Photo by Alban Martel on Unsplash

It’s hard to be happy when you feel stuck or trapped. Instead, you tend to feel depressed, frustrated, and dissatisfied, especially if you feel stuck in an unhappy marriage.

Life and marriage are full of ups and downs. 

There will be beautiful times of opportunity and great joy, along with times of disappointment and frustration when life falls short of your dreams and expectations. 

Feeling stuck at some point in your life is normal, but staying stuck is a choice.

Here are a few things yous can do whenever you feel stuck or trapped. 

Decide: Make The Tough Choice

We tend to get stuck when we avoid tough decisions. 

If you hate your job and feel trapped, make the tough choice to do something about it by becoming qualified for another one or by pursuing an entrepreneurial endeavor in your spare time instead of spending your evenings watching reruns.

If you’re stuck in an unhappy marriage, address the issues in the relationship that make you feel unhappy; get counseling, seek therapy, and do whatever it takes to improve things! The quality of your marriage pretty much determines the quality of your life. Why settle for less than you want or deserve? Do something about it.

If you’re dating and feel stuck in a relationship that isn’t working out, the hard choice is to end things and move on. What are you waiting for?

Life is too short to be miserable.

What decision(s) are you avoiding? 

Sometimes, the only way to move forward and be happy is to have the courage to make the difficult decisions. 

You deserve to be happy, so never be afraid to do the right thing, no matter how hard it is.

Begin With Small Changes

Change can be scary and overwhelming. So leave your current situation and start moving toward your ideal situation by taking baby steps; start with small, even micro, changes until you feel comfortable. Small decisions let you test the water to see if they’re good decisions and what you truly want for your life.

Consider the things you want to change, and then figure out three or four things you can do to move your life in that direction. 

Implementing change one step at a time prevents change from becoming overwhelming. Direction is more important than speed.

Small changes equal steady progress, motivating you to stay the course and make bigger ones. 

Work On Self-Improvement

How you feel about yourself can hold you back. 

Do you lack confidence? Are you filled with self-doubt? Do you second-guess yourself all the time?

Do you believe in yourself?

Personal development helps you to see your life more positively. 

Being optimistic about yourself and your capabilities helps you recognize opportunities and work through challenges keeping you from your dream life. 

Spend some time in introspection today and consider things about yourself you’d like to change for the better – that if you made those changes, your life would improve drastically.

Decide To Be Yourself

Perhaps you feel stuck or trapped because you’re trying to be all things to all people; you’re sacrificing your happiness to make others happy. 

Or, maybe you’re dimming your glow to make people around you feel comfortable or accepted.

Maybe you’re holding back because you don’t want to make waves or rock the boat. 

The problem with that way of life is that you’re not being yourself and you’re not really living.

Don’t live someone else’s life. Don’t conform to their expectations. Don’t willingly walk into, or stay, in an emotional prison! You only get one life.

So resolve today to BE YOURSELF!

Life is too short to live someone else’s story. Star in your own blockbuster!

Live, work, love, serve, and fight in your own armor. 

So many people struggle to be themselves around other people. 

If you present a fake version of yourself to others, you will never be happy. Only by being authentic can you live a fulfilling and happy life.

Feeling stuck or trapped in life happens to everyone, but don’t allow yourself to stay stuck. 

Feeling trapped or stuck is an illusion. Deep within, you know what you need to do; you just need to find the courage to do it. The above advice can help move you towards unlocking the life and marriage you dream of and deserve.