We’ve all been stuck in a rut from time to time. Sometimes it passes as soon as it comes, but other times it feels like you’re so stuck you just can’t get moving again. Here’s some reasons why we get stuck and some possible ways to get unstuck.
Our lives need some good habits and routines to not become a chaotic mess of chasing everything shiny that might pass your path. However, too much of routine and habit may lead to suddenly being stuck in a rut and you probably never even saw it coming. Even if you do see it coming, it might feel like you’re never going to be able to get out of the feeling of being trapped, helpless and without joy. Luckily, even small changes to your daily routine can help you overcome the rut and get the feeling of being spontaneous and living a more fulfilling life.
First things first, we need to try to find the source of the rut. Is it a rut-like routine, like eating the same set of dinners every week, or spending all spare time going to the same couple of gym classes and bingewatching Netflix before going to bed to late and repeating the same thing over the next day? Is it a job that feels unfulfilling or that doesn’t give you enough challenges? It might even be the constant chatter from television, internet, friends or family telling us how we’re supposed to look, feel, act and play.
Time passes and you might feel like those external voices is the only ones that can give you the answers to those questions you should be asking yourself, like “What do I want?”, “What am I supposed to do?” or even “Who am I?”. There’s never anything wrong about asking for others opinion, but the decision should be yours and yours alone.
Whenever I find myself demotivated or almost paralyzed by the same routine day in and day out, I try to figure out what, how and why.
- What am I doing repeatedly, day in and day out?
- How am I doing what I do, like the daily routines, work, cooking, training etc?
- Why am I doing it? Has it become a unneeded habit or is it a reason I keep doing the same over and over.
These three questions makes it easier to sort out what has to be the way it is (even though most routines and habits can be changed to be more effective or more fun), and what can be changed or completely replaced or removed.
For instance, I find it really easy to eat the same stuff over and over and over again. I know what to get, how to cook it and it tastes the same as the last 200 times I ate it. This leads to me getting really bored with food and opting for easy solutions like takeaway or microwave food. However, whenever I get to eat something new or something I haven’t eaten in a while I kinda want to go to the kitchen and start experimenting!
This probably holds true to most parts of life, like working out, your job, your hobbies etc. It might be a good idea to think of ways you can make small changes to what you do or how you do it!
Here’s my favourite ways to hit the reset button:
Write down your thoughts! You can do it in a journal if you want to do it regularly, or start a blog or even vlog if that’s what works for you. The idea is that if you write down or record your thoughts you can free that space in your mind and use it for other stuff, new stuff! The thoughts that previously occupied your mind is written down and this even helps you not to forget them.
Meditate! Exercising mindfulness is a good way to become aware of all the chaos and noise occupying your mind. An uncluttered and relaxed mind will help you become more creative and spontaneous and therefore probably help you out of your rut. If you want help to get started, I would recommend https://www.headspace.com/
Try something new! Try something completely different, like horsebackriding, parkour, knitting, robotics, figureskating, salsa, martial arts, scubadiving, parachuting or maybe rapping? Trying out something that you haven’t tried before makes you think new and requires you to adapt to new situations again. What if you give breakdancing a go, but find out that it is not for you? It’s completely fine! You’ve learned something new, met new people and probably challenged yourself a little along the way. Something easy you can try at home is making Iskiate or balancing on a Rollabolla!
Being stuck in a rut is something all of us experience from time to time, but hopefully you are able to identify the reason for getting stuck and doing something about it a little bit sooner now.
Do you have a way of getting unstuck you use when stuck in a rut? Let us know in the comment section below!
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