Unfreeze Yourself: 7 Powerful Ways to Get Out of the Stuck Zone and Back into Flow

Dr. Christine Li [00:00:00]:
Welcome back to the Make Time for Success podcast. This is episode number 232. Lately, I have noticed that people who are new followers of mine inside my Facebook group if you're not in there, look up the procrastination coach Facebook group, and you'll find me there. And we can be in a community together. But I have noticed that people who are requesting to join the free group have written to me that they feel frozen. And I noticed this pattern recently. And I have to say that the language of being frozen is not something that I'm used to hearing. It's not that I've never heard it before, but my point is that I'm hearing it a lot lately.

Dr. Christine Li [00:00:45]:
So I thought I would devote this episode to the topic of feeling frozen and to help you find some ways of how to get unstuck and unfrozen. Let's go do this work together now. Hi. I'm Dr. Christine Li, and I'm a psychologist and a procrastination coach. I've helped thousands of people move past and overwhelm so they could begin working to their potential. In this podcast, you're going to learn powerful strategies for getting your mind, body, and energy to work together so that you can focus on what's really important and accomplish the goals you want to achieve. When you start living within your full power, you're going to see how being productive can be easy and how you can create success on demand. Welcome to the make time for success podcast.

Dr. Christine Li [00:01:47]:
Have you ever felt so overwhelmed, uncertain, or defeated that you just felt like you started to freeze? Well, if that sounds familiar to you, keep listening because I wanna explain what is going on in these frozen, freezing circumstances. When our bodies and brains feel like there is a need to hit pause to help you freeze, it's really a protective mechanism. It is not a sign that you are incapable. It's a sign that your nervous system is a bit overwhelmed, and you just need a reset. So I'm gonna suggest the next time you feel like freezing or staying stuck or feeling like you can't move forward, I want you to remind yourself of the fact that you are truly safe, that you are truly capable. But give yourself a moment or two, maybe even longer, to reset your nervous system, to just regain your peace first. You don't need to get peace after you've performed your task or responsibility. You can give that sense of peace to yourself before you even start.

Dr. Christine Li [00:02:58]:
I do believe that's gonna help you to melt the freeze. So let's look at the idea or the scenario of when we feel like we're frozen. What does this really mean? It really means that this is too much for our ego. This is too much for our schedule. You're going too fast. Things are feeling really scary, and our response can be to just freeze and do nothing at all. But, of course, we know that there are certain costs to staying frozen for a long time in particular. Freezing can cost you, first of all, time you can't get back.

Dr. Christine Li [00:03:37]:
It can cost you your confidence that is slowly moving away from you or slipping away from you. It can cause you physical clutter that piles up while you are feeling like you can't feel your feelings, you can't take steps to move forward. You might also be missing out on opportunities, opportunities to socialize, to learn something new, to get outdoors. You're literally frozen. And then, of course, there are our friends, shame and self doubt. I would say friends with tongue in cheek because just shame and self doubt really are very powerful forces that keep our energy suppressed, keep us feeling like we should hide out. We don't deserve to feel happy, and that maintains the freeze. So I want you to know the cost of staying frozen.

Dr. Christine Li [00:04:31]:
I think you probably already have felt them or have sensed them already, but I also now wanna turn to focusing on what you do want. What is the desire that is behind the freeze? And, oftentimes, we wanna be all the things, and we wanna be superhuman. We wanna get all the things done. We wanna have a brand spanking new to do list that has nothing on it. And those pictures of being superhuman, of being better than we actually are can be very overwhelming, can be the very thing that, paradoxically, causes us to not function. But, again, I want you not to turn into a self berating person just because you're frozen for a moment. Of course, the freeze is not permanent, and the to do list will always be there for you. So take the time to teach yourself how to calm your nervous system when you're in this frozen state.

Dr. Christine Li [00:05:33]:
Again, all of your states, anything that your body and brain can put you into, are for your best, highest self. Really, your brain and body are designed to support you at the highest level in all circumstances. So you may be thinking, oh, this is me breaking down. This is me making no sense. This is me wasting time. But I want you to convert all of those thoughts, those kind of negatively tinged thoughts, and switch them to the positive saying, oh, wow. I'm so glad my brain and body are telling me that I'm moving too quickly, that I've taken on too much, that I need a break, and just allow that to be. You are worthy.

Dr. Christine Li [00:06:19]:
You are good enough, and I want that to be a stable foundation that you work from so that you don't feel as rocky moving forward. Alright? Now I wanna share some actions that you can take to get out of the frozen state. The first one is really simple. One actually, we could have step zero, which is listen to this particular episode if you're in a frozen state. You can save it or just jot it down in your notebook. Go to Make Time for Success podcast episode two thirty two to get unfrozen. Really, sometimes the sound of someone's voice that you trust or that you've been learning from can really just jostle you out of your own mind frame at the moment, and that can be really helpful. Goodness knows, I have so many coaches and so many podcasts that I listen to just for that effect, to help me move forward, to help me feel like I'm safe and good enough.

Dr. Christine Li [00:07:16]:
And we need that recognition and that reminder sometime. Okay. One action that you can take to unfreeze yourself is to name the freeze out loud. You can say to yourself, I feel frozen. I feel like it's time for me to figure out how my brain and body can shift from this point on. Name what you're afraid of. Name what your body is sensing. Name what the circumstances are so that you're not paralyzed.

Dr. Christine Li [00:07:44]:
Right? You are opening up your voice. You're opening up your mind to new ideas about the current circumstances. So step one, name that freeze out loud. The second is to physically move it out of your body. Shake it out, stand up, get up, shake your arms, Shake your legs. Walk around the block. Even for a few minutes, maybe even a few seconds, just physically move the stress out of your bodies. Animals do this.

Dr. Christine Li [00:08:16]:
We do this. Right? This is why exercise can be such a healthy endeavor is because we're literally breaking out of a more frozen, more sedentary state, and I think it's very healthy to stay in movement. Actually, that's one of my core beliefs. Movement is central to health. So complete the set stress cycle and shake out the stress. Point number three, you can do breathing. And I hope this list doesn't feel overwhelming. It's not meant to be overwhelming.

Dr. Christine Li [00:08:49]:
It's meant to give you a little bit of a tool kit, and all you need to do is one or two of these steps, and you can start to feel like yourself again. So breathing. Breathing is also a core foundational technique that I use. I find myself always centering on my breath. And you can use a technique called the box style of breathing, which is four, four, four, and four. You inhale for four counts mindfully and calmly and slowly. You hold the breath for four counts, again, feeling calm, having your nervous system reset. Exhale for four.

Dr. Christine Li [00:09:29]:
You feel that relief of letting that breath out, and then hold in that calm state for another four. Do the four four four four box breathing for about two to three minutes until you feel safe again. And, basically, doing the calm, slower, mindful breathing is the opposite of feeling stressed and panicked and anxious. So you're really kind of forcing your body to reset in the kindest, most gentle, and easy of ways. Alright? So use the breath box style, four four four four. Next idea is you can do something for two minutes. Even though you feel frozen, you're not actually frozen. So fold some laundry.

Dr. Christine Li [00:10:19]:
Maybe clean out the fridge. That doesn't sound like a two minute task, but maybe toss an expired jar or an expired piece of medication, whatever you wanna do. Again, move that body. Do something that you're thinking needs to get done. Do it for two minutes. It can be something having to do with your email inbox. Cancel a subscription. Small actions are still actions, and they tend to free us up to do other things.

Dr. Christine Li [00:10:49]:
They tend to start a feeling of having momentum, which, as we all know, can be such a relief when we've been procrastinating or stuck. Alright. The next idea has something to do with the practice of the emotion freedom technique or tapping. All you need to do is tap the side of your hand where you would actually do a karate chop. It's basically the opposite side of your hand from your thumb. Tap that edge of your hand just gently, repeatedly, and say to yourself something that will make you feel calmer. You can say to yourself, even though I feel stuck, I'm open to finding flow again. Even though I feel stuck, I'm open to getting back into my real movement and regular behaviors again soon.

Dr. Christine Li [00:11:44]:
And you're gonna say these things to yourself as you're tapping. And, again, it's a quick, easy, calming technique that instructs your brain and body how you want it to behave. Very powerful. If you have not tried tapping before, this is a great way to start just by tapping the karate chop part of your hand and saying things that direct your brain and body in the direction you want to head. Alright. The next step is to place your hands on your heart and your belly, and you wanna connect with your core self, with your core being, and you wanna ask yourself, what do I need right now? What do I need my brain and body to help me with right now? Keep it really simple. Again, we're moving away from overwhelm. We're moving away from being superhuman for a moment.

Dr. Christine Li [00:12:43]:
We are moving into just reconnecting with ourself, letting things be simple, letting the body calm down, and letting the body and brain reset. When you touch your upper torso, the heart and the belly, you really connect with the core pieces of your functioning, and you get to connect with your heartbeat, your breath, and notice that it's okay to be still. Right? We're just trying to get away from the frozen state. We are choosing stillness and peace instead of icy paralysis. Let's move away from icy paralysis. Okay. And the last idea that I have for you is to visualize a tiny win for yourself. Again, moving away from I'm doing everything all at once.

Dr. Christine Li [00:13:33]:
I'm Superwoman. I'm Superman. We're not doing that anymore. We're just gonna say, you know what? I can see myself making that call. I can see myself finishing the call. I can see myself getting the information that I need from the call. Let yourself imagine the win before you've started to take the action, and then do the other steps, calm your nervous system, and then go get unfrozen. Alright? I want to remind you, you don't have to fight yourself when you're feeling down, when you're feeling frozen, when you're feeling like you're not good enough or you're not good for anything.

Dr. Christine Li [00:14:12]:
Really, you just need to take a break. You need maybe a bath. You need maybe a stretch. You need maybe a moment to breathe or tap. But just give yourself that peace of mind. Allow yourself to create that zone of safety if you're not currently feeling it. Okay? This is something that you can absolutely do. I'm so happy to have been able to share this episode with you.

Dr. Christine Li [00:14:39]:
I am with you if you're feeling in a state of overwhelm. I trust you. I am wishing all the best for you. I'm looking forward to those new moments when you see the possibilities that are all over abundantly in your life. And I'm so happy that you are listening to the make time for success podcast. If you would like some actual live coaching, I invite you to join my free five day challenge called reenergize your home. It is a decluttering challenge, and we work with physical clutter, but I have to give you a sneak peek into the challenge. We don't just deal with the physical clutter.

Dr. Christine Li [00:15:22]:
We actually work with the mental and emotional clutter so that everything gets frozen. Your space opens up. Your heart opens up, and then you feel like you are ready to go. If you'd like to join me in the free five day challenge, you can register now by going to make timeforsuccesspodcast.com/win. Again, that's maketimeforsuccesspodcast.com/win. We will start together on Monday, May 26, and I am really so excited already. We're a couple weeks away from that starting date, but you know time. We're gonna be there really soon.

Dr. Christine Li [00:16:04]:
So, again, remember to register, and I will see you soon. Thanks so much for listening to today's episode. I'll see you next week. Bye. Thank you for listening to this episode of the Make Time Time for Success podcast. If you enjoyed what you've heard, you can subscribe to make sure you get notified of upcoming episodes. You can also visit our website, maketimeforsuccesspodcast.com for past episodes, show notes, and all the resources we mentioned on the show. Feel free to connect with me over on Instagram too.

Dr. Christine Li [00:16:36]:
You can find me there under the name procrastination coach. Send me a DM and let me know what your thoughts are about the episodes you've been listening to. And let me know any topics that you might like me to talk about on the show. I'd love to hear all about how you're making time for success. Talk to you soon.