7 Questions to Ask Yourself When You Feel Stuck and Stagnant in Life and Business

If you’ve been feeling stuck and stagnant in life and business, I want you to know something before we dive in: you are not broken, you are not lazy, and you are absolutely not alone. I’m not coming to you today as someone who has it all figured out or someone who took one bold leap and never looked back. I’m coming to you as someone who has been stuck — multiple times, in multiple ways — and I want you to hear my story, because I have a feeling parts of it are going to sound a little familiar.

I Chose Surgery Over Showing Up to My Own Life

My first real encounter with that dreaded feeling of being stuck happened when I was working in non-profit fundraising in New York. I had been an event planner and fundraiser for about ten years — commuting into Manhattan every single day from Long Island. And on paper? It was fine. Stable job, good career, I was great at what I did.

But why was I SO miserable?

If you are good at something shouldn’t you also be passionate about it? Was something wrong with me?!

Well, here’s how I know I was truly, deeply unhappy (and this is the part where you might laugh, because honestly, looking back, I laugh too.)

I was so desperate to get out of that office that I elected to have foot surgery. Not because it was urgent. Not because I was in agony. But because it meant I could be out of work for a full month.

I chose surgery over showing up to my own life. Let that sink in.

I didn’t know what I wanted. I just knew I didn’t want that anymore — the commute, Long Island, the career that had started to feel like a cage. So I made the only change I could wrap my head around at the time: I moved to Rochester, New York. Same career, new city. I told myself a change of scenery would fix it.

(Spoiler: it didn’t.)

The Blank Wall

So there I was in Rochester. Still in the same career I didn’t love, in a city that did not feel like home. And the stuck feeling didn’t just come back. It got louder.

There was this one particular moment in time where I would just sit and stare at a blank wall. Not meditating. Not thinking productively. Just sitting there, repeating to myself — how did I get here? How is this my life? There was a fog of lostness that I couldn’t shake.

I even went to Barnes & Noble and headed straight for the fiction section. I was literally searching for a novel with a character whose life looked like mine, hoping she’d figure it out so I could figure it out too. That’s how lost I was. I was outsourcing my clarity to a made-up person in a book. And I didn’t just read the back of a few books. I must’ve read the back of at least 50-100 books.

And then someone — and I’m so grateful for this person — suggested I hire a life coach. I had no idea what that even meant at the time or that something like that even existed, BUT, I got a recommendation, I said yes, and it changed everything.

Working with a coach was the first time I started actually untangling my fears instead of just running from them. And somewhere in that process I realized — this is what I want to do. I want to be the person who helps someone else find their way out of the blank wall moments.

The Messy Middle Nobody Talks About

I eventually got the courage to make the big moves. I relocated to Austin, Texas. I went back to school — studied massage therapy, got my life coaching certification. I was doing the thing. And for a while, just the momentum of that felt amazing.

But then I had the businesses… and something still felt off.

My massage business didn’t light me up the way I thought it would. My coaching business existed, but it didn’t feel like mine — like I was building it the way I thought it was supposed to look, not the way I actually wanted it to look.

Nothing felt wrong exactly, but nothing felt right either. And that’s its own kind of stuck. The kind where you’ve done all the brave things and you still feel like you’re slightly off course.

So I made more adjustments. I let go of the idea that the massage business had to be my whole identity. I took a part-time job — and instead of feeling like failure, it gave me breathing room. Financial freedom, creative space, time to rebuild my coaching business in a way that actually fits my life.

I share all of this because I want you to know: being stuck isn’t a sign that you’re broken or behind or not cut out for this. It’s a sign that something in your life is asking to change. And sometimes you need to make a move (even an imperfect one) before the right path becomes clear.

Why You Feel Stuck and Stagnant in Life and Business

Before we get to the questions, I want to name what’s actually happening when you feel stuck and stagnant — because understanding the why is half the battle.

Fear is dressed up as “not being ready.” You’re waiting for more knowledge, more money, more time, more confidence. But really, it’s fear of failure or fear of success. The truth is, no one feels ready before a leap.

You’re living by someone else’s script. Doing what you “should” do (the safe career, the expected path.) So used to people-pleasing that you’ve lost track of what you actually wants.

Overwhelm is masquerading as paralysis. Too many options, too much noise. Decision fatigue leads to doing nothing at all.

You’re waiting for permission. Waiting for a sign, a guarantee, or someone to tell you it’s okay. The uncomfortable truth? The permission slip is yours to write.

Your identity hasn’t caught up yet. You know what you wants to do but don’t yet see yourself as the person who does it. That gap between who you are and who you’re becoming? That’s where stuck lives.

The 7 Questions to Get Unstuck

Okay — here’s what I really want you to do. Don’t just read these questions. Grab a journal or a piece of paper and actually write the answers down. Something shifts when you put pen to paper. Your brain stops performing and starts telling the truth.

I’ve also created a free downloadable Get Unstuck: The Mindset Assessment with all seven questions beautifully laid out so you can print it, sit with it over a cup of coffee, and really dig in. Download it for FREE!

Question 1: What in my life and career right now is preventing me from feeling joy?

This is the honest question most of us are too afraid to ask ourselves. Not what’s mildly inconvenient, but what is actively standing between you and joy right now. Maybe it’s the job. Maybe it’s a relationship. Maybe it’s the version of yourself you’ve been performing for other people. Maybe it’s all three.

Write it all down. Don’t edit yourself. The things you name here have been quietly draining you, and naming them is the first act of taking your power back.

Question 2: What do I wish my life looked like?

Now we flip it.

You just named what’s blocking your joy, now I want you to dream. And I mean really dream, not the responsible “well realistically I could probably…” version. The real version. The one you think about when you’re staring out the window or lying awake at night.

What does your life look like when it’s actually yours? Where are you? What are you doing? How do you feel when you wake up on a Monday morning? Write it down in as much detail as you can. You can’t move toward something you haven’t allowed yourself to fully picture.

Question 3: What are my biggest doubts and fears about going after my dream?

Let them out. All of them. The ones that feel embarrassing, the ones that feel ridiculous, the ones you haven’t said out loud to anyone. “I’m too old.” “I don’t have the right background.” “What if I fail publicly?” “What if people think I’m ridiculous for even trying?”

Write every single one down. Don’t judge them and don’t talk yourself out of them yet — just get them out of your head and onto the page. Fear gets bigger in the dark and smaller in the light. This is you turning the light on.

Question 4: Are those doubts and fears actually true?

Now look at everything you just wrote and get really honest. For each fear on that list — is this actually, factually true? Or is it a story you’ve been telling yourself on repeat for so long that it started to feel like truth?

“I’m too old.” Is that true? Says who? By whose definition? “I don’t have the right background.” Is that true? Or do you have a different background — one that’s actually your unique advantage? “I’ll probably fail.” Is that true? Or is that fear doing math it’s not qualified to do?

Most of our fears don’t survive honest scrutiny. But we never actually scrutinize them — we just feel them and assume they’re right. This question is your chance to push back.

Question 5: Whose voice is telling me I can't do this — and is it actually mine?

Now that you’ve started poking holes in your fears, go one level deeper. When you hear that voice that says “you can’t do this” or “who do you think you are” or “be realistic,” ask yourself whose voice is it really?

Is it a parent who prioritized security over passion? A teacher who told you to be practical? A culture that taught you that wanting more was selfish or ungrateful? So many of the beliefs that keep us stuck aren’t even originally ours. We inherited them. We absorbed them. And we’ve been carrying them around like they’re facts ever since.

Name the voice. And then remind yourself — that voice got you this far, but it doesn’t get to decide what happens next. That part is yours.

Question 6: What will I lose if I don't go after my dream?

This one is uncomfortable, and that’s exactly the point. Staying stuck has a price too. It’s just a quieter, slower price than the fear of change. And because it’s quiet, we tend to ignore it.

Don’t ignore it here. What will you lose? More years in work that drains you? The chance to build something that’s truly yours? The version of yourself that’s been waiting patiently — maybe not so patiently anymore?

Sit with this one a little longer than feels comfortable. It matters.

Question 7: What is one small step I can take TODAY to move closer to my dream life and business?

Not next month. Not when you feel ready, because friend, that day will keep moving. Today.

It doesn’t have to be big or perfect or impressive. It just has to be real. Book the call. Write the first paragraph. Tell one person about the idea. Research the program. Momentum doesn’t start with a grand gesture. It starts with one single step that says — I am choosing myself today. Even just a little. Even just this once.

And then tomorrow, you choose yourself again.

What To Do With Your Answers

Here’s where most people get tripped up. They do the journaling, they have the breakthrough moment, they feel the fire — and then life happens. Two weeks later that journal is under a pile of stuff on the nightstand and the answers feel far away again.

So here are three simple things to do with what you just uncovered:

Don’t rush to fix everything at once. One of the biggest mistakes I see women make after a breakthrough moment is trying to blow up their entire life overnight. You don’t have to do everything right now. You just have to do something. Honor question seven — one step. That’s it.

Go back to your answers in a week. Not to judge how much progress you’ve made — just to read them again with fresh eyes. You’ll be amazed what you notice the second time around. A pattern you missed. A fear that already feels smaller. A dream that feels more real now that you’ve said it out loud on paper.

Tell someone. Not everyone. Not Facebook. Just one person you trust. Say out loud: “I’ve been feeling stuck and I’m starting to figure out why. Here’s what I want.” The moment you say it to another human being, it stops being a secret dream and starts becoming a real intention. And real intentions have a way of moving toward reality.

The Honest Truth About Getting Unstuck

Getting unstuck is not a one-time event. It’s not a blog post, a journal session, or even a single coaching call. It’s a practice. It’s a decision you make again and again (sometimes daily), to keep choosing yourself over the comfortable familiar version of stuck.

I’ve been stuck multiple times. I’ll probably feel it again at some point, because every new level of growth comes with its own version of uncertainty and fear. The difference now is that I recognize it faster. I have the tools to work through it instead of sitting in front of a blank wall wondering how I got there.

And that’s what I want for you. Not a perfect straight line from stuck to thriving. Just a shorter gap between feeling lost and finding your way back to yourself.

Ready to Go Deeper?

If you answered these questions and something cracked open, if you’re sitting there thinking “I know what needs to change but I have no idea how to actually get there,” that is exactly what I help women with.

I work with women who have the dream, the desire, and the courage. They just need someone to help them cut through the fear and the overwhelm and build a real path forward. Book a free 30-minute Momentum Call and let’s get you unstuck together.

And don’t forget to grab your free Get Unstuck: The Mindset Assessment Workbook— all seven questions in a beautiful printable PDF, ready for you to sit with over coffee.

Did this post resonate with you? Share it with a friend who needs to hear it and come find me on Instagram @katerina.kormas where I share mindset shifts, encouragement and real talk for women building their dream lives and businesses.