Feeling Stuck Sucks. It’s All Too Common.
Millions of Americans are stuck. Some are stuck in a bad job. Non-compete agreements limit their ability to work for competitors. A dearth of upskilling opportunities mean they can’t receive the credential necessary to earn that promotion. Lower rates of entrepreneurship reduce the number of start-ups and small businesses looking to hire.
Some are stuck in an intolerable housing situation. The affordable housing crisis is no longer just a coastal concern. Americans in Northwest Arkansas to the Pacific Northwest find themselves unable to move to greener pastures because those pastures charge exorbitant rent.
Some are stuck in a challenging family dynamic. Parents across the country find themselves asking why it is so hard to raise children in a nation that purports to celebrate families. They cannot find quality, affordable childcare. They don’t know of any employer that offers real parental leave. They struggle to send their kids to schools with good teachers and safe facilities.
Some are stuck in a rut of purposelessness. They may have a fine job and a tolerable rent but they have no longer purpose. Their job contributes little to society. Their skills go wasted. Their desire to make a difference goes untapped.
You may feel stuck for one or more of these reasons. The unifying thread of “stuckness” is the absence of a path forward. You have untapped skills but the jobs that would allow you to use them are nowhere to be found. You have a plan to start a new business but struggle to locate the financial support to take an idea jotted on a sticky note and turn it into a community institution on main street. You have some savings that you would like to spend on a nice house in a different community but are tired of searching on Zillow and finding no feasible results.
To put my own cards on the table, I regularly feel stuck despite having the options made possible by receiving a great public education, by growing up in a stable home, and by earning graduate degrees. I tried to serve our country by joining the Air Force JAG Corps. Service as a JAG would give me the chance to leverage all the privileges I had been afforded toward an important cause. It would also scratch my itch to explore, to connect with more Americans, and to improve my skills as a new lawyer. Then, I got stuck.
Two weeks before training camp, I was medically disqualified because of an eating disorder I had in the fourth grade. Notwithstanding, my blazing fast mile time, high scores on qualifying exams, and quality performance on other entry standards, this mark on my record was enough to derail my service aspirations. (Apologies for the self-aggrandizement — as you can tell, this is still a fresh wound several years later). I will forever feel stuck until I find a role that offers a similar chance to serve.
This feeling of being stuck is a recipe for individual malaise and societal shortcomings. Americans are meant to be pioneers, builders, explorers, and innovators. That’s our legacy. It is true that this spirit of pursuit, of seeking a frontier comes with baggage. Anything in excess is problematic. Our history is full of unconscionable instances of such people going too far, too fast, and with too little consideration of the consequences. It is also true that our greatest accomplishments came when Americans across the country felt part of a national effort to achieve something meaningful.
Think back to World War II. A bold, shared goal gave individuals a chance to do substantive work. The soldiers sent to defeat Germany and Japan were given such a chance. Domestic opportunities were also prevalent. Millions of Americans found jobs and volunteer opportunities that gave them a sense of purpose and an opportunity to better themselves as individuals, as workers, as proud Americans.
Where are those opportunities today? We shouldn’t have to fight wars to fight “stuckness.” We know the sources of being stuck and we know the solutions. Americans have time and again proven ready and eager to sacrifice for the common good in exchange for two things: first, a sense that their efforts will further an important and shared societal goal; and, second, a good faith promise that their efforts will be rewarded by a brighter future for themselves and their loved ones.
As we enter a new year and a new administration “stuckness” should rise to the top of our agenda. Collectively, we need to dream bigger. Individually, we need opportunities to better ourselves, test our skills, and get out of our comfort zones. In short, liberty, the opposite of stuckness, must once again become the rallying cry of the American people. The alternative is a society that seems adrift and attentive to all the wrong things. Without a frontier and without possibilities to push ourselves and each other we are easily distracted by what divides us rather than what could unite and improve us. Restoration of true liberty in all its forms — economic liberty, political liberty, civil liberty — is key to reversing the spread of malaise and indifference brought on by stuckness.
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This is a light-edit Medium. I’m going to get things wrong. There will be lots of typos. I’m going to look back and question some of my posts. I’m going to receive critical and warranted feedback. I contest the idea that we should only share perfected thoughts because no such thoughts exist. My goal is to generate conversation, not end them. You may not disagree with everything I write — there’s a chance I don’t either! Here’s to this Stuck essay series being a space where we don’t get “stuck” (pun intended) on semantics and the like.
