What is stuck energy?

You probably already know what it feels like. Think of an email you've opened three times and closed again without answering. Notice what happens in your body. Maybe a little sag in the chest, a tightening in the shoulders, a sudden interest in something else. A small "ugh."

That ugh is stuck energy, or at least the easiest place to find it. Something wants to move and isn't moving, and your body notices before your mind gets around to explaining why.

The ugh doesn't have to be big. Most of them aren't. It doesn't have to make sense, either, and you don't need to know where it comes from. Bring the ugh, not the explanation.

How to find one

Give yourself five minutes. Go slowly down the list below, or open your inbox and scroll. As each thing comes up, don't think about it. Just notice your body. Most things will come back neutral. A few might come back with a little lift, which is nice, but not what you're after. When something comes back "ugh," stop. That's your starting point.

If you've read the About page, this is you being the multimeter for a few minutes: touch the probes to one thing after another and see what comes back.

A few things that help:

• Small is good. The unanswered email is a fine place to start. A small ugh is plenty to work with.
• Go with the ugh, not the importance. The thing you feel you should be stuck on, your career or your purpose, might come back neutral. The dentist appointment might not. Trust your body on this one.
• Don't explain it yet. If a story about why starts up, set it down for now.
• Leave the big ones for another day. If something brings up much more than an ugh, like dread or panic, or something that knocks the wind out of you, that one isn't for a tarot test. Set it aside, or take it to a person you trust.

Places to look

This list borrows from the trigger list David Allen uses for the "mind sweep" in Getting Things Done. In GTD you go through a list like this to catch everything that has your attention and get it out of your head and onto paper. Here you only need one thing, and you're listening for the ugh.

On a screen or on paper

• Your inbox: the email you keep opening and not answering
• Your to-do list: whatever has been on it the longest
• Your calendar: something coming up that you'd rather not think about
• Your notes: an idea you saved and never came back to
• A form, a bill or a renewal sitting in a pile

With people

• Something you promised someone and haven't done
• Someone you've been meaning to call back
• A conversation you keep putting off
• A thank-you, an apology or an answer you owe

Around the house, and in your days

• A corner of the house you walk past every day (the garage counts)
• An appointment you haven't booked
• A project you started and haven't finished, or never started
• A decision you've made more than once
• Something you used to do and stopped

Then what?

Once you've found one, you're ready. Start the test with it in mind. The first question doesn't ask about it, so answer that one however you like, and bring your ugh in whenever it fits.