“The first cut is the deepest”
~Cat Stevens
“The first step is the hardest”
~Dr Flo
When we leave toxicity behind and are no longer in crisis/survivor mode, we start
to dream again, hope returns, our smile is warmer, our step is lighter, and our
mind brims with new ideas. But, we get stuck at planning, dreaming, preparing.
We just can’t seem to take purposeful action and build our dreams. Sometimes
this could be because we are facing sequel of the past like overwhelm, fatigue,
illness, or a lack of motivation. Other times, it can appear impossible to get past
“stuckville” because of seemingly limited options and feeling like one is captive to
circumstances beyond one’s control.
For the longest time I felt stuck in many ways and mostly due to no fault of mine.
Or so it seemed. I was after all a “survivor”. These “issues” come with the label. It
would be “easy” to remain stuck. But, I’ve always believed there’s a key to every
door. And as most folks who’ve come through some hard stuff know, you start to
realize you deserve better. You were made for more, for higher, for bigger. You
are yearning to thrive, but you are stuck. And to thrive, you need to get unstuck.
In getting unstuck, I learned: you don't have to finish now, just start. There’s a
sense of relief in knowing all I have to do is start. Feeling like we need to
complete it all before we even start just feeds the overwhelm and gives us every
reason to ride the hamster wheel of procrastination. And so, we let go of the
need to complete the myriad things on that never-ending to-do list. Then we find
one thing, just one thing, and we ask someone for help. We ask a person not
Google. We just… Start. One. Thing. With. Help. Whatever the dream is–the
book you’ve been planning to write, the language you’ve always wanted to learn,
the trip you’ve been longing to take, the degree you’ve been meaning to start (or
finish!)–anything that is, pick that 1 baby step and get help to take it. Because I
find, when it comes to getting unstuck, that first step is the hardest and it gets
easier from then on with the right support/help.
What 1 small action step can you take now? Who can you ask for help? There’s
always a way.
To Thriving with Love,
Dr Flo