You 2.0: How to Get Out of a Rut

January 12, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In the middle of writing his epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire, George R. R. Martin found himself mystified by his own paralysis. "I've had dark nights of the soul where I've pounded my head against the keyboard and said, God will I ever finish this?" he told an interviewer in 2018. The show based on his books, Game of Thrones, was racing ahead, and he was falling further behind. Martin's block lasted years, not days. New York University psychologist Adam Alter argues that Martin's experience is not a mystery—it follows a predictable pattern that applies to almost any long-term goal, from writing a novel to paying off debt to training for a marathon. The key to getting unstuck, Alter says, is understanding the hidden shape of progress and learning to manipulate it.

The Goal Gradient and the Stuck Middle

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What you'll learn

1 (00:50) **The Feeling of Stuckness** - Shankar introduces the episode's theme: the universal experience of feeling stuck, whether as writer's block, a rut, or a midlife crisis.
2 (04:40) **The Goal Gradient Effect** - Psychologist Adam Alter explains how the "goal gradient" (the tendency to speed up near a goal) creates a "stuck in the middle" problem.
3 (12:48) **Shrinking the Middle with Sub-Goals** - The solution to the "stuck in the middle" problem is to create more landmarks by atomizing the goal.
4 (19:30) **The Perfectionism Trap** - Perfectionism creates a binary success/failure mindset that is demotivating and leads to stuckness.
5 (24:35) **The Trap of Pluralistic Ignorance** - We assume others have it easy while we are the only ones struggling, which deepens the feeling of being stuck.
6 (28:55) **The Trap of Linear Thinking** - Western cultures often assume progress is linear, which makes us blindsided by slumps and unable to imagine them ending.
7 (31:12) **The Trap of Binary Success/Failure** - Viewing success as a rare, binary outcome is damaging; instead, it should be seen as a process or system.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

There are times in life when the challenges we face feel insurmountable. Authors succumb to writer’s block. Athletes and artists hit a plateau. People of a certain age fall into a midlife crisis. These are all different ways of saying: I’m stuck. This week, in a favorite conversation from 2023, psychologist Adam Alter shares his research on why we all get stuck at various points in our lives, and how to break free. Then, psychologist George Bonanno answers your questions about trauma and resilience.

In this episode, you'll learn:

*Why the beginning and the end of a project is often more manageable than the midway point.

*Techniques that can help you to get through the "plateau" phase of a project or goal.

*How to break down daunting endeavors into smaller, more manageable pieces.

*Why perfectionism is so destructive to creativity, and how we can avoid this mental trap.

*Why it's difficult for us to see other people's "stuckness."

*The relationship between being prolific and being successful.

Hidden Brain is heading back out on the road in 2026! We're coming next to Philadelphia and New York City, with more tour dates across the country to be announced later this spring. More info and tickets at hiddenbrain.org/tour.

Episode illustration by Getty Images for Unsplash+.

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