Stuck in a moment you can’t get out of by U2

One of the most common discussions I have with people as a life coach is the feeling people have of being stuck. It’s a feeling that is well expressed in this week’s song, again by U2, Stuck in a moment you can’t get out of:

You’ve got to get yourself together. You’ve got stuck in a moment, and now you can’t get out of it.

I think the reason it’s such a common conversation is because it’s one of those feelings where we often don’t feel we have an ‘issue’ which requires counselling, but equally we aren’t finding the solutions on our own. There’s so much in this song which characterises the feelings and issues people often express in this situation:

• I’m not afraid of anything in this world – We’re not facing anything particularly scary.
• There’s nothing you can throw at me that I haven’t already heard – Often there’s nothing that we are facing which we haven’t dealt with before, but this time it just seems a little more tiring.
• I’m just trying to find a decent melody. A song that I can sing in my own company. – If you asked someone to describe the feeling more, they might say something like, ‘I just want to feel comfortable and at rest in my own skin’.

One of the first things I want to highlight is that this is common. The fact that I have conversations like this so often give an indication that this is something most people seem to go through in life at one time or another. So, if you’re feeling like this today, take encouragement from knowing there is nothing wrong with you, it’s just part of the shared human experience.

Yet, the song doesn’t just offer us empathy and encouragement, but also offers us some guidance:

• You gotta stand up straight, carry your own weight … These tears are going nowhere baby – There’s nothing wrong with being upset and shedding a tear. But we also have to recognise that being upset is the self’s way of prompting us to action.
• I listen through your ears, through your eyes I can see – When we can’t see clearly for ourselves, one of the questions we can often ask ourselves is ‘How would ??? see / respond to this?’ with us trying to see our situation from someone else’s perspective. Taking this third person perspective is a simple, yet often effective, tool.
• I will not forsake the colours that you bring – Isolation from others is costly. Although we might not feel like being social, recognising that other people bring a richness to our lives helps us to begin to shift our feeling.

So, if you are feeling stuck today, remember, you are not alone in this common human experience, and leaving the last words to U2:

It’s just a moment, this time will pass.

Click here to book a coaching session with the author of Retune, Dr Dave Wood.