When You Feel Stuck - Try This

My husband and I went to Ohiopyle on Saturday.

For anyone who knows us well — or knows us at all, really — it might be surprising to hear we hadn’t been there in over a year. With (finally!) no rain in the forecast, we headed out for a day of biking and enjoying our place of peace and togetherness.

After breakfast at one of our favorite little mountain cafés, and while perusing our go-to t-shirt shop (I have enough, but hey — does that really matter?), we overheard:

“Oh no, not again — the power is out.”

The entire borough of Ohiopyle was without power.

Some of the restaurants had generators. None of the stores did.  Neither of those were a big deal — we could easily manage around them.

What did matter?

All of the restrooms, though open, were pitch black once you closed the door.  Pitch. Black.

Leaning my leg against the side of the toilet to keep my bearings, I locked the door — and was immediately thrown into that darkness. I had, unfortunately for this moment, left my phone (a.k.a. flashlight) in the car.

No worries, I thought. I can manage a quick bathroom trip in the dark.

Until it was time to find the door.

It’s not a big space — how much trouble could this be?

Finding the wall where the door was located, I ran my hand over it in search of the lock and doorknob.  Both remained elusive.

I. could. not. find. them. (!!)

I kept searching.

“I know they’re here,” was my first calm thought.

It quickly melted into a more panicked one:

“Even if I pound on the door and Rick hears me, he can’t open it from the outside.”

“Breathe, Lisa,” I told myself.  “The lock is here.”  (Although in this moment, I had my doubts!!)

What brilliant move did I make in that moment?

I kept searching the same place on the wall.

Over and over and over.

Expecting to find the lock that hadn’t been there on any of my other tries.

Have you ever done that?

Kept trying the same thing that didn’t work — hoping this time it would?

Finally, I stopped and said,

“You have to change where you’re looking.”

And I shifted slightly to the left.

And bingo — there it was.

Breakthrough doesn’t always come from pushing harder.

Sometimes it comes from adjusting — even slightly — where we focus and what action steps we’re taking.

When we realize we’re stuck, we have to be intentional about choosing something different.

Funny how easy it is to get locked in — not just in a bathroom stall, but in old thoughts, old habits, old fears.  To get stuck trying the same things repeatedly, even though they’re not working.

The way out?

It usually isn’t where we keep looking.

Move to the left.