Four Questions to Ask When You Feel Stuck in a Job

Do you feel stuck?

Specifically, do you feel stuck in your job? In your role? In your career?

I get it. I tend to feel stuck more often than I probably should.

When you feel stuck, getting unstuck is about all you can imagine. You spend your working hours frustrated in your stuckness. You spend your leisure hours daydreaming about what could be. You spend your sleeping hours dreaming about freedom.

If you’ve ever said (or are saying now), “I just feel stuck,” this post is for you.

Or, if you’re a leader or manager of people, this is for you, too. The reason is that they are feeling this emotion, as well. Understanding stuckness will help you lead those who feel stuck.

My Stuckness

When I graduated from college with a marketing degree, I believed my ticket to a robust career and financial freedom was secure. Accumulating nearly 100 employment rejection letters taught me marketing degrees aren’t that special. I felt stuck, so I went to graduate business school.

I began a new career with a consulting firm after my MBA program. The future was bright until I realized I was becoming a father for the second time and the company required lots of travel. Again, I felt stuck.

I left the consulting firm to work alongside my father in his marketing agency. The work was okay but not exciting. More stuck.

Then into ministry to help plant a church. Then to become a lead pastor of a church. Then to work with Andy Stanley and North Point Ministries. All eventually led me to feel stuck. Stuck. And more stuck.

At one point, I asked a fellow leader at North Point, “What’s next for a guy like me?” He laughed and responded, “You’re already a lead pastor, so I guess nothing!” I almost resigned on the spot. With nothing to pursue next, I felt stuck.

You’re Stuck

I bet your stuck stories sound familiar. Things start nicely but quickly evolve to stuckness. You begin looking for what’s next. You start looking around. Everything looks better than what’s immediately in front of you.

You feel stuck in your job. You feel stuck under your boss. Stuck in a role. Stuck in a career.

If I can press a little, perhaps you even feel stuck at home. Stuck as a father or mother. Stuck as a caregiver.

Feeling stuck is an emotion not relegated to work alone.

Getting Unstuck

Glance back at my stuck stories, and you can quickly diagnose what’s not the answer – leaving a career, job, or role. Not to suggest you shouldn’t leave. You might should change jobs or even careers. But, as my friend and former boss Andy Stanley taught me, “Everywhere you go, there you are.”

I didn’t leave Woodstock City Church because I felt stuck. I almost left a few times previously because I felt stuck, but I discovered a better way to get unstuck rather than running.

I imagine your unstuck solution isn’t a job change but a perspective shift.

Specifically, when you feel stuck, your first challenge is to reframe your current situation. Before you change, reframe.

1. Where can you find autonomy in your job or with your team?
2. What do you still have left to learn?
3. Where can you still contribute?
4. How can you reengage with your customers or congregation?

If you’ve run out of autonomy, have nothing left to learn, can’t contribute, and can’t engage, then perhaps it’s time for a change. Until then, first, try to reframe.

What you can’t do is automatically assume that changing jobs will change your emotions. I’m running my own business now, and believe me, it’s just as easy to feel stuck here as it has ever been. I no longer have paid vacations. I don’t have a team to help me ideate or execute. And I still need to provide for my family and pay a few college tuitions.

Stuck isn’t about where you are but about what you do while you’re there.

How can I help?

Think of me as your CSO (Chief Strategy Officer). Partnering with ministry and marketplace leaders from innovation through implementation is why I created Transformation Solutions. I’m dedicating my time to helping leaders like you discover potential problems, design strategic solutions, and deliver the preferable future. That includes you.

Go right now to mytransformationsolutions.com and sign up for a free, 15-minute conversation to decide if working together works for you.