Unusual Ways to Break out of A Rut
In today’s world, where technology, efficiency, and productivity dominate our mindset, it’s easy to fall into a robotic routine where every aspect of our lives need to be planned and controlled.
Unfortunately, our obsession with predictability and security makes it easy for us to fall into a safe, comfortable, yet harmful routine.
The human mind needs variety and novelty in order for us to feel energized, hopeful, and enthusiastic about life.
Our minds can easily develop negative thinking patterns without the input of new ideas and experiences.
If you are experiencing the unpleasant feelings of being stuck, lacking motivation, or feeling indifferent about the things you used to care about, there are a few things you can do to break out of that rut.
Here are proven ways to get you out of a rut and start living a full life:
Spend a Weekend Reviewing Your Life.
Make a list of the areas of your life that feel stuck and uninspired.
Write down any negative thoughts you are having about the problem areas.
Make a list of the behaviors you’re taking in the problems areas that might be contributing to rut: Do you login to social media despite knowing its not a good idea.
Write down the actions you need to take for each one of the problem areas.
Go to Google, Bing, or another search engine. Search for tips on how to carry out each behavior you need to change. If you need to manage your time better, search ” Proven ways to manage your time more effectively.”
Download and Install a subliminal messages app such as Subliminal Messages Lite. Copy and paste the tips you wrote down in the previous step. Turn on the app and view the messages at least once a day.
Force Yourself to Do Something Spontaneous
Break your patterns by doing things you wouldn’t ordinarily do. You might not enjoy the experience, but it sets in play a process that gets you out of the rut and back on track. Make the most of your new experience, whatever it might be.
– You may decide to buy a train ticket, for example, and visit a state you’ve never been to.
– Spend the day hanging out at the airport.
Spend a Few Hours Looking Over Childhood Photos
Sometimes, when you simply can’t figure out why you feel stuck and uninspired, just skimming over photos from your childhood and youth may help to remind yourself of people, places, and things that brought you joy and excitement in the past.
Doing this might give you a few ideas for areas of your life that need more attention from you.
Take a Break from Routine Hobbies and Activities
Most of us fall into routine and repetitive behaviors, whether or not they are beneficial to us.
When you start doing the same thing month after month, without taking a short break or vacation, it’s easy to fall into a mindset of negativity, boredom, and lack of motivation.
An experiment you can try is to take a break from your usual activties for a few days, and notice how it will help you to break this pattern of feeling stuck:
– Avoid watching Netflix for a week
– Go to bed early on the weekend. Get up earlier than usual and go for a walk while the streets are empty.
– Spend your lunch break at a different location
– Do your usual weekend chores at different times during the week, and just spend the weekend relaxing.
– Spend a week eating only organic, low-fat and low-sugar foods
– Spend one or two weekends socializing only with friends and colleagues you haven’t seen in months
Decide if You Need to Make Major Changes to Your Life
If the previous suggestions just aren’t enough to get you excited and motivated, it might be a sign that you need to make long-term changes to an important area of your life.
Maybe your career is simply not right for your interests and personality. Your values may not be aligned with the people around you.
If you feel that something deeper is behind your current emotional state, then making the needed changes isn’t something you can do overnight.
You will need to come up with a realistic plan to help you take the steps you need to take in order to start making lasting change.
Try Working with a Life Coach
Depending on the complexity of the changes you need to make, it might be extremely difficult for you to carry out your plan and take continuous action to get out of your rut.
Working with a life coach can provide you with the support and guidance you will need once you begin to confront challenging decisions and situations that create fear or discomfort.
Conclusion
Feeling stuck, unmotivated, bored, and anxious may all be signs that you need to shake things up in your life.
Usually, making small changes to your routine will help you to feel enthusiastic and more energized.
In some cases, you will need take more drastic action if you want to start living a richer, fuller life once again.
Mark Bellini
Life Coaching — Small Business Marketing Consulting
If you are uncertain about how life coaching can help you, please download my free guide Maslow’s Self-Actualization – Your guide to personal development.
