The Illusion of Being Stuck
停滞不前的错觉

You think that being stuck is a permanent state, and this is the pattern you go through every time:
你认为被困住是一种永久的状态，这就是你每次都要经历的模式：

• You encounter a new challenge.
  你遇到了新的挑战。

• Your brain resists it.  你的大脑会抗拒它。

• It hasn't been trained to handle discomfort effectively.
  它还没有接受过有效处理不适的训练。

• You revert to what's comfortable and familiar.
  你会回到舒适和熟悉的环境中。

• You shut yourself off from potential growth and enlightenment.
  你将自己与潜在的成长和启迪隔绝开来。

• You feel stuck, unfulfilled and unhappy.
  你感到困顿、不满足和不快乐。

When you face the challenge of feeling stagnant in your career, in your personal life, nothing seems to help you progress.
当你面临挑战，感到事业和个人生活停滞不前时，似乎没有什么能帮助你取得进步。

You feel not just stuck, but regressing.
你不仅感到困顿，而且感到退步。

The worst part of it was that in some strange way, it also feels “comfortable” being stuck.
最糟糕的是，以某种奇怪的方式，被卡住的感觉也很 "舒服"。

I’m sure you have that feeling, because we are wired the same way, and so do I.
我相信你也有这种感觉，因为我们的思维方式是一样的，我也是。

I wanted to understand why we are so resistant to change, to discomfort. Why is it that it’s easier for us to stay in situations we don’t like while we know damn well it’s not the right path.
我想弄明白，为什么我们如此抗拒改变，抗拒不适。为什么我们明明知道这不是一条正确的道路，却更容易停留在自己不喜欢的环境中。

Why is change hard? Why makes hard things hard?
变革为何艰难？为什么困难的事情会变得困难？

Well, I got some answers while reading a research paper from computational neurobiologist Andrew Gallimore. I finally got a better understanding of how our brain constructs reality, how it cheats us by wanting to save energy, and how we can hack it.
在阅读计算神经生物学家安德鲁-加利莫尔（Andrew Gallimore）的一篇研究论文时，我得到了一些答案。我终于更好地理解了我们的大脑是如何构建现实的，它是如何为了节省能量而欺骗我们的，以及我们如何才能黑掉它。

1. Understanding Our Brain: A Reality-Building Machine
1.了解我们的大脑：现实构建机器

I won’t bore you with the very technical research paper filled with complicated words and never ending sentences. Here’s a breakdown for you:
我不会用那些充满复杂词汇和永无止境句子的非常专业的研究论文来烦你。下面为您详细介绍：

Central to this process are the cortical columns, functional units within the cerebral cortex that orchestrate your perception of the world.
这一过程的核心是大脑皮质柱，它是大脑皮质中的功能单元，负责协调您对世界的感知。

These columns evaluate sensory information against your brain's existing models, determining "True" or "False" signals to guide your reactions and beliefs.
这些柱子会根据大脑的现有模型评估感官信息，确定 "真 "或 "假 "信号，从而引导你的反应和信念。

To put this even simpler, They work like little decision-makers in the outer layer of the brain, sorting through what we see and feel.
更简单地说，它们就像大脑外层的小决策者，对我们的所见所感进行分类。

They check this information against what the brain already knows, deciding if it matches ("True") or doesn't match ("False"). This helps you figure out how to react and what to believe.
它们会将这些信息与大脑已经知道的信息进行核对，判断是否匹配（"真"）或不匹配（"假"）。这可以帮助你确定如何反应和相信什么。

Here's the problem: Your brain and its cortical columns are designed to conserve energy at all costs.
问题是：你的大脑及其皮质柱的设计目的是不惜一切代价节约能源。

This means they're constantly seeking "True" statements, those that align with what you already know and believe.
这意味着他们在不断寻找 "真实 "的陈述，那些与你已经知道和相信的一致的陈述。

Why? Because processing familiar information requires less energy than assimilating new data.
为什么？因为处理熟悉的信息比吸收新数据所需的能量更少。

This is precisely why staying in your comfort zones feels so... comfortable.
这正是为什么待在舒适区会感觉如此......舒适。

It's not just inertia; it's a battle against a highly efficient computer in your head, always seeking stability over the chaos of change.
这不仅仅是惰性；这是一场与脑中高效计算机的战斗，它总是在混乱的变化中寻求稳定。

Your gut might scream for a shift, but you’re up against your brain's design, which chooses energy conservation over everything else.
你的直觉可能会要求换班，但你的大脑的设计会让你选择节能而不是其他。

2. The Mannequin Misidentification: A Cortex in Action
2.人体模型错认：皮质在行动

Ok ben, that sounds cool and I get the theory. But how does this actualise, and how is it shaping my reality?
好吧，本，这听起来很酷，我也懂这个理论。但它是如何实现的，又是如何影响我的现实生活的？

Here’s an example: 这里有一个例子：

Imagine walking down a street, your eyes catch what appears to be a figure standing in a shop window.
想象一下，走在大街上，你的目光似乎捕捉到一个站在商店橱窗里的身影。

Your brain utilizes past data, and quickly categorizes this figure as a man—a "True" response rooted in familiarity.
你的大脑会利用过去的数据，迅速将这个人物归类为男性--一种基于熟悉的 "真实 "反应。

You continue to walk closer, until something happens.. you realize that the figure is not a person, but in fact a mannequin.
你继续走近，直到发生了一件事，你意识到那个人不是人，而是一个人体模型。

This unexpected twist sends a "False" signal to your brain, specifically to those cortical columns tasked with visual processing.
这一意想不到的转折向你的大脑，特别是负责视觉处理的皮层柱发送了一个 "错误 "信号。

Faced with this new information, your brain recalibrates, updating your reality from a man to a mannequin.
面对这些新信息，你的大脑会重新调整，将你的现实从一个人更新为一个人体模型。

3. Embracing the Science of Uncomfortability
3.拥抱 "不舒适 "科学

So there we have it.
就这样吧。

The path to growth is through embracing "False" signals—those challenging, unfamiliar experiences that demand our brain to adjust and grow.
成长之路在于接受 "假 "信号--那些具有挑战性的、陌生的、需要我们的大脑进行调整和成长的经历。

This process isn't just about acquiring new information; it's about fundamentally reshaping our perception and interaction with the world around us.
这个过程不仅仅是获取新信息，而是从根本上重塑我们对周围世界的感知和互动。

It’s about changing reality; literally asking your cortex to re-evaluate your current reality, and change it.
这关乎改变现实，即要求你的大脑皮层重新评估当前的现实，并加以改变。

That’s why it feels so hard.
这就是为什么感觉如此艰难。

That’s why it feels so wierdly good to stay stuck.
这就是为什么坚持下去的感觉如此奇妙。

So, what are some steps to hack this?
那么，有哪些步骤可以解决这个问题呢？

4. Recognizing the State of "Brain Automation"
4.认识 "大脑自动化 "的现状

Well, first, you need to understand when you're stuck in "brain automation".
首先，你需要了解自己何时陷入了 "大脑自动化"。

I’m sure you know this feeling very well.
我相信你一定非常了解这种感觉。

You’re in that state when you go through your daily routines without much thought or variation.
当你不假思索地完成日常工作时，你就会处于这种状态。

You wake up, get dressed, get coffee at the same spot, order the same drink.
你醒来，穿好衣服，在同一个地方喝咖啡，点同样的饮料。

Tasks and activities feel mundane, and you're not engaged or stimulated by what you're doing.
任务和活动感觉平淡无奇，你对自己正在做的事情没有参与感或刺激感。

You are bored.  你很无聊。

You wake up every morning saying “ok here we go, another day doing the same thing until I get to go to sleep again. Let’s just get through it with as many distractions as possible.”
每天早上醒来，你都会说："好了，又是同样的一天，直到我再次入睡。让我们在尽可能多的干扰中度过这一天吧"。

Nothing seems to make you feel alive. You are just in automation mode.
似乎没有什么能让你感到自己还活着。你只是处于自动化模式。

Activities that used to hold your attention don’t mean anything anymore.
那些曾经吸引你注意力的活动已不再重要。

5. Breaking Through with Challenging Thoughts
5.突破挑战性思维

Now that you recognize the signs of "brain automation," the next step isn't just about what you do; it's about how you think.
既然你已经意识到了 "大脑自动化 "的迹象，那么下一步就不仅仅是你做了什么，而是你如何思考了。

Changing your actions without changing your thoughts is like repainting your car when it needs a new engine. Sure, it will look good on the outside, it still won’t run though.

So do this: Ask why, and don’t judge.

“Why” is such a short but powerful question that can almost always be used successively until the truth is met:

“I feel stuck in my career? Why?

…Because I don’t like what I do. Why?

...Because it doesn't challenge me or align with my values. Why?

…Because I settled into a role that was available rather than pursuing what genuinely interests me. Why?

…Because I fear the uncertainty of change and the possibility of failure. Why?

…Because past experiences have conditioned me to prioritize security over fulfillment. Why?

…Because I internalized the belief that success is defined by stability rather than personal satisfaction and growth.”

Take this and keep asking the same question. You’ll get to the root of it soon enough.

In this instance, your feeling of being stuck is less about the external circumstances and more about internal barriers—fears, beliefs, and assumptions that keep you tethered to the familiar, however unsatisfying it may be.

6. No, but really.. how do I get unstuck?

Listen. True transformation begins when you push beyond the boundaries of what you know and where you’re comfortable. The shift needs to happen in your head, but also physically.

You need to consciously and repetitively seek out "False" signals and embrace the discomfort they bring. You need to construct a new reality.

In plain, simple terms, you need to: do the uncomfortable thing.

Here are a few of the things I have had to do last week alone that finally led me to break out of my cycle:

• I impulssively bought a plane ticket to Panama, to change my enviroment, create some space for me to:

• Sit with my feelings for the first time in years, and finally stop supressing them. I cried. Haven’t done that in years.

• I had the uncomfortable conversation with my business partner to tell them I no longer have passion for it and am leaving them the decision to continue or quit.

• I made the decision to get a therapist and seek help to access past trauma that I’ve burried deep down.

• I replied "I don't know" when asked about something I was unsure of, rather than trying to appear confident. I felt stupid that instant, but I actually learned something and ended up having a meaninful conversation. 

• I forced myself to talk to strangers every single day. Oh, and talking happened to be in Spanish, for which my vocabulary consisted of a total of 40 words or so.

These things were uncomfortable. These things were all dreadful for me. They are supposed to be.

They are hard, they are counter-intuitive, and they are painful.

But if you don’t do them, you are letting your cortex run on auto-pilot, validating a “true” statement that will feel comfortable.

Yes, in the immediate short term, it feels better.

But you are reinforcing your mind into shaping the wrong reality.

Do that long enough, and you will soon be living in a world that is not yours.

You’ll have a job you hate, relationships that don’t support you, a deep lack of purpose, numbing yourself to the world around you until you become nothing more than a ghost, aimlessly drifting through a suffocating and meaningless existence.

Waking up to it 10 years later will be very painful.

So Wake up. Challenge yourself. Engineer your existence and break free.