Breaking Free From Being Stuck

May 20

MAY 20, 2024

Leaning out robs you from understanding the heart of your challenge, sentencing you to repeating it over and over again. Leaning in reveals what there really is to deal with, hard work that when addressed, forever frees you from the source of the challenge. Lean in for liberation. Leaning out will only keep you stuck.

Lean in to discomfort to free yourself from it.

The other day I found myself in a difficult conversation, one of those that seemed like a broken record, stuck endlessly repeating without any progress.

We could have taken the easy route – avoided the discomfort and walked away. Again.

But this time, instead of leaning out, we leaned in.

We allowed the discomfort to surface and (somewhat) patiently trusted that it would pass.

As we did, the underlying issues began to reveal themselves. Our hidden perspectives that have caused this conversation to come up again and again like deja vu. And finally seeing those beliefs, it gave each of us a chance to shift them towards real growth.

Be it a repeated difficult conversation, a seemingly cyclical life circumstance or a situation you keep finding yourself in, it all works the same.

Like a Chinese finger trap, the more we lean out, avoid and reject – the more stuck we become. But when we lean in, while it’s uncomfortable for a moment, we’re ultimately free from what has kept us stuck.

Key Idea

Clarity emerges on the other side of discomfort, not from avoiding it. Leaning out robs you from understanding the heart of your challenge, sentencing you to repeating it over and over again. Leaning in reveals what there really is to deal with, hard work that when addressed, forever frees you from the source of the challenge. Lean in for liberation. Leaning out will only keep you stuck.

Takeaway

Lean in to discomfort to free yourself from it.

Build your Movement

Is there a topic you avoid with someone?

How might you create the space to safely explore it together to get to the root of it?