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Are You Moving Forward — Or Just Moving?
We have become remarkably good at moving. We answer the email. Make the decision. Start the next project. Solve the problem. Set the next goal. We call it progress.
But sometimes I wonder whether we have become so accustomed to movement that we rarely stop to ask a more uncomfortable question:
Are we actually moving forward — or are we simply moving?
There is a subtle but important difference.
We live in a culture that places enormous value on momentum. Being busy can be mistaken for being productive. Decisiveness is often valued more highly than reflection. And the ability to “keep going” is frequently presented as evidence of strength and resilience.
There is, of course, a time for action.
But there are also moments when continuing to push forward is not necessarily progress.
Sometimes the most intelligent thing we can do is stop.
The wisdom of seeing things differently
This is something I have been thinking about this week through the symbolism of The Hanged Man in tarot.
It is one of those cards that is easily misunderstood.
At first glance, it appears to represent suspension — someone hanging upside down, unable to move.
But its deeper symbolism is much more interesting.
The Hanged Man represents a willingness to surrender the usual viewpoint.
Rather than immediately trying to solve the problem, change the circumstances or force an outcome, there is an invitation to pause long enough to see the situation differently.
And I think there is a surprisingly sophisticated lesson in that.
Not every problem is solved by doing more.
Sometimes we are trying to solve a problem from inside the very mindset that created it.
We become so close to a situation that our assumptions begin to feel like facts.
We know what happened.
We know what someone meant.
We know what we should do.
We know what the next step is supposed to be.
Or at least, we think we do.
Yet when we are emotionally invested in an outcome, our ability to see alternatives can become surprisingly narrow.
We can confuse urgency with importance.
We can confuse activity with progress.
And we can mistake the discomfort of uncertainty for evidence that we need to make a decision immediately.
Sometimes the answer isn't to gather more information.
Sometimes it is to change the question.
Instead of:
“How do I make this work?”
perhaps the more useful question is:
“Why am I assuming this is the way it has to work?”
Instead of:
“What should I do next?”
perhaps:
“What am I not currently seeing?”
And instead of:
“How do I get back to where I was?”
perhaps:
“Is where I was actually where I want to return to?”
That shift can be surprisingly powerful.
There is a difference between pausing and avoiding
Of course, stepping back can also become a form of avoidance.
There are times when we already know what needs to be done and simply don't want to do it.
That isn't The Hanged Man.
The distinction is important.
Avoidance keeps us circling the same issue because we don't want to confront it.
A genuine pause creates space for a different response.
One keeps us stuck.
The other can help us become unstuck.
The pause has a purpose.
It allows emotion to settle.
It allows assumptions to be questioned.
It allows information that we couldn't previously process to become clearer.
And sometimes, after that pause, the decision we eventually make is exactly the same one we were considering before.
But it is no longer a reaction.
It is a choice.
This is where intuition becomes interesting
I think the word intuition is sometimes misunderstood.
It can sound vague, mystical or somehow opposed to rational thinking.
I don't see it that way.
Intuition isn't about abandoning reason.
It is about recognising that human beings process considerably more information than they can always articulate consciously.
We notice tone.
Patterns.
Inconsistencies.
Behaviour.
What is said — and what isn't said.
How something feels in our body.
The difference between genuine excitement and anxiety.
The difference between something being difficult because it is worthwhile and something being difficult because it simply isn't right for us.
None of that means we should ignore evidence or make important decisions purely on instinct.
Quite the opposite.
Good judgement often comes from allowing intuition and evidence to have a conversation.
And sometimes that conversation requires silence.
Moving Forward When You Don't Have All the Answers
One of the most uncomfortable experiences in any period of change is being between two versions of our lives.
The old situation no longer fits.
But the new one hasn't fully emerged.
There is a temptation to fill that space quickly.
Take another job.
Start another project.
Make another decision.
Find another answer.
Anything to escape the uncertainty.
But there can be enormous value in allowing a transition to remain unfinished for a while.
Not because we are passive.
Because we are listening.
This is particularly relevant to anyone who has spent years being the person who keeps everything moving — professionally, personally or within their family.
When you have become accustomed to being capable, responsible and dependable, pausing can initially feel almost irresponsible.
It isn't.
Sometimes it is an act of self-respect.
And perhaps that is the real message of The Hanged Man
You don't always need to push harder.
You don't always need another strategy.
You don't always need another person's answer.
Sometimes you need enough distance from the situation to see that the question itself has changed.
This week, as we move towards the Libra New Moon, I find myself reflecting on balance — not the superficial idea of having everything perfectly organised, but the deeper question of whether the choices we are making are actually aligned with the life we want to create.
What are we continuing simply because we have always continued?
What are we carrying because we have become accustomed to carrying it?
Where are we mistaking obligation for purpose?
And where might a pause create the space for a more considered choice?
Perhaps progress isn't always about moving forward.
Perhaps sometimes it is about stepping back far enough to see the road differently.
And when you finally do move again, you may find that you aren't simply continuing the journey.
You are choosing the direction.
Susanne Kennedy
Founder | Susanne Kennedy Tarot • Intuitive Guidance • Coaching
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