Getting Unstuck: How Dead Ends Become New Paths

Timothy Butler

Dec 2007 · Ascent Audio · Narrated by Erik Synnestvedt

About this audiobook

We all experience psychological impasse. This feeling of uncertainty about your next moves in life might come at predictable moments: the loss of a job, the end of a romance, an empty nest as your child heads for college, or the death of someone who has long helped you feel recognized, loved, and appreciated. It might also come at unpredictable moments: when the career of a lifetime somehow loses its juice, when you ache for intimacy but can't seem to find the right partner, when you find yourself longing to renew a sense of life's adventure. Predictable or not, psychological impasse brings with it the sense of being stuck or paralyzed. At the office, you feel stale or unchallenged. In your personal life, you feel agitated, deflated, or downright bored. You know that something must change - and you're desperate to contribute at work, find a reinvigorated role in your family, and dive back into the current of your own life. Though uncomfortable, impasse is necessary. It's the only place from which you can define a new vision for your life. Now business psychologist and researcher Timothy Butler leverages more than 20 years of research to offer strategies for finding your way from impasse to renewed meaning - at work, at home, with colleagues, and with family. He shows you how to: Recognize the state of psychological impasse and use it as a springboard to real change Participate in exercises that activate your new life vision Identify the activities, rewards, types of people, work cultures, and communities that will most likely satisfy you Make choices that transform your new vision into reality Drawing on a wealth of stories about individuals who have successfully transitioned out of impasses, Getting Unstuck provides a practical, authoritative road map for moving past your immediate impasse and defining a meaningful path forward.

About the author

Timothy Butler, Ph.D., along with James Waldroop, is director of career development at the Harvard Business School & the developer of the Internet-based interactive career assessment program, CareerLeader, currently used by more than ninety-five corporations & MBA programs worldwide. They are the authors of "Discovering Your Career in Business," as well as articles that have appeared in the "Harvard Business Review" & "Fortune." They live in the Boston metropolitan area.