5 Ways To Get Out Of Your “Rut”

I don't know about you, but sometimes I feel less than great. Low, grouchy, fed-up, and bored are all words you could use to describe what I was like in those days, and I'm probably not the best company. The thing is, days like those are part of the deal with being human – it's not an elective. There will always be off days, and that's okay.

But what happens when you get a whole string of those off-days, maybe lasting weeks, months, or even years? Too many of us say that we're in a rut, feel stuck, fed up, or bored, and admit that we don't want things to be that way, but we don't know what to do to change. That's the problem when you're in a rut; you need more energy and motivation to improve things, and it's tough to find the insight or resources you need to make that jump.

Here are five fun and easy ways you can use right now to climb, or better yet, leap, out of the rut and start to get something better for yourself.

1. Do Something Differently

Life tends to run smoothly when we establish systems and routines for things, but the problem comes when things run too smoothly, and we become blinded to any ideas or choices outside our routine. Everything we do daily becomes the norm, running on auto-pilot, and it becomes our whole world.

Start with making one or two simple changes to your day - at breakfast time, your radio station, gym routine, route to work, lunch routine, etc. Don't worry about the changes or whether they're right or wrong; just make a few simple choices that will serve you well.

Doing something differently or changing parts of your routine instantly removes you from the norm and allows you to shake off the things that make you feel confined. Step out of your routine, and you'll be in a position where you're able to make different choices, see things differently, and get a different result.

2. Use your Intuition

Your intuition is a powerful ally, and we all have it, even though you might not recognize it. The dictionary says that intuition is:

a. The act or faculty of knowing or sensing without using rational processes; immediate cognition.

b. Knowledge gained by the use of this faculty; a perceptive insight.

c. A sense of something not evident or deducible; an impression.

One of the best friends you'll ever have is your intuition, and tuning in to it and learning to trust it can have some truly remarkable effects. Accessing your intuition is like working and developing a muscle, but unfortunately, it can be harder to locate than a bicep or quadricep, which stays in the same place. Here are some quick tips for accessing and trusting it –

• Practice maintaining an open-minded, playful, experimental, non-judgmental attitude. This is the most fertile ground to tap into your intuition.

• Practice making wild guesses in your everyday life. Guess what a salesperson's name is, what a new person or place will look like, or who's calling on the phone. Don't worry about getting it wrong; you're working that muscle.

• Try a few simple observation exercises in your daily life. Practice noticing non-verbal behavior in others, whether in a restaurant, on a train, in a bar, or out shopping. Look for shifts in posture, eye movements, vocal tone or tempo, etc. Guess how they're feeling or what they're talking about.

3. Nourishment

Imagine you're walking home from the supermarket with a couple of bags of groceries, but those bags have holes in them. You're walking along merrily, leaving a trail of your things behind you, but when you get home, you unpack what's left and ask, "Didn't I have more than this?"

Nourishment is about plugging those holes in your life and ensuring you have things that keep you feeling nourished – nourished in your head, heart, and stomach. Remember that you can't give away what you don't have and can't spend the energy you've already spent.

It doesn't have to be the big things in life that nourish you, and it's often the simplest little thing that strikes a chord, makes you feel like yourself again, or makes you smile from ear to ear – calling a friend, talking a walk in the park, or listening to your favorite song, for example. So, what keeps you balanced? What relaxes you or makes you feel peaceful? What makes you feel like you again?

You're important enough to take care of yourself, and it doesn't matter what it is; just take the time to do it. If necessary, go as far as booking time in your diary. You're the only one of you, so it's your responsibility to ensure you're okay.

4. Perfect Day

Here's something to play with – your Perfect Day. This idea came to me a few years ago when a good friend asked me, "What would be your perfect day?" I'd never been asked that before, and I found myself spontaneously making up a story – telling her about my Perfect Day from when my eyes flickered open to when my head hit the pillow.

I went through each part of the day telling her what I was doing, who I was with, where we were, how it felt, and what happened next. Bit by bit, and without even thinking about it, I'd put together a rich, colorful, exciting, and comforting day, which still holds true as my Perfect Day. You can start introducing little bits of your Perfect Day into your real life or work to make some of it happen. For example, in part of my Perfect Day, I visit a company where I'm helping the directors and employees to focus on their strengths and to create an environment where people love to work and can be their best – and that was even before I knew that there was such a thing as coaching or that I could be a coach. My Perfect Day has now become like a good friend I can call on whenever I want.

So what's your Perfect Day? Don't overthink it; don't worry about sounding silly or too grand. Just shoot from the hip and see what comes out naturally for you. Write down words, ideas, themes, or a whole narrative – even draw pictures if you want to. Have fun, play with it – it's your Perfect Day.

5. Get Some Fun, Fulfilment, and Freedom

The Three F's – Fun, Fulfilment, and Freedom - encompass many of what people are looking for in life and contain the solutions to having, doing, and being those things. Here are some definitions:

Fun - A source of enjoyment or pleasure; playful activity.

Fulfillment - To bring into actuality, to complete, a feeling of satisfaction at achieving your desires.

Freedom - The capacity to exercise choice, free will, frankness or boldness, and the absence of constraint in choice or action.

Reread those. Those things are enormous, profound, broad, and much more straightforward than we make them.

Where are you about each of the Three F's? How much of each do you have right now? How much of each do you want? Whatever gap there is, recognize that it can be closed and that you can close it. What would things be like if you were to close that gap? What would happen if you climbed a point or two on the Fun scale? Could you add a point to your level of fulfillment or freedom? How would that feel? Pretty good. So, what one thing can you do right now to help you get more?

Each of the Three F's is powerful and can help move you forward, enjoy where you are, and feel alive. But when the Three F's come together, just hold on to your hat and keys.

Following these simple steps, you will be blasting through your "rut" in no time!