Do you feel like your life has been in a rut? Why is it that our lives rarely change, even when we’re miserable? There are forces within our minds that conspire to keep us stuck. They’re also spectacularly effective at accomplishing this. In fact, they’re so good, we don’t even realize it’s happening.

These reasons may very well be the cause of your rut:

1. You lack the knowledge necessary to make a change. You might know that you need to be more confident, but you might also lack the knowledge of how to develop confidence. Not all skills are available at our fingertips. You might need to do a little studying before a change is possible.

2. You don’t know specifically what you want. If you think you might like to be a fireman, but also think becoming an accountant sounds interesting, you’re stuck. At some point, it’s necessary to make a clear decision and set a goal. If you can’t choose a vacation destination,...