Why You Feel Stuck | #67

By Armaan Athwal

Today's Overview:

• How the Behavioral Activation and Behavioral Inhibition System drive or repel action

• Taking control starts with small actions

• Quote of the day

How to Regain Control

There’s a frustrating paradox about being stuck. The less you act, the harder it feels to act. It’s not just in your head, this inertia is tied to how your brain processes rewards and risks.

Two systems deep inside your brain hold the key: the Behavioral Activation System (BAS) and the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS). These systems guide how we interact with the world around us, whether we step forward or hold back.

The BAS is like the gas pedal of your brain. It’s activated when you anticipate rewards, when you take steps toward goals or find meaning in something. It’s the system that makes you feel energized, motivated, and focused on achieving what’s ahead.

On the other hand, the BIS is your brain’s brake pedal. It’s triggered by fear, uncertainty, or potential punishment. It makes you stop, evaluate, and protect yourself.

The BAS and BIS evolved to keep our ancestors alive. The BAS drove them to seek rewards like food and connection, while the BIS kept them cautious of threats like predators or unsafe environments. Today, these systems still operate the same way, but modern "threats" like failure or uncertainty can over activate the BIS, leaving us stuck.

When depression or a rut sets in, the BIS tends to dominate. You overthink, avoid action, and slowly lose the sense of control over your life. It’s common to feel like you need motivation in order to move forward, but motivation doesn’t come before action. It comes after.

This is where acting, any kind of acting, can change everything. Behavioral activation, a therapy-backed strategy, revolves around intentionally doing things even when you don’t feel like it. Why? Because action shifts your brain from inhibition to activation.

Every small, deliberate action triggers your BAS. It doesn’t need to be big. Cleaning, going for a walk, or having a single conversation with someone can set off a chain reaction. Your brain recognizes these actions as progress, and that progress feeds your reward system. Slowly, the gas pedal takes over the brakes.

The magic is in how action creates momentum. Even when you feel like you’re faking it when it feels forced or unnatural, your brain doesn’t know the difference. What it knows is that you’re doing something. And that simple fact tells your brain, “I have control. I can create change.”

When you feel like your actions matter, you start to feel worthy again. That sense of impact, even from small wins like a hard workout, helping someone, or finishing a task, creates a feedback loop. Each step forward reinforces the idea that you have the power to influence your life in a meaningful way, and that feeling alone drives more action.

Start small. Do one meaningful thing. Over time, you’ll notice how your brain shifts from stuck to engaged, and your sense of worth and momentum grows with every step.

Quote of the Day

“You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.” - Martin Luther King Jr.