• Evening time

Have you ever gotten to the end of the day and said, “I wonder where the time went?”

The answer is: Time went to where you directed it to go, or you lost time through worldly distractions!

Would you agree that it is better to invest your time as a rich resource every day to make a positive difference versus discounting its value?

After all, you will never get lost time back.

Your time is a gift. Your results in life come down to whether you are using the time blocks God gives you each day to align with your priorities.

If you have not taken time to establish your priorities in life, that will be your first step to getting unstuck. Without priorities, distractions will come in to fill the time void!

Creating Accountability

To keep track of books read, I check them off my iPad list and move the read book title to the bottom of the list. In that way, I can focus on the next unread book.

So the book reading was getting done! However, there was one problem:

When I created the list, I thought it would take me one month to read one book. Instead, it has taken me two months to read one book!

I started to feel discouraged that I wasn’t reading as fast as I thought.

But then, one powerful question changed my thinking for the better.

The Crucial Question to Get Unstuck

Here is the question that stopped me from getting stuck again:

Isn’t doing something each day to make progress on your goal better than doing nothing?

Even though I’ve only read the two books so far, it is better to have made progress than let another year go by with all of those books remaining unread!

At this rate, even reading six books by the end of the year is making progress.

I have changed for the better because of my learning from those books – and I will continue changing because I am committed to making progress in the process!

Embracing the Getting Unstuck Challenge

What about you? Are you stuck on:

• Changing your health for the better
• Books you want to read
• Courses you want to take
• Languages you want to learn (I’m learning Spanish right now – one lesson each day in my ‘Around lunch’ time block)
• Places you want to go

It’s time to take a small step to move them forward and make progress. I welcome any questions you might have in your specific situation.

As you commit to making progress, watch as you start getting more done rather than losing another year in stuck mode!

Kimberly Taylor

Author of the Take Back Your Temple program

P.S. Are you struggling with the challenges of emotional eating? Many people with eating issues know what to do but have a hard time doing it. That is where you need a community that supports each other!

In the Take Back Your Temple program, you will get all the support you need to overcome the Spiritual and emotional battles of weight loss, connected in our Overcomers community.

Click here to confirm the Take Back Your Temple program is right for you.