Pull your foot out!

Do you remember a day at the beach? You take a picnic basket with you and a cooler, an umbrella to shade you from too much sun. You planed to stay the whole day at the beach. You dash into the ocean, swim and splash around.

When you are tired of swimming, you lie down in the sand. You relax.

You might watch children playing in the sand, digging a tunnel, building mountains of sand, burying each other with only a head and a toe sticking out. Others might build a castle in the wet sand. Using pails to make towers and shells to decorate it.

You take a walk along the beach, pick up mussels and scallops, empty snail shells and cockles.

When the tide goes out, it leaves shallow tide pools behind. You step into one of the pools and sink in slowly with your feet. You choose to wiggle a bit with your toes sinking in a bit more. After waiting a while you sank in over your ankles.

At first, sinking in gives you a nice feeling. The wet beach holds you. It gives you stability. You sink in a bit more.

Do you recall how it feels to be stuck?

Being stuck at the beach, with your feet in the sand might turn into a weird feeling. A scary feeling. You can’t get your feet out together at once. The wet sand is sticky. The beach does not want to set you free. You are seemingly stuck!

Sitting down does not work out well because you sank into the sand until your lower shins. You wiggle around. You step up and down and manage to pull one leg out. Sinking in a bit deeper with the other foot. You are out of balance!

You pull hard. It feels as if the wet sand is keeping you in a tight grip. Then release: You pull your second foot out.

You get unstuck!

You still feel weird though. You might wonder how you got yourself in that crazy situation.

This can be a metaphor for our life. Every once in a while we maneuver into situations that we did not plan nor expect.

I remembered the day at the beach when I listened to a TED Talk this evening. Terry Singh was talking about getting unstuck. He pointed out that getting unstuck does not mean that you feel well right away. It is rather that getting unstuck also feels uncomfortable. Just as feeling stuck does. There might be friction too. Comparable to wet sand that feels like abrasive paper when you pull your foot out of it.

Getting unstuck leads you away from being stuck. It leads you onto the path to feeling better. But first, it still might feel definitely uncomfortable.

Getting unstuck is choosing the right path to find happiness. Getting unstuck leads you there.

Let’s follow the signs!

Do you remember a day at the beach? You take a picnic basket with you and a cooler, an umbrella to shade you from too much sun. You planed to stay the whole day at the beach. You dash into the ocean, swim and splash around.

When you are tired of swimming, you lie down in the sand. You relax.

You might watch children playing in the sand, digging a tunnel, building mountains of sand, burying each other with only a head and a toe sticking out. Others might build a castle in the wet sand. Using pails to make towers and shells to decorate it.

You take a walk along the beach, pick up mussels and scallops, empty snail shells and cockles.

When the tide goes out, it leaves shallow tide pools behind. You step into one of the pools and sink in slowly with your feet. You choose to wiggle a bit with your toes sinking in a bit more. After waiting a while you sank in over your ankles.

At first, sinking in gives you a nice feeling. The wet beach holds you. It gives you stability. You sink in a bit more.

Do you recall how it feels to be stuck?

Being stuck at the beach, with your feet in the sand might turn into a weird feeling. A scary feeling. You can’t get your feet out together at once. The wet sand is sticky. The beach does not want to set you free. You are seemingly stuck!

Sitting down does not work out well because you sank into the sand until your lower shins. You wiggle around. You step up and down and manage to pull one leg out. Sinking in a bit deeper with the other foot. You are out of balance!

You pull hard. It feels as if the wet sand is keeping you in a tight grip. Then release: You pull your second foot out.

You get unstuck!

You still feel weird though. You might wonder how you got yourself in that crazy situation.

This can be a metaphor for our life. Every once in a while we maneuver into situations that we did not plan nor expect.

I remembered the day at the beach when I listened to a TED Talk this evening. Terry Singh was talking about getting unstuck. He pointed out that getting unstuck does not mean that you feel well right away. It is rather that getting unstuck also feels uncomfortable. Just as feeling stuck does. There might be friction too. Comparable to wet sand that feels like abrasive paper when you pull your foot out of it.

Getting unstuck leads you away from being stuck. It leads you onto the path to feeling better. But first, it still might feel definitely uncomfortable.

Getting unstuck is choosing the right path to find happiness. Getting unstuck leads you there.

Let’s follow the signs!