The quagmire

Once upon a time,
I was a success story,
Pride and respect,
emanating toward me, for me,
But that was a long time ago.

It was a time,
when I could give it my all,
zeal, commitment, grit,
desire to succeed,
But that time is no more.

I've been down for some time,
stuck in a trough,
attempts are fearful, half-hearted,
dreams big, beautiful,
but methods unsure.

This rut looks endless,
I see it can be broken,
But the strength is missing,
It's unavailable,
The source is not inside me.

Definition's are framed,
then soon discarded,
The dots are visible,
They can be connected,
But a strange paralysis persists.

A positive note, a happy ending,
It's possible,
I want to shout out,
But the voice is trapped,
Like in a helpless dream.

Pull me out,
I feel its an outside job,
Listen, give me a hand,
I can move mountains,
But there's quite, it's empty.