This article provides tips and recommendations to get out of a rut in life. A “rut” is categorized as a period of non-productivity and lack of motivation. Follow these tips for easy ways to get back on track.
Disclosure: I am not a licensed medical professional. Do not take any of these tips as medical advice. If you have questions about your mental or physical health, reach out to a licensed provider.
What is a Rut?
Literally speaking, a rut is a long, deep track made from continued use over time, typically by wheels or heavy foot traffic. Figuratively speaking, a rut is a period of non-productivity and lack of motivation in life. Each definition of a rut is made by harsh repetitive motion with little to no change. In life, you can experience a rut if you push yourself too hard and drain all of your energy toward productivity, without allowing yourself to change your routine once in a while.
How to Know If You’re in a Rut
There are various signs that indicate you are experiencing a rut in life. Below are some common signals that you may experience if you are in a rut.
- You are not prioritizing your mental and physical health.
- Every day feels repetitive and boring.
- You have ideas for yourself, but never take action toward them.
- Accepting comfort over challenge.
- You feel like there has to be something “more” for you in life.
- Lack of energy and motivation.
If you experience any of these signs, you may be in a rut. The steps below provide tools to get yourself out of a rut and feel motivated, energetic, and excited again.
Create Momentum
Momentum is defined as gaining force by a series of events. Creating momentum is a great start to getting out of a rut, even with small steps. The concept of momentum is best described using real life examples.
Example 1: On the street, two cars traveling at 30mph collide. On the highway, two cars traveling at 60mph collide. Which cars will experience the most damage? The cars traveling at a slower speed will be less damaged because they had less momentum than the cars traveling at 60mph.
Example 2: You are feeling unmotivated. You have been laying in bed all day. You decide to take a shower and brush your teeth. After this action, you decide to put on a nice outfit and go get coffee. Later, you decide to go for a walk and read a book before bed. Your positive momentum grew as you took small steps toward productivity, resulting in larger accomplishments throughout the day.
Creating momentum is a great way to get out of a rut. Just one small step turns into two, then into four, and so on.
Balance Reward and Discipline
Although discipline and tough love is important in the process of working toward your goals, rewarding yourself is equally important. You will fall back into a rut if you do not balance these two aspects of goal setting. If you reward yourself too often, you will not feel as motivated to complete an action. If you discipline yourself too often, you will experience burnout. Each path leads back to the rut. Exercise discipline to take action and work toward your goals. When you reach milestones and achievements, reward yourself. Providing a reward sends a message to your brain that you are worthy of achievement.
Take a Break
This step may sound counterintuitive, but if you are in a rut, you may have caused it by putting too much pressure on yourself. Have you ever been studying for a test for hours, but can’t seem to get the answers right even though you know you can? After taking a study break and enjoying a snack or watching a movie, your mind is more clear and the answers come easily. This has the same effect in goal setting. If you put too much pressure on yourself without taking a break, you will become so overwhelmed that you can’t think straight and lose all of your motivation. Taking a day off will not ruin your progress, so make time for fun to free your mind for a little while.
Plan and Act
Whether you have a specific goal, or just want to be more productive toward a better version of yourself, you have to take action. Things don’t just happen on their own. You can set up a whole chain reaction, but if you do not push down the first domino, nothing will happen. Make a plan to work toward what you want. Watch videos on how to achieve your end goal. Draw a vision board of what you want your life to look like. After creating your unique plan, take the first step. Action is action no matter how big or small.
Overview
If you are experiencing a rut in life, understand that you are not alone. Everyone has experienced many ruts in life, and sometimes that is what you need to push you forward. Click here to learn how failure leads to success. If you are in a rut, accept that this is not final. Create momentum, balance reward and discipline, take a break, plan, and act. You got this!
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