Some Practices To Get You Out Of A Rut

Set a Reasonable Plan

That first little thing that I do to get myself more engaged is more a mind trick than anything else: I purposely disrupt the daily routine that has me feeling a little bit disengaged in order to give myself the change to take a more critical look at the bigger picture.

Once you’re feeling up to it, I think this is an excellent time to sit down and make a reasonable plan to get yourself out of a rut. A plan of small, actionable steps that add towards a bigger goal is the main difference between the feeling of being stuck and working towards things that you think will make your life better.

In my experience as an educator, very few people are allergic to working hard. Most people, when they see the reason for doing the things that they do, are totally willing to put in time and effort. When things look stagnant or arbitrary, however, people have a lot harder time staying engaged.

So, when making your list of steps you want to take to get out of the rut in which you feel stuck, it’s, again, a two-part process. First, write down the things that you need or want to do. From there, and this is the important part, write down why you do each thing that you do in a given day: try to link every action that you do to some larger goal that you think is worth pursuing. Those answers to the question of “why” are the things to remind yourself of when you’re feeling stuck or bored. If, on the other hand, you cannot come up with a reason to do something, then it’s a good time to reevaluate whether or not you ought to be doing it at all.

Parting thoughts

If you’re reading this because you’re stuck in a rut, I want you to know that, first and foremost, you’re not alone. A lot of us go through this from time to time, and it does, thankfully, pass. The good thing is that, with a little bit of effort and some consideration, you can start to feel a lot more engaged in your daily life again without the need to radically change anything, although quitting your job and backpacking the nearest mountain does sound pretty good.

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