Be Unstuck

We can find ourselves at a crossroads when we are in the valley of decision. There’s this concept called, the “‘knowing-doing gap’ – the experience of knowing the best thing to do, but doing something else anyway.” (Pfeffer, Jeffrey. The Knowing-Doing Gap: How Smart Companies Turn Knowledge Into Action. 2000. Harvard Business School Press). In those valleys of decision, picture with me three directions: move forward and let go of what’s behind, go back and stay with what you’ve always known, or keep walking until you reach the next crossroad.

Learning to love, we can accept, is a lifelong journey of learning. Let’s consider what each of those directions could look like:

Move forward and let go of what’s behind

You’ve come to a point where you’ve been going through the motions, taking steps to improve in areas of your life, and you’re ready to make room for something new. Similar to making room for new photos on an SD card, you either delete pictures to make room for new photos or you accept that this one’s full and get a new one. You can’t change what’s already happened, but you can decide to proceed with what the next step presents. Letting go of what’s behind doesn’t mean you forget about what’s being left behind, rather you’re opening up for new opportunities, new ventures, new horizons.

Go back and stay with what you’ve always known

You’re not ready to take the step forward, you want to stay where you are and stay a little while longer. This is a direction that can leave you to what’s comfortable, what’s known, what’s expected. No surprises here, you’re waiting to take the next step. We can look at this option as the option to not change; what you’ve always known will always be a part of your repertoire, and when you feel ready or determine you’re ready, you can consider one of the other two options.

Keep walking until you reach the next crossroad

You recognize that there’s a crossroad, you see that there are options, and you decide to keep going. You keep moving, one foot in front of the other, leaving the crossroads behind. Choosing to move forward into something specific and new has a trajectory for growth. Alternatively, reverting back to what you’ve always known can re-open doors to what you are most familiar with, you know what to do and what to say. While choosing to continue on the journey leaves you not choosing any of the previous options, but open to crossroads up ahead.

Being unstuck means a decision has to be made. We can choose to move forward into something new, go back to what we know, or keep moving and see what the next crossroad presents. Given that there will be times when we will need extra time to process what each direction could present should we choose them. But, at some point, we have to make a choice. Each of them will come at a price, a risk, where we will be challenged to learn more about ourselves, see more of what we are and can be. Whatever the direction, we can trust that God has our back.

— LifeisaBeaut ❤