What If Stuckness Is Just A Waiting Room?

What if stuckness is just... a waiting room?

A place you hang out right before the remarkable adventure that awaits you.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately—how often we label “stuck” as a problem. As something to fix. Something we’re doing wrong. But what if it’s not?

What if being stuck doesn’t have to mean anything is wrong at all?

What if it’s just neutral, not good or bad?
Like sitting in the waiting room at the dentist.

You know the kind. There’s usually an aquarium in the corner with little fish swimming in circles. There’s soft, unmemorable radio playing, one of those adult contemporary stations that fades into the background. A Keurig sits nearby, maybe out of creamer. And a pile of magazines that are always a few months out of date.

I doubt anyone in there thinks they’ve ruined their life by sitting down in that chair.

They’re just waiting.
Waiting to get their teeth cleaned.
Passing time until their name gets called to do the thing they chose to do.

And yeah, I get it, cleaning your teeth might not feel like s remarkable adventure. (Though personally, I love a good cleaning. Shiny teeth? Sign me up.)

But I know you know what I mean.

Stuckness might just be that pause, just that kind of bland, overly-lit room you hand out in before something wonderful begins.

Maybe your waiting room isn’t at the dentist.
Maybe it’s at the departure gate before your flight.
Maybe it’s the reception area before your dream job interview.
Maybe it’s sitting in your car before you walk into a networking event.

And yes, you’re fidgety. Perhaps a little restless. You keep checking your phone.
But you don’t leave.
You don’t abandon the whole thing. You wait.
Because you’re... in between.

That’s what I think stuck could really be.

A pause and a rest.
A transition space before something magnificent.

But we’ve been taught to panic when things feel slow or when we have to wait.
To interpret stillness as failure or not-enoughness.
We’ve been trained to make it mean we’re not productive enough, not moving as fast as we should, not doing enough.

And I want to gently challenge that.

Because I think we are far too habituated to turning stuck into a crisis.

What if it’s not?

What if it’s just a moment?

A moment to nourish, flip through an old magazine or memory, take a deep breath, and trust that something beautiful is coming next.

I love this idea.
And on the days I feel like I should be moving faster or doing more... I like to remind myself:

Nothing’s gone wrong.
I’m just in the waiting room.

My name will get called, or I’ll know when to open the door to that opportunity, event, idea, or adventure and walk right in.

I’m getting ready.

With immense appreciation & gratitude. Always.