Britt Frank, LSCSW, has written a book titled, The Science of Stuck: Breaking through Inertia to Find Your Path. I’m sure we’ve all had moments of feeling stuck—stagnant, unable to move forward. The truth is, there are some benefits to staying stuck, so if we want the motivation to make changes, we may want to look at these honestly and with compassion (that’s key!). From her book, here are nine benefits to staying stuck:
1. Energy conservation: If you don’t do things, you don’t have to expend valuable energy doing things.
2. Image Preservation: If you keep yourself stuck, you don’t have to worry about people finding out you’re a “fraud.”
3. Risk management: If you don’t start doing things, you don’t have to worry about failing at things.
4. Control: If you keep your ideas safely confined to your head, you can maintain control over them.
5. Pain numbing: If you never start doing things, you can numb out by fantasizing about “someday” doing things.
6. Familiarity: We often accept the discomfort of the familiar rather than risk the unknown of change — even positive change.
7. Safety: Sometimes it feels safer to stay small.
8. Financial security: Staying stuck doesn’t require you to risk resources for an unknown outcome.
9. Relationship equilibrium: If you don’t do things, you don’t have to worry about shifting the dynamics of your relationships.
If you’d like to do a deeper dive, I invite you to read the book and/or watch this video below.
Smuggling Grace 