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?

Does Feeling Stuck Mean Something Is Wrong?

Not always. Feeling stuck is often a pause between one season of life and the next. You've outgrown where you were and can't see where you're going yet. That in-between can feel uncomfortable without meaning anything has gone wrong.

What if being stuck doesn't have to mean anything is wrong at all? What if it's just neutral, neither good nor bad? Like sitting in the waiting room at the dentist.

The Waiting Room

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 And a pile of magazines that are always a few months out of date.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 a 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, that bland, overly lit room you hang 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.

Why Feeling Stuck Feels So Uncomfortable

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?

I talked about this with Jessica Smarro on Unblocked: how to find your footing in the in-between, and why discomfort there isn't proof you're on the wrong path.

How to Know If You're in a Waiting Room or Truly Stuck

• A waiting room feels restless, and you still want what's on the other side of the door. You're fidgety, but you haven't stopped wanting.

• Truly stuck feels flat. You've stopped letting yourself want anything, or you keep negotiating down what you want before you've even said it out loud.

If you're in the waiting room, rest and get ready. If you've stopped wanting, the work is to remember what you want. Here's how to start figuring out what you actually want.

What to Do While You're in the Waiting Room

Take a moment to nourish yourself, 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.

If this in-between feels familiar, you might also love The Sacred Space Between No Longer and Not Yet.

Not Sure What You Actually Want?

Answer six honest questions and I'll send you a personal voice memo with what I see. Answer the six questions.

Katie Pulsifer is a Master Certified Life Coach for high-achieving women over 40 who have built great-looking lives and know it's not enough anymore. She helps women stop prioritizing everyone else, figure out what they actually want, and start creating a life that feels as great as it looks, without blowing up the life they've already built. Katie's coaching is grounded in neuroscience, radical self-responsibility, and the belief that your worth is inherent, not earned.

With immense appreciation & gratitude. Always.