Do you want to do great things? Are you struggling to complete your most important projects? Do you feel stuck in the gap between what you aspire to achieve and what you actually execute?

Nothing is as painful as staying stuck. There’s a difference between being stuck and choosing to stay. Stop thinking that you’ll be stuck in your current situation forever. Don’t confuse a season for a lifetime. Even your trails have an expiration date.

If it feels like everyone else is moving on with their lives while you’re stuck in a hole that you can’t climb out of, here are a few questions that will help you grow, change, and build a way out. Getting unstuck is a matter of choice.

What am I resisting?

The seeds of growth lie in your resistance to what’s new, unfamiliar, or unpleasant. All too often, the very things you resist most are the things that force you to grow the most. Be attentive to those subtle gut-tightening signals that hint of an opportunity for learning. Remember, fear is the glue that keeps you stuck.

What’s the lesson here?

In order to really benefit, you have to actually seek out the lesson, demonstrate you really want to hear, and be willing to follow the often-subtle guidance that comes. Nothing ever goes away until it teaches us what we need to know.

Have I been here before?

Often our most pressing issues are thinly disguised versions of problems we’ve failed to solve in the past. Different names and faces maybe, but the same underneath, destined not to go away until we meet and resolve them once and for all. If your answer to this question is yes, then it’s time to get to the bottom of the issue and solve it.

Am I losing energy to this?

You pay a price of every negative thought you entertain, and it’s measured in decreased energy, heightened depression, reduced immune function, and sometimes serious illness. Although you may believe otherwise, you have to reach the place where anger, frustration, worry, and criticism have no place in your experience. Until you do, you’re losing energy, diluting your focus, and rendering yourself vulnerable.

Am I holding on to something I need to let go of?

One of the most difficult tasks consists of letting go of your attachments, your ego, and the need to be right. You can’t fly unless you’re willing to let go of your firm footing on the earth. When you really let go, you really start to grow.

Am I in the present?

Every moment you spend regretting the past or worrying about the future is a moment of the present that you lose. You can only act in the present. That’s where your full attention needs to be, and staying in the present is a full-time job.

What do I need to do now?

Put the question differently: is there a NEED for action now? Often, we act because we’re afraid that, if we don’t, things will get worse. The truth is that deliberate inaction is action and can also be a way to allow a cloudy situation to become clear.

In reality, you’re never permanently stuck. You’re just committed to certain patterns of behavior because they helped you in the past. Now those behaviors have become more harmful than helpful. The reason why you can’t move forward is because you keep applying an old formula to a new level in your life. Asking and answering these questions will help you change the formula to get a different result.