Getting Out of a Rut: 5 Powerful Ways to Live the Life You Want
By Celine Cabucana
Sometimes we feel unmotivated to do anything and get stuck in a pattern of procrastination. We often feel that what we’re doing is not enough, or that it’s not meaningful work. Everyone feels this way at some point in their life, and it really is frustrating when that happens. This article will delve into the ways you can get out of a rut and live the life you want to live.
Recognizing When You’re in a Rut
It can be hard to spot when you’re in a rut. It may feel like you’re doing something everyday, but it doesn’t seem like you’re getting the progress that you want to see. This is normal, but is very discouraging. Here are the things that signify that you might be in a rut:
You feel unmotivated. This is when you don’t feel any urge to accomplish tasks or finish projects. It’s also when you find difficulty starting anything, and not wanting to do anything.
You feel unfulfilled. You’re doing things, but you don’t feel like these things are meaningful or have an impact on anything. Life is just one boring mess.
You dread work. When the thought of work makes you anxious, sad, and annoyed, it might signify that you’re doing things that don’t excite you. This often leads to dwindling motivation to do anything related to work.
You live in the past. When you’re always stuck reminiscing memories of the past, it may signify that you don’t like or want to be in the present that you’re currently living in.
You feel like you’re not making progress in anything. It feels like you’re just going through the motions, day-in and day-out. There’s no sense of accomplishment or purpose in anything that you do.
Having the roots of our motivation to live and experience the things that make us happy get ripped out of us is disheartening. This is what it feels like to be stuck in a rut. Getting stuck in a rut happens to all of us, so it’s very important to recognize when we’re in one and how to get out of it.
Knowing Why You’re in a Rut
While it can be relatively easier to determine if you’re in a rut, spotting the reason why you’re in one can take more effort. Everyone feels stuck in a rut at some point in their lives, but it’s important to acknowledge that not all ruts are the same and have the same causes.
In understanding why you’re in a rut, you may uncover things about yourself that you may have not known before. This process requires deep reflection to understand where your feelings are coming from, and how you have reacted to it as a result.
Here are some things that you can do to understand why you’re in a rut:
Reflect. Reflecting on yourself helps in understanding more about your thoughts, thought process, and feelings.
Find a creative outlet. Looking for an outlet to express your thoughts and feelings helps in processing them.
Consult a therapist. Seeking help from a professional aids in processing your memories and feelings. This will also help in determining specific steps for you to take in dealing with any psychological problems you may have.
Getting Out of a Rut
Now that you have recognized and taken steps to understand why you’re in a rut, it is important to take further action in getting out of it completely. Breaking the pattern can be difficult, but here are some ways you can try to get out of one:
Find your purpose. When you feel like anything you’re doing seems like nothing in the grand scheme of things, it might be helpful to know what you really want out of life. Looking ahead and finding a sense of purpose helps a lot in knowing what to do and boosting your will to do things.
Change your routines. Doing things over and over again everyday surely does feel boring. A way to get out of a rut is to change your daily pattern of tasks. Try to introduce new things to your routine or switch up things in it to rewire your brain, and live the life you envision.
Break your goals down into small, achievable steps. When you feel ready to move towards a new goal, it can feel daunting and overwhelming to look at the pile of things that you have to do to achieve it. Breaking your goals down into small steps helps in making it achievable and curbing the doubts that you may have in yourself.
Exercise. It helps to be in tune with your mind and body. Exercising helps in boosting your mood and relieving stress while keeping your body moving.
Practice self-love. Knowing what your love language is and how to apply it helps in building your wellness.
Check out our post on the love language and self care here
Try to tell yourself positive affirmations when you’re feeling down. You can also buy the thing that you’ve really wanted for so long to lift your spirits up. If those don’t work for you, you can spend time alone to do things that make you happy. There are a lot of things to do to practice self-love. The key to knowing what works is understanding yourself and applying it to make yourself feel happy and fulfilled.
Getting stuck in a rut is truly demotivating. It’s difficult to understand why, and get back the drive you’ve had before. Staying in one hampers our daily lives a lot, and makes us feel that life is not worth living. Thus, getting out of one means a lot in living the life that we want.
