- Cariss Cole
How to Get Out of Feeling Stuck In Between Where You Are and Where You Want To Be
Updated: Apr 26, 2020
Do You Feel Stuck In Between?
At some point in time, we all do. 𝙄𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚. You can either decide that what you are trying to accomplish is too hard/scary, or you can choose to use it to propel you forward.
A lot of of choices are based on our feelings. We do things because we do or do not feel like doing them often. Of course there are things that we have to do, like work and certain obligations that we have despite our feelings, but learning to control your feelings can get you so much farther and accomplish so much more.
In every 𝙞𝙣 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙣 there is challenge, but those challenges are opportunities, not setbacks. They are there as incentives to push us to seek differences between the now and the later. The middle of a storm is always the scariest, but storms will pass and we will change based off of the experience. It’s up to you to choose if you are changing for better or worse.
Recognizing the Warning Signs of Being Stuck In Between
The warning signs of being in between are simple, but can be hard to recognize for what they are. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗱. Learning to un-cloud your vision will help you transition from the trap.
Painting has always been a passion of mine. There’s something that ignites in me by bringing a rough sketch to life with color. It would seem that drawing and painting would go hand in hand, but that has never been my experience.
Drawing ✍️ is very intricate, with fine lines and so many details that together make up the larger picture. Painting fills in all of the imperfections in my drawings with blending, shading and coloring.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀. I would spend so much time enamored with the fine points that the larger picture often became distorted because I wasn’t focusing on the picture as a whole.
In a similar way, we can get so caught up in the details of where we are that we lose sight of the bigger picture. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘃𝘂𝗹𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. It can easily confuse us into making bad decisions, lead us into depression and increase our instability.
The hardest part about this is that most of our lives are spent in the in between! 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝘂𝗴 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗼𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲. Transition how you are viewing things, take an account and re-calibrate! Don’t get stuck here, seek the bigger picture, the details have a way of filling themselves in along the way!
Waiting Calls for Patience In the In Between
When we are stuck in between everything seems to test our patience. Little things can make us irritable. Big things can make us emotional. All things can evoke reactions out of us that we might question in the future.
𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀, when we expect them to follow suit or move up to the standards we think they should. When they fall short, so does our patience. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝘄𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀. Burning the candle at both ends doesn’t always produce the results we seek, in fact sometimes it makes things even worse.
When my children were really little I prayed for patience, with them and for myself. 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿. Pressure continued to build, until one conversation changed my mind. My Grammy let me know that in praying for patience, I was actually asking for persecution. That in virtues we ask of God, He teaches us lessons to earn the virtue. These challenges are all tests in our testimony.
So I ask.... are you patient? With others? With yourself?
When things test your patience, try to remember that others are probably testing their waters too. Try to remember to be patient with yourself also, as you are always learning something new.
𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘂𝘀, that when we think we are waiting on Him, He’s actually waiting on us. His time is not our time, He does not expire, but we do.
"But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day." - 2 Peter 3:8
Instead of reacting in the moment. Breathe, count... do whatever you will do, but look up before all else! He is the perfect guide. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗲.
Looking Back Keeps You Stuck In-Between
𝗔𝘀 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻. I’m sure you know people (or maybe you are one) that are still trying to live as if they were in the past. 𝗔 𝗹𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵’𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗵𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲, "𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮" 𝗼𝗿 "𝙬𝙚 𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨".
I hear this often at work from people stuck in their ways and unable to comprehend that they are no longer there physically and that being there emotionally isn’t helping them get where they want to be presently.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻. If you are wise, you learn from it. Far too many people, however get stuck there. It can be very crippling to growth. No one likes to be stuck where they are, but most of us need to be pushed out of our comfort zones a time or two before we will move (something I’ve been guilty of more times than I would like to admit).
If you need a push.... here it is! 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗽. The same thing applies with life. You can’t spend your time moving forward, when your eyes haven’t left the rear view mirror!
Want to get out of the in between? Move forward. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗹𝗹 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝗹𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗶𝘁! Keep smiling the whole way... it’s the best medicine for mood! When you smile at others, they can’t help but smile back, even if it’s because they get they think your crazy. Let them! What does their opinion matter anyway? 😊
Leaving Your Comfort Zone and the In Between
Comfort is, well, comfortable. It’s a place where I know I love from time to time. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝘇𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. We’ve all been guilty of this a time or two, I’m sure.
The problem is, 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘇𝗼𝗻𝗲. We don’t always know it while we are there, but somewhere in the process we become unsettled. We long for more and if we stay lazy and neglect to move we can eventually become sullen and maybe even bitter when we are interrupted from our inaction.
𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻, 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗼𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲. Don’t settle and take a seat. There’s so much out there to explore. Both fear of the unknown and of failure can be equally paralyzing, but once you decide to move beyond your comfort you’ll grow immensely.
What are some things that make you a little too comfortable? How do you push yourself out of your comfort zone?
Explore the Unknown Beyond the In Between

It can be so convenient to stay stuck in between the known and unknown. Risks can be scary. 𝗟𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝘀𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘂𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗰𝗸.
Moving beyond being stuck in-between where you are and where you want to be won’t be easy. 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸. Being patient with yourself and others is a must. Shifting your focus forward and off the past is necessary for you to head in the right direction and moving beyond your comfort zone will yield amazing results.
The unknown is also the place where you discover your potential. Pushing into the unknown is where you grow. 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘂𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘂𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀.
𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀! Row out into the unknown, stay the course and do not to retreat back to the shore, no matter how choppy the waves get. You’re closer than you think to success!
Some of us are born with this drive and others of us discover it along the way. One of the biggest turning points in my life was when I stopped worrying about how I was going to do things and started saying “Lord, I cannot wait to see how you are going to do this!” 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀, 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗲. God is with you and He is for you. Accept it. God will help you with rest.
I would love to hear from you. Comment below!
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