How to get out of a rut 12 useful ways to get unstuck

You know how it feels to be stuck in a rut. You’re doing the same activities over and over, and you’re not happy. Maybe you feel bored with your life or burnt out on the job. Perhaps you know what would make you happy, such as a new job position or increased responsibility at work, but making that goal a reality seems insurmountable and not even worth trying. So you stay in the same situation you’re currently in, hoping that someday something will change, but it never does. Face it … you’re in a rut!

Being stuck in a rut is never fun. Aside from being bored with your situation, being in a rut also makes you more prone to depression and negative thinking – the two things that will keep you in your rut for even longer. So if you want your situation to change, you must change. Instead of complaining that there’s nothing you can do to make your life better, realize that there’s actually a lot you can do. You just have to get out there, take a risk and do something.

When you are not making any progress toward a particular goal and feel completely stuck, the key to making a big change is to make little changes. Use the following six guidelines to jumpstart your life out of a rut right now.

1. Think Big … and Small

You need motivation to change. Therefore, think of the new circumstances you want in your life. Envision the new job or the new corner office. Now, you have the motivation to actually do something. But don’t stop there. Once you decide what you want, you then need to make a plan to get there. Create a list of action steps that will move you closer to the vision you have for yourself. Realize that your action steps don’t have to be big or monumental leaps. They can be small baby steps that lead you to your goal. Always remember that small steps, done consistently, will get you where you want to go.

2. Be 100 Percent Responsible
To get unstuck, you have to be 100 percent responsible for your actions. After all, you are the only person with the power to change your situation.

Despite what you may think, your company, the marketplace and even your family do not have the power to make changes for you. You are in control of your life and must be responsible for making changes. Therefore, don’t complain about your current situation. Sure, your complaints helped you realize that you were dissatisfied with something, but now that you’re aware of what you want or don’t want in life, stop complaining. Your constant negativity will only further drain you and won’t change your situation. For example, if you’re experiencing a bad situation, such as a job loss, instead of concentrating on the job loss and complaining about it, embrace the change and think how you can upgrade your resume or whom you can contact for new job opportunities.

3. Express, Don’t Repress

As you work your way through your rut, don’t suppress your emotions. Instead, experience them fully. Going back to our example of a job loss, perhaps you’re very sad that you lost your job. Maybe you loved that job and wanted to stay with the company for the rest of your working career. Rather than be depressed for weeks or even months, express the emotion you’re feeling. If you feel you need to cry or yell out in rage, then do so. After you’ve let the emotion out, let it be. Don’t dwell on it forever. Experience the emotion and then move on. Remember, each event we experience in our life is a learning opportunity. Find the lesson that’s hidden in your current situation so you can move on.

4. Take Inventory

Schedule time each day to review your past successes. Many times when people get stuck in a rut, they forget about all the great things they did in the past. They are concentrating on the present, which is not so good right now, and they can’t figure out how they’ll get past their current circumstance. However, when you look back at your past successes, you start building your confidence and your inner strength. You are reminded of all your wonderful capabilities and that you can be successful again, if only work toward your goal.

5. Expand Your Focus
It’s easy to want something, whether it’s a new relationship, a promotion or even to lose weight. The work happens when you’re making that want a reality. This is when you need to shift your thinking from “wanting” to “having.” Why is a “having mind-set” so important? Because when you focus on something in terms of “having,” your subconscious mind will go to work immediately to come up with a number of ways to get the item or circumstance. Therefore, create a picture or scrapbook representing your successful life. Cut out pictures and words from magazines that represent what you want. This step is important, because once you create your vision on paper; it’ll be reinforced in your mind. You can then go through that scrapbook every day to remind yourself of the kind of life you want.

Additionally, write down what you want seven times per day. When doing so, be sure to write in the present tense, as if you already have the circumstance. For example, you could write, “I am the best maintenance manager in the company.” Or, “I have a new fishing boat.”

6. Do Something
Many people who are stuck in a rut reply to every suggestion or request with the same answer: “Well, I’ll try.” It’s time to reject that answer. You need to either accept, decline, or counter the suggestion. The words “I’ll try” are not motivating and contain the seeds of defeat. The fact is that trying and thinking about doing something are a waste of time and energy. To get out of a rut, you must do something. For example, you can take a different road to and from work. Take a walk during your lunch hour. Meditate 15 minutes a day. Doing something, whether big or small, will revitalize your life and make you more attune to opportunities. Ultimately, the decision is up to you.

If you really want a change, do something today. No matter what the outcome is of your activity, you’re going to learn something. Take a step toward getting out of the place you don’t want to be anymore.

Escape the Rut for Good

Yes, there is hope for you, no matter how long you’ve been in your current rut. And while change can be scary, the secret is to work through the fear. That’s the only way you’re going to make progress and increase your self-confidence.

So, take 100 percent responsibility for your life today. Learn from the lessons you uncover, and move forward with passion. Whether your action step is large or small, implement it today. By doing something – anything – you create the needed momentum to drive yourself out of that rut and full speed into the life you’ve always dreamed about.

Groundhog Club handler John Griffiths holds Punxsutawney Phil, the weather prognosticating . [+] groundhog, during the 131st celebration of Groundhog Day on Gobbler’s Knob in Punxsutawney, Pa. Thursday, Feb. 2, 2017. Phil’s handlers said that the groundhog has forecast six more weeks of winter weather. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Everyone experiences ruts, periods of time where they feel like they’re not getting enough done, they don’t feel like what they’re doing is meaningful, they don’t like who they are and they’re living the same day, day in and day out, like Groundhog Day. But since everyone gets into ruts, what differentiates people is how quickly they recognize they’re in one, and take action to get out of it. Here are six ways to get out of a rut:

1. Acknowledge The Problem

You can not get out of a rut if you don’t acknowledge you’re in one. It’s not normal for you to be be unhappy and not performing well. Forgive yourself for not noticing sooner, for letting yourself go this long without addressing it. The important thing is you’re addressing it now.

2. Break Things Down Into Steps

If you’ve fallen behind in work, working out, keeping in touch with family or friends, etc., make a list, break things down into steps and check things off one by one. If you think of everything you need to do you can easily get overwhelmed, so don’t get overwhelmed, write everything down and get to work, chipping away one task at a time.

3. Done Is Better Than Perfect

If you get hung up on perfection, you will never finish a project and you will never feel good about your work, and neither one of things is productive for you or your work. Sometimes, when you’ve worked and worked and worked, it’s 6 p.m. and it’s time to turn it in. It won’t get any better. All you can do is try your best, and take solace in the fact that good or bad, it is your best effort, and there will be another day and another project for you to do better.

4. Get Some Fresh Air

Nothing will help rejuvenate your energy than a quick walk around the block to get some sun and fresh air, maybe grab a coffee or tea if so inclined. It will help you focus, and help open any mental roadblocks you may have hit staring at a screen.

5. Get Some Exercise

Feeling stressed or anxious, and you’re not able to focus? If you can, perhaps set work aside and go for a run, or to a yoga class, something to get your blood flowing and a way to realize that stress and anxiety in a healthy way. It will help manage your emotions, and will also help increase your focus and energy.

6. Talk To Someone

If you’re struggling with work, discuss your issues with a trusted colleague or mentor. If you have a personal struggle, talk to a friend or family member, or seek professional help. You don’t have to go through things alone, if you reach out, people are ready and willing to help you. You’re not the only one who has ever been through difficult times, so reach out, and do not be ashamed.

7. Keep Moving Forward

A great quote that is often attributed to Winston Churchill, (though sources have had trouble verifying it) summarizes this well, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” So much of success isn’t built on brilliance, it’s mostly people who just refuse to give up. If you stick with it, and keep doing the work, you will work yourself out of this rut and get back on track.

I’m a twentysomething freelance journalist, writer and blogger in New York City. I write about everything I’ve done wrong as a twentysomething woman here in the trenches.

I’m a twentysomething freelance journalist, writer and blogger in New York City. I write about everything I’ve done wrong as a twentysomething woman here in the trenches. Take my advice at your own risk.

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To be “in a rut” is an idiom that means to be stuck doing the same thing over and over again with little or no enjoyment or opportunity for progress. Someone with a suffering social life might feel bored with the nightly routine of eating dinner and watching television alone, but be too afraid to reach out to other people to try and make new friends. This person could be described as stuck in a rut, because he or she is unhappy with the current situation but keeps repeating the same actions without any attempts to break free of the cycle. The issues holding the person back from making progress can be nearly anything, from fear and other psychological issues, as with the previous example, to a lack of time, money, and other resources.

This phrase can be used both by outsiders to a situation describing another individual or as an admission from the individual involved. For example, an ambitious employee who has successfully advanced through a company may look at less driven coworkers who continue to do the same job every day with no hope for promotion as being stuck in a rut. Similarly, an individual who hates his or her job but feels overwhelmed by the poor choices for other jobs may decline to look elsewhere and instead complain that he or she is stuck in a rut.

While many people seem to complain of being unhappy in a thankless job environment, the idiom can also be used to refer to anything from overall life patterns to small, seemingly inconsequential things. For instance, while one individual feels trapped in a repeating cycle of abusive relationships over a span of many years, another may simply feel stuck eating the same boring foods every night for dinner because of a lack of cooking creativity. Both individuals in this case clearly fit the definition of being unhappy with the current situation and unable to escape from it, however the severity of the situations is hugely different. While the person bored with dinner can break out of his or her rut with the help of a new cookbook, the other person might need years of help from family, friends, and psychologists to free him- or herself from the rut.

The idiom was likely derived from the days when wooden wheels cut deep ruts, or grooves, in the dirt roads in frequently traveled areas. If a wheel got stuck in one of the previously carved ruts, it became difficult to steer off of the previously traveled path and go a different direction. It is a small step from this literal definition of being trapped following the same, well-traveled path to the more metaphorical meaning of the modern idiom.