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?
Limited thinking?
A toxic past?
An old, fixed mindset?
Your relationship?
A fairly comfortable life?
In a job you despise?
In a sick body?
I’ve learned in my life that spending years discovering “why” you got into this trapped feeling is enlightening, but it is frequently unnecessary and even more often, a waste of time. It’s much more practical to take the steps to move away from feeling trapped without knowing the why of it, so let’s see what we can do practically to move away from any trapped situation you currently find yourself in.
The first thing you can do is to 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. Before you read the next paragraph, won’t you please take a moment and write down what it is that makes you feel most trapped in your life currently?
The second thing you can do is to describe what not feeling trapped would be like for you. Let me illustrate this with a story. 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.
Let’s use Victor as our example going forward. 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 because 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
The last step is called Action Plan. Once you’ve identified where you are trapped, and you’ve sketched out how not feeling trapped looks and feels for you, 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 I like to think of as 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.
Don’t try to figure out what is coming forth. Trust the words and write them down.
Ask your Inner Coach for the next steps and the ones beyond that. Write them down.
Don’t sit in judgment at the information being brought forward. Don’t say “No” to anything that comes forward.
Don’t become frightened at the largeness of the dreams or steps. You deserve Big Dreams.
With the three steps provided here, you can be well along your way out of feeling trapped. I wish you success on your Be the Change journey.
