The Difference between being stuck and being done!
Nov 23, 2025
I need to tell you something important.
If you’re sitting there right now thinking “I can’t do this anymore. I’m done. I need to give up” I need you to pause for a second.
Because there’s a really good chance you’re not actually done.
You’re stuck.
And I know that sounds like semantics when you’re exhausted and depleted and can’t see a way forward. I know stuck and done feel identical when you’re in the middle of it.
But they’re not the same thing. And knowing the difference might be the most important thing you figure out right now.
**Why They Feel The Same**
When you’re stuck, you feel:
- Exhausted by trying
- Confused about what to do next
- Doubtful about whether you can pull this off
- Scared about what happens if you keep going
- Depleted of energy, money, ideas, hope
When you’re done, you feel:
- Exhausted by trying
- Confused about what to do next
- Doubtful about whether you can pull this off
- Scared about what happens if you keep going
- Depleted of energy, money, ideas, hope
See the problem? The symptoms are identical.
No wonder people give up when they’re actually just stuck.
**But Here’s The Difference**
When you’re stuck, there’s still something in you that cares. Something that aches. Something that keeps you awake at night thinking “but what if…”
When you’re stuck, the problem isn’t that you don’t want it anymore. The problem is you can’t see how to get there from here.
When you’re stuck, you’re not finished with the dream. You’re just lost in the middle of it.
When you’re done? Actually done?
You don’t care anymore. Not in a depressed way in a genuinely moved-on way. You don’t think about it at 3am. You don’t feel that pull. You’re not reading blog posts trying to figure it out. You’re just… done. And there’s a kind of peace in it.
**The Test**
Ask yourself this:
If someone offered you a clear path forward not an easy one, but a clear one would you take it?
If someone said “I can help you figure this out, but it’s going to require work and courage and showing up even when you’re scared” would part of you feel relief? Or would you genuinely just want to walk away?
If it’s relief even terrified relief you’re stuck, not done.
If it’s genuine disinterest, you might actually be done. And that’s okay too.
**What Stuck Actually Needs**
Here’s what I’ve learned working with people who come to me thinking they’re finished:
Stuck doesn’t need another strategy piled on top of confusion.
Stuck doesn’t need to be told to “just push through” or “stay positive.”
Stuck needs to strip everything back. To get really honest about where you actually are and what’s actually in the way.
Stuck needs someone to say: it’s okay that you don’t know. Let’s figure it out together.
Stuck needs to rebuild not from where you think you should be, but from where you actually are right now.
And stuck needs someone to hold your hand while you do the scary work of starting again. Because trying one more time when you’re already depleted? That takes more courage than starting did in the first place.
**If You’re Stuck**
You’re not failing.
You’re not behind.
You haven’t missed your chance.
You’re in the messy middle where everyone gets lost at some point. Where the initial excitement has worn off, where it’s harder than you thought, where you can’t see the finish line from here.
And the messy middle has a way out. It’s just not the way you’ve been trying to find it.
Sometimes the way out is doing the thing that scares you.
Sometimes it’s letting go of what isn’t working.
Sometimes it’s asking for help.
Sometimes it’s giving yourself permission to start from where you are instead of where you think you should be.
But there is a way out.
Being stuck isn’t the end. It’s just a very uncomfortable middle.
**If You’re Done**
And if you’re actually done? If you’ve sat with this and realized you genuinely don’t want it anymore?
That’s okay too.
There’s no shame in recognising something isn’t right for you anymore. In choosing to put your energy somewhere else. In letting go.
Done isn’t failure. It’s clarity.
**The Bottom Line**
Most people who think they’re done are actually just stuck.
And most people who are stuck think there’s something wrong with them for not being able to figure it out.
There isn’t.
You’re not broken. You’re not incapable. You’re not too late.
You’re just lost. And lost has a way back.
You just can’t usually see it from where you’re standing right now.
Sometimes you need someone else to help you find it.
With you every step of the way,
Michelle x
