Feeling stuck.

“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” ~ Aristotle

Here’s the truth about feeling stuck: it’s not about anything you’re doing wrong. It’s about what you’ve been taught to want—and how that delusional thinking keeps you from living with true wisdom.

We often tell ourselves that life would finally feel right if only this one thing changed. A better job. A different relationship. More time. Or we fall into another trap: thinking that if only the problems of the world would go away, we could finally find peace and then thrive.

But this mindset leaves us paralyzed. It tricks us into waiting for circumstances to improve, for the world to become “right,” or for external validation to give us permission to be free and alive.

The truth is, life has always been chaotic, and it always will be. The world’s problems won’t magically vanish, nor will life ever hold perfectly still. Fulfillment isn’t found in trying to fix every external issue or control the uncontrollable. It comes from unraveling the internal illusions that keep us chasing happiness and contentment in places they were never meant to be found.

Think about it. You’ve followed society’s blueprint—career, family, a life that appears flawless from the outside. By conventional metrics, you’re succeeding. But deep down, something feels off. And the world keeps telling you it’s not right or good enough. You’re not good enough.

I wrote Unwinding Want because I saw this pattern over and over: smart, accomplished people living lives that looked perfect on the outside but felt hollow within. They cycled through meditation apps and productivity hacks, jumped from retreats to psychedelics—searching for contentment.

But here’s the uncomfortable truth: Most of what we think we want is rooted in illusions of want—success, happiness, and purpose. From the moment we’re born, we absorb stories about what success looks like and what happiness requires.

These stories take root so deeply that we mistake them for our own desires. It’s like trying to find your way home using someone else’s map—and wondering why you never arrive.

The path to an authentic, resonant life starts with a radical question: What if everything you think you want is based on illusions of fulfillment? What if the first step isn’t adding more goals but unraveling the illusions of want that were never truly yours?

This isn’t about throwing your life away or moving to a monastery. It’s about developing a new relationship with want itself. Feeling stuck isn’t a character flaw. It’s often a sign that you’re ready to break free from the constant bombardment of societal expectations, erroneous messages, and the pressure to achieve a certain image.

Most self-help gets it wrong. They tell you to set bigger goals, push harder, want more. But the way forward isn’t about wanting more. It’s about wanting less—but wanting truer. Your real desires are quieter than the shoulds and musts that bombard you daily. They require a different kind of listening.

The path to a resonant and fully alive existence isn’t linear or neat. It’s messy, organic, and deeply personal. You might find that what you truly want is smaller, quieter, or perhaps louder and stranger than what you’ve been chasing. That’s not just okay—it’s the point.

So you’re not stuck because you’re not trying hard enough. You’re stuck because you’re chasing what was never meant for you. A life true to yourself is waiting beneath the layers of shoulds and have-tos. It might not look impressive on paper. It might not make sense to anyone else. But it will feel like coming home.

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Stay passionate!