Are You Ready for a Change?

First day of kindergarten — Fall 1989.Outside Wright Street School with friends and neighbors Stephanie Migliaccio and Robbie Henderson. Before plans, before pressure — just the beginning.

You’ve been doing a lot of the right things — and still, something doesn’t feel quite right.

You’re showing up. You’re handling responsibilities. You’re getting through the days.

And yet… there’s this quiet friction inside.

Not a crisis. Not a breakdown.

Just a feeling that you’re capable of more clarity, more direction, more life than what you’re living right now.

If that’s you, stay with me.

Let me say this clearly:

You’re not broken.

Most people who feel stuck aren’t lazy or unmotivated. They’re tired. They’ve been carrying a lot for a long time.

Maybe life asked too much of you early on. Maybe you learned to keep the peace. Maybe you learned to survive instead of choose. Maybe you did what you had to do — and it worked… for a while.

That makes sense.

You adapted. You figured things out. You kept going.

So if things feel complicated now, that doesn’t mean you failed. It means you’ve been doing your best with what you had.

Now here’s an important question:

What if being “stuck” doesn’t mean nothing is happening?

What if it means things are familiar?

Not great — but steady enough. Not fulfilling — but manageable.

You know how this version of life works. You know how to get through these days.

And the real fear isn’t staying here.

The real fear is this:

“If I change one thing… what else falls apart?”

You might be thinking about a relationship. Or your family. Or your job. Or the role you play for everyone else.

It can feel like a Jenga tower — stacked just enough to stay standing.

So you don’t touch it.

Not because you don’t want improvement. But because you’re afraid change might bring more chaos, not more clarity.

That’s not weakness. That’s caution.

A lot of people say they’re stuck because of time.

“I’ll deal with this later.” “It’s not the right season.” “I’m just too busy.”

But let me ask you something:

Is it really about time —or is it about feeling safe enough to try?

Because having time doesn’t automatically change anything.

There’s a movie called Groundhog Day where a man wakes up to the same day over and over again.

Endless time. Same results.

Nothing changes until he starts doing small things differently.

Real life works the same way.

You don’t need endless time. You need small steps, taken on purpose.

And here’s something grounding — maybe even a little sobering.

If you’re reading this, you still have time.

I had a close friend named David. Smart. Talented. Full of potential.

David hasn’t done anything since high school.

Not because he failed. But because he died.

I don’t share that to scare you.

I share it to remind you of something simple and real:

If you’re reading this, you still have time.

Maybe not as much as you want. But enough to start. Enough to take a step. Enough for things to unfold differently over time.

Now let’s talk about what keeps people stuck.

When change feels risky, people look for relief instead.

They think: “If they would just change…”“If circumstances were different…”“If the odds weren’t stacked this way…”

And often, those thoughts make sense.

People really did hurt you. Things really did happen.

But here’s the hard truth:

When the reason nothing changes stays outside of you, the power to change it stays outside of you too.

Blame can bring clarity. Complaining can bring temporary relief.

But neither one creates movement.

And over time, that keeps life small.

So what does moving forward actually look like?

Not blowing your life up. Not forcing yourself to be fearless.

It sounds more like this:

“This is where I am. This is what happened. This is the next step I can take — even if no one else changes.”

That’s not self-blame. That’s adult responsibility without shame.

And that’s how people move up.

Not all at once. Not perfectly.

But step by step.

From surviving…to stabilizing…to choosing…to creating meaning.

You don’t skip levels. You step up.

Here’s the real question beneath all of this:

Are you willing to loosen your grip on what you have to move toward what you want most —even when nothing is guaranteed?

That’s a hard question.

Because what you have might not be great, but it’s known. It’s familiar.

And living in the middle — not where you were, not yet where you’re going — can feel uncomfortable.

So people wait.

But staying the same has a cost too.

Let me be very clear about something:

This is not a bootstraps message.

I’m not telling you to push harder. I’m not saying your pain isn’t real.

I see how tired you are. I see how long you’ve been holding things together.

Sometimes the first step isn’t moving forward.

Sometimes the first step is having a place to catch your breath…to think clearly…to sort out what can change safely and what needs care.

That’s what counseling is meant to be.

Not pressure. Not chaos.

Support.

So if you’ve been reading along and thinking, “Yeah… this sounds like me,”

That’s not an accident. You're ready to change.

Clarity has already started.

The next step is follow-through.

If you’re ready to take that step — carefully, thoughtfully, and with support — Schedule a counseling appointment

We’ll start exactly where you are.

And we’ll work toward where you want to be — one solid step at a time.