Are You Feeling Trapped?
by Maria Khalifé
Worry compounds the futility of being trapped on a dead-end street. Thinking opens new avenues.” ~ Cullen Hightower
Feeling trapped can leave us vulnerable to more and more dissatisfaction. I believe our lives should be lives of fulfillment and satisfaction, so let’s see what we can do to help you move away from feeling trapped?
What makes you feel trapped?
- Parental pressure?
- A toxic past?
- An old, fixed mindset?
- Your relationship?
- In a job you despise?
- In a sick body?
I’ve learned that spending years discovering “why” you got into this trapped feeling is enlightening, and does seem necessary to resolve the problem permanently.
Step One: Admit that you feel trapped and which area you feel most trapped in. Denial about this will keep you locked into place. Admitting you feel trapped will free you up to move to the next stately step and become the change you wish to see in your life. Please write down what it is that makes you feel most trapped in your life now?
Step Two: Describe what not feeling trapped would be like for you. Let me illustrate this. Victor felt stuck in a job where there had not been a promotion for several years. He wanted to be promoted and he had taken on more responsibility. He’s talked with his boss, and the boss has pushed this off into the distance by saying he’ll look at it at the end of the year. Victor feels that he’s not being treated honorably and because he has a family to support, he feels trapped in his job.
What would not feeling trapped be like for Victor? Here are some examples of Victor not feeling trapped in his job:
- He’d look forward to receiving his paycheck due to the increase in wages
- He’d feel happy being able to set some money aside for savings
- He’d be able to afford a few renovation projects around his home
- He’d be able to take his family on weekend excursions
- He’d love getting out of bed each morning as he’d feel compensated for his work.
- He’d be stimulated meeting new work associates, learning more from them and contributing to more work projects
Step Three: You need a plan to take your next stately steps and Be the Change you want in your life. Inside you, is a wonderful information provider called your Inner Coach. Take a moment to quiet yourself and your surroundings, and go inside to ask your Inner Coach what the next steps are that you should take. Here’s some advice about what your Inner Coach tells you.
