We sometimes find ourselves stuck.

Stuck in a relationship we should’ve left months ago. Stuck in a fantasy of where we stand or where we could go with a person. Stuck living life as a broken record, doing the same thing day-to-day to the point where all the days begin to blur together. Stuck as a melody of the same old song, playing again and again, refusing to click pause.

But we need to pause to turn down the volume. Silence needs its chance to do its job. It’s so easy to get caught up in the noise going on in our minds—all of the overthinking, the worries, and the fantasies that we fabricate so effortlessly. When our minds are clouded with all of this, it’s extremely challenging to even attempt to think or see clearly. Often, we have a gut feeling about what we should do, but we choose to brush it aside in hopes that the longer we ignore it, the longer we can hold on.

Holding onto something that isn’t meant for us or that isn’t nurturing to our lives only delays the realization that we need to let it go. All of the time that we spend grasping at what is causing us to be stuck could instead be used to find something that could release us. Taking a step back out of a situation that we’ve been tied to for awhile can help us to see the things that could do that for us.

It’s difficult to look at our lives from an unbiased point-of-view, because let’s face it—it’s our lives, and we have some things to say about them. However, a way you can attempt to be that neutral perspective is to pretend as if someone else was coming to you with the same situation you’re in and was asking for your advice. Step out of your shoes and think of the advice that you would feel confident in giving to someone else, with the purest intentions of helping them achieve what would be best for them. Then you may find yourself seeing what could be best for you. 

So, pause that song that you’ve been playing on repeat and skip to the next one, and then the next one, and the next one. You’re life is an entire album, full of endless songs, and there is so much of it left to listen to.