Feeling Stuck? You’re Not Behind

(gentle music) Headspace Studio. (inspirational music) (tranquil music) Hi there. Welcome to "Radio Headspace." I'm Dora. There was a season in my life when I kept looking for proof that things were working. I wanted some kind of confirmation, something I could point to and say, "See? It's all adding up." I was meditating every day, journaling, doing the kind of internal and external work that's supposed to lead somewhere. But everything felt flat. Like I was pedaling a bike that wasn't moving. One morning I sat down at my altar and lit a candle hoping for something. Clarity, direction, anything. And instead of insight, I felt this stillness that almost bordered on discomfort. No answers, no signs, just stillness. And for the first time, I didn't try to force my way through it. I just sat there and paid attention to what was true. I was in between. Not stuck, just between. And something shifted not in my circumstances, but in how I was holding them. Maybe this wasn't a step backward. Maybe it wasn't a pause before progress. Maybe this was part of it. The invisible, unglamorous, uncelebrated part of becoming. And that was enough. Uncertainty can often feel like you're behind, but what if you're not? What if this pause, this weight, this stretch of not knowing isn't wasted time, but a necessary part of becoming? A few years ago, I brought home a little fiddly fig plant. I'd always heard that they were finicky, but I was up for the challenge. I bought the good soil, placed it by the window, watered it just enough. But for months, nothing. No new leaves and no visible growth. Just a very still plant in a very pretty pot. I found myself checking on it constantly, reading articles, adjusting the blinds, turning it slightly every few days as if that might spark something. And then, one morning I noticed a tiny bud, barely visible, but it was there. And slowly, like really slowly, something started to shift. That plant taught me a lot, not just about patience, but about trust. Because growth doesn't always show up right away. Sometimes things are happening under the surface. Things that you can't measure or post about or even prove. And like that plant, there are parts of our own becoming that take time. Time we don't always wanna give. But we need time. Waiting isn't nothing. It's a part of the process. And just because you can't see progress doesn't mean it's not happening. So, if you're in a stretch of life that feels still, like nothing's taking root, like you're showing up but nothing's blooming, allow this to be a gentle reminder. Not all growth is visible right away. Not all seasons are meant to be fast or full. Some are slow on purpose. You're not behind, you're not doing it wrong. You're just in the part where the soil is doing its work. Where your roots are finding new depth....