I’m sure you’ve been in a bad rut during these past few months. I feel myself getting into one now. I don’t know about you, but when I get into this state where I feel like I can’t do anything, it becomes destructive. The things that kept my days going no longer excite me. I start making excuses. I blame my poor productivity and performance on things like the weather, my situation, and these troubling times.

To try to get me out of this pattern, I explored some options that would make me feel better. First, I wondered if my past accomplishments would inspire me to take action. I reflected on last week’s highlights, my upward progress towards my goals, and photos of proud moments on my camera roll. Doing this did not help. I found myself saying things like, “if only I had the motivation to do that now,” and “wow, I was great back then, too bad I suck now.” My brain thought of many demotivating things to shout at myself.

Then, I was curious if thinking about my future goals would help. I thought about my desires for health, travel, and growth. Once again, I felt horrible and uninspired. So, I decided to sit with the feeling. Sit with rut instead of running from it or distracting myself from it. I sat on the floor, and I invited the feeling. It came, and I kept still. After a few seconds, I was at peace. It felt like rut made itself comfortable next to me. I welcomed rut to sit with me for a while, but it wouldn’t control how I would go about my day. It could sit next to me while I’m working on my computer or when I was working out. The rut can sit and watch as I progress. When I came to that conclusion, I moved on with my day like the feeling was never there in the first place.

So, if you want to get out of a rut, change your mindset and how you look at it. Don’t run away from the feeling. Sit with it for a while, invite it for a cup of tea. Let it sit beside you. Once rut has gotten comfortable in a chair, go on with your life. Once you feel that it has settled down and isn’t stirring a commotion, go and move forward with your tasks. You’ll be growing and moving while rut will sit there and watch. Try it.

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