How To “Unstuck” Yourself & Move Forward

Welcome to “Tales from the trail”.

I’m out here for a walk in my local park. I can’t resist being out in nature on a trail. This is my meditation. 

In one of my recent videos I talked about how one of the steps to getting past your chronic pain or emotional pain that you’re going through, was to keep moving forward.

But what do you do when you can’t move forward?  Where it seems like you can’t move forward? You know, and sometimes you’re stuck in a negative mindset cycle and it’s just so hard to take that next step.

It’s Very hard when we’re stuck in that cycle and it seems like you can’t take the next step.

The tough thing that we don’t realize is that NOT taking that next step perpetuates the cycle and keeps us from moving forward.

Now, it’s been said before that if you’re not progressing forward, you’re actually moving backwards. So what do I mean by that? Well, if you’re not progressing forward, you would say that’s neutral, right? But what happens is neutral is actually negative when it comes to your mindset or your physical state.

As you know, I’m a physical therapist and I work with patients all the time. And if you have somebody, let’s say, who retires and they decide I’m gonna retire at 65, and they say, I’m not going to do a thing.  I’m going to relax once I’ve retired because I deserve it.

Well, what very often happens is after you retire, you don’t do anything. And what happens is, not doing anything, you will start to regress rather quickly and degenerate.

And the old physics adage is…

things in motion tend to stay in motion and things rest tend to stay at rest.

And another thing people ask me often times is, “how do you keep moving into your nineties or eighties or seventies?”  Well, guess what? The way you keep moving into your seventies, your eighties or your nineties is… to keep moving in your seventies and your eighties and your nineties. Because if you don’t move, what happens is your body will degenerate quickly.

Well, mindset is very similar.

If you have yourself caught in the negative mindset and you feel like you can’t take a step forward or can’t progress forward, your brain will shut down and it just keeps you from doing anything.

But the problem with not doing anything is it stops you in your tracks.  You might as well be regressing.

So if I stop here on the trail I’m hiking, although this is a beautiful view right now with fall foliage and one of my favorite places to be. But if I just stay here and I decide I’m not going to move anywhere, how would I get back to my car? How would I get back to my house? How would I get back to where I started from or get to where I’m going?

If I decide to stay still and not go anywhere and not do anything and not progress forward, then in effect I’m going backwards because I wouldn’t get anywhere. Now, temporarily, it’s okay to be here if I so choose to be here and relax because it’s such a wonderful place to be. And I could use this for my wellness and meditate and relax and use that to move forward.

It was Lao Tzu who said, …

“The journey of a thousand leagues begins with the first step.”

So it may seem overwhelming if you’re stuck in a chronic pain cycle or the negative mindset loop.

It may seem challenging and overwhelming to move forward, and so you just don’t do anything.

But what I want you to do is try and focus on taking the first step. You may have a destination, but you don’t have to focus so much on a destination, that you have in mind.

Focus on the step, take that next step, move forward, and then take the next step and then the next step.

Sometimes when I go on a bigger hike and I’m out in the mountains and it seems overwhelming when you start off and you’re going to be hiking for six to 10 hours and you don’t know how you’re going to make it;   you may know that you’re going to get to the top.  Don’t focus, necessarily on a destination. Focus on the step that you’re taking in front of you. Then focus on the next step and then focus on the next step and keep moving forward.

I think it was Greg Anderson who said (and I paraphrase here), ..

“It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey. Focus on the things that you’re doing in the moment, that you’re doing that moment.”

And Eckhart Toll would talk about focusing on the now.  That they’re only ever IS the now.

So, if you worry about the destination of what’s at the end of all those steps, sometimes you can’t focus on what you’re focusing on at the present.

The only step that you’re ever on is the one that you’re taking at the moment that you’re doing it. And then the one that you’re only on is the next step that you take and you keep moving forward.

But if you don’t take any steps forward and you stay where you are, I can guarantee you one thing; that you won’t make any progress at all. And like I said, most likely you’ll go backwards and regress

So if you’re in a negative mindset loop, that mindset loop may get more deeply rooted. If you’re in chronic pain, you may end up with more dysfunction. 

So, If you’re not moving forward in life and focusing on getting to the next level of your wellness. Or, if you are in chronic pain now, or in a chronic negative mindset loop, I want you to focus on in any way, shape or form, moving forward.  Taking the next step.

So that means sitting down and setting specific goals for what you want to accomplish. And once you do that, then you can focus on taking the first step.

Let’s say, as per your doctor, you need to walk to get your blood sugar down or lose weight or improve your cardiac conditioning, but you can’t walk to the end of the street yet, or you can’t walk around the block and the doctor wants you walking three miles a day.

At first it seems overwhelming, so you end up not doing anything. But what I want you to do is take the first step; literally!

You can do is walk to the end of the driveway, right? You can definitely walk to the end of the driveway.  You may ne out of breath, but you can do it. Then I want you to walk to the next driveway, into the next mailbox. And then I want you to walk to the next corner. And before you know what you’re walking around the block.  There are people who started marathons that way. And you walk two blocks and then you walk a mile and then before you know it, you’re walking three to five miles.

Now, if walking out in the woods is not your thing, or hiking is not your thing, let’s say you’re a walker. Walk around your neighborhood, walk your dog, go to a track.  You can do something in the house, maybe it’s a stretching routine. Let’s say it’s meditation. Let’s say it’s starting to eat right. But take the first step and remember you’re going to have relapses.

You might have a bad day, you might have a bad two days, you might have a bad week. It’s okay. Reset yourself, revisit your goals, set your goals, but focus on what you’re doing at the moment that you’re doing it. And then take that first step. Take the next step after that and keep taking steps.

 A Journey of a thousand leagues begins with the first step, and before you know it, you will take a thousand steps!

You will take 10,000 steps and then you’ll take miles and miles and keep moving forward.

That’s one of my tips for breaking your chronic pain cycle or negative mindset loop is to keep moving forward. And that’s exactly what I want you to do. Whatever small step you’re taking, focus on the step that you’re taking at the moment you’re taking it. And then take the next step and then take this next step.

But do me a favor, take the next step.

And remember, it may not always seem this way but …

You are in control.

You deserve it for yourself.

Be your own champion.

You are 100% control of your thoughts and actions and what you want to accomplish.

So get out there, and however small it is, I want you to take the first step and then take the next step after that and keep moving forward.

Well, thanks for joining me on… The Tales From the Trail.😃

Have a great day and be well everybody.

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I want you to have a great day and remember as always…

Be Positive, Be Motivated, Be Focused and Be Well,

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