I know how it feels.
To sit, numb and anxious, stuck in a never-ending cycle of overwhelm and what-ifs. They hold you back from reaching your true potential and you know that, yet you don’t know where to go from here. Perhaps it’s the lack of motivation or fear of failure that’s keeping you stuck. Maybe it’s the crippling anxiety or self-doubt that lingers over you.
If this resonates with how you’re feeling, then this post is for you. Today I am going to give you actionable tips to get out of the rut that’s holding you back from reaching your full potential.
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How To Break Out Of A Rut
Ask yourself where or how in your life are you stuck?
If I feel like something is weighing me down or I feel unmotivated, this is where I take quiet time to reflect on my thoughts and feelings. You could meditate or take a long walk, any self-reflecting space that inspires you to think deeply. By sitting and asking yourself why you are feeling stuck, you can identify what the true cause is. Maybe your job or your environment is making you feel unmotivated or uninspired and mental exhaustion has left you unable to move forward.
When you allow your deeper thoughts and ideas to freely flow through you, then you may discover new things about yourself that you never thought about before. This level of self-awareness helps you begin to find ways to break free from the rut that’s keeping you trapped.
Ask yourself why
Ask yourself why you act the way you do. When you are not conscious of the beliefs or actions that are holding you back then it is hard to harbor any real change. What are your beliefs about yourself, your life, your situation?
Through self-evaluation, you can also ask what role you played in your situation. Your choices and belief-system can have a profound effect on your perspective over yourself and the world as a whole.
I’ve had times where if I was more grateful for the things in my life or if I would’ve shifted my mindset about myself then I probably would’ve attracted more positivity in my life. Your perspective is everything and there are times in my life where things would’ve worked out better if I simply changed how I thought.
Ask yourself what you can control
There are certain things in our life we have no control over but what we do have control over is where we take it from here. We need to find a way to accept the things we don’t have control over so we can create a space to exert our energy on the things we can change.
Start to look at each situation through the lens of: “How can I improve my circumstances?”
Once you accept who you are and your situation for what it is, then you can see the areas of your life that you can change for the better.
Ask yourself, “Who am I and what do I want to accomplish?”
If you are in a place where you feel unfulfilled or you lack joy, just know that it doesn’t define you. Get out of your head and into your heart and ask yourself who you are and what you want to accomplish.
I know that for me personally, if I stay in my head too long and overthink everything, I end up not taking the action to get out of the soul-sucking rut that’s keeping me from living life. So, if I can impart any real advice onto you, it would be to quit thinking about it and just do it, whatever it is. Do you want to start working out every day? Just do it. Do you want to be an entrepreneur and make a business for yourself? Just do it.
I know it is so much harder than it sounds. But, sometimes simply starting is enough.
For 3 years I wanted to start my blog and I spent many days stuck in a cycle of what-ifs. One day I got out of my head, started my blog and I haven’t looked back.
If you you’re thinking of starting your own blog, check out my post on how to start a profitable blog in 2019 >>
What are you going to do about it?
I love the idea of planning, but when it comes time for action, this is where I struggle. I think it’s because we tend to find some comfort in the things that are holding us back. It can be hard to change when you have developed a habit of making excuses, being lazy, complaining about your situation or telling yourself that you won’t succeed – all things I have done more often than I’d like to admit.
But, you need to fight that voice in your mind that’s telling you that you don’t have the strength to change your situation, that you don’t deserve it, that you’re not good enough or that it’s too hard.
Only you can change your situation.
Take Action
Change Things up a bit
I notice that I feel the most unsatisfied when my environment stays the same for a long period of time. Your space and atmosphere have a profound effect on your mood, whether you’re conscious of it or not.
If you are in a messy, disorganized, cluttered, dirty and bland environment, then that energy is going to reflect on your mood.
When you clean up a little, rearrange your furniture, buy new décor, repaint – change things up in your environment – then you start to feel fresh, clean, inspired and motivated to take action in your life, to pursue your goals.
Find what inspires you
It is amazing what a little bit of inspiration can do. Inspiration is the one thing that keeps me moving and motivated to change something in my life. That’s why I like to listen to self-help podcasts or read self-help books because they give me the inspiration to work on myself and grow as a person. Right now I am listening to Kalyn Nicholson’s “Kalyn’s Coffee Talk” podcast which has all of the self-help advice you could ever wish for. Podcasts are wonderful because they breathe life into you by speaking positivity and reassurance. This is fundamental in helping you get out of a rut and take back your life.
Try something new
To get motivated to put ourselves out there and be open to opportunities, sometimes we just need to try something new whether it’s a new class or a new hobby. This allows us to discover things about ourselves we never knew before and meet new people who bring out the best in us. It will build your confidence as you are learning new things about yourself and the world. Take a leap of faith and see where it takes you. I promise you’ll be in new places in your life that you’ve never explored before.
Use the Law of Attraction
The law of attraction is the idea that we attract in our lives what we put our energy in and focus on. An example is when something good happens in your day and then you notice only good things, or on the contrary, a bad thing happens in your day and then you think that your entire day is bad.
I believe that everything is composed of energy, so when you put positive energy in the world, you also attract positive energy. Because your reality is what you perceive it to be, you can use the law of attraction to your benefit by shifting your mindset. If you focus on what you want to accomplish in your life, then you manifest and naturally gravitate towards those things.
That’s why it’s important to visualize where you want to be in your life and how you’re going to get there.
Related: The law of attraction: how to manifest your dream life
Love yourself
This is the most important tip I have to get out of a rut, yet it’s the one I struggle with the most. I know it’s something that I will be working on the rest of my life.
When you love yourself, you gain a contagious confidence and positivity that rubs off on the people around you. It’s a truly beautiful thing, but something you might have trouble with if you’ve dealt with low self-esteem in the past.
Telling myself positive affirmations every morning has really helped me get out of my negative headspace. Affirmations are words of emotional support or encouragement and if you tell yourself them enough, you begin to believe them.
Even if you don’t believe in what you are saying at first, try saying positive things to yourself in the mirror a few times every morning, like “I am beautiful,” “I am intelligent,” or “I am confident.” This can stretch out to saying things that you want to accomplish as if they are already happening, like if you are an F-student you can say “I am a straight A-student” or if you aren’t a morning person (like me) you could say “I am a morning person.”
This piece of advice helped me get out of a rut that was making me feel stuck in life. It may seem a little silly at first but I promise it works because it changes the way you perceive yourself and the world around you.
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Have any more tips you’d like to share? Leave them in the comments below!
“Growth is painful. Change is painful. But, nothing is as painful as staying stuck where you do not belong.”
— R. Narayana Murthy
Haylie xx
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