STUCK IS

STUCK is when you can only see one way forward—and it’s not the route you want to take
STUCK is when you have many options—and the thought of choosing paralyzes you
STUCK is when you’re doing what you’re told to do—and not what needs to be done
STUCK is when you know things aren’t working—and can’t step back far enough to see why
STUCK is when you make a start—and then don’t follow through on what needs to be done
STUCK is when you see what needs to be done—but you make an easier choice
STUCK is when you’re doing it all on your own—and it’s wearing you out
STUCK is when you’re waiting to be rescued—and your superhero isn’t showing up
STUCK is when you know what to do—and can’t see how to do it
STUCK is when you don’t know what to do—and can’t quite define the problem
STUCK is when you’ve secretly given up—and you’re still in the race
STUCK is when you’re running flat-out—and you know you’re in the wrong race
STUCK is when you’ve got big dreams—and you’re too afraid to chase them
STUCK is when you don’t have big dreams—and you feel empty

Michael Bungay Stanier

from Lance Odegard & Unstucking

II

When my father was an old man,
past eighty years, we sat together
on the porch in silence
in the dark. Finally he said,
“Well, I have had a wonderful life, “
adding after a long pause,
“and I have had nothing
to do with it!” We were silent
for a while again. And then I asked,
“Well, do you believe in the
informed decision?” He thought
some more, and at last said
out of the darkness: “Naw!”
He was right, for when we choose
the way by which our only life
is lived, we choose and do not know
what we have chosen, for this
is the heart’s choice, not the mind’s;
to be true to the heart’s one choice
is the long labor of the mind.
He chose, imperfectly as we must,
the rule of love, and learned
through years of light what darkly
he had chosen: His life, his place,
our place, our lives. And now comes
one he chose, but will not see:
Emily Rose, born May 2, 1993

Wendell Berry
This Day

IT'S THE CHAINS WE CHOOSE THAT SET US FREE

The people who live best tie themselves down.

They don’t ask: What cool thing can I do next? They ask: What is my responsibility here?

They respond to some problem or get called out of themselves by a deep love. 

By planting themselves in one neighborhood, one organization or one mission, they earn trust.

They have the freedom to make a lasting difference.

It’s the chains we choose that set us free.

David Brooks