Top Tips For Being Stuck in a Rut

Top Tips For Being Stuck in a Rut

It can be difficult to feel stuck in a rut. This can impact us mentally, physically and emotionally. It can make us:

• Lose confidence in ourselves
• Become unmotivated
• Make less effort with family and friends
• Make less effort in our jobs

Many situations can make us feel stuck in a rut. We could be in a mental rut - if we are struggling with mental health. Also, we could be feeling like we are in a career rut where we are not making much progress at work. Either way, it is vital to deal with the situation if we are in a rut. We must move forward. There are many top tips for dealing with your emotions if you are feeling in a rut.

Accepting The Situation

It is normal to come to points in our lives where we are not making progress, particularly in our work lives. In other words, work can be difficult, and it is okay to have periods of just coasting along. When you are feeling in a career rut, you can do a few things. For example:

• See the positives – see this time as a time to work on yourself and make time for your friends and family
• Accept that not every day is a day to progress professionally
• Realise that even if you are not making active progress, you are still learning and growing as a person

Feeling In A Rut With Your Personal Life

You can also feel like you are in a rut with your personal life. For example, if you are stuck in a rut with friends who do not challenge you. Also, sometimes we find we are in toxic friendships and toxic relationships. Toxic relationships can make us feel like we are in a mental and emotional rut. Therefore, to change this, we must get rid of those people from our lives. Removing friends can be difficult as no one wants to do this. However, if you are in a rut, it is essential to look after your mental health.

There are few ways to deal with difficult situations like these. For example:

• Have self-confidence – accept that you do not need people in your life who create toxic relationships
• Practice mindfulness to avoid getting in a mental rut. Be mindful of the positives in your life to look after your mental health
• Join other social groups and activities to meet more likeminded people
• Enjoy some time alone to work on yourself - you can meditate, draw, paint, go for a walk etc.
• See the positives in your life and realise you are worth more than putting up with toxic and relationships that damage your mental health

Remind Yourself Of Your Goals

On the other hand, if you are uncomfortable with being in a rut, you should remind yourself of your life goals. Look at your life and think, 'Is this where I wanted to be now?' 'Should I be in a different job, relationship or position?' There can be positives from feeling in a rut as it can encourage you to make small changes to your life to progress. For example:

• Push you to get a new job
• Apply for the promotion you didn't think you would get
• Join a new social group to meet new people

Being proactive and taking control of your life can take a lot of self-confidence. However, it is important to notice where you are getting in a rut to make changes to make yourself happy. In other words, you must identify the problem and then you can start to make changes.

Self-Care To Avoid Staying in a Rut

There are many ways that you can take care of yourself when stuck in a rut. Getting out of a mental rut or a career rut can be tricky; however, it is possible.

At the end of the day, whatever emotional difficulties we face in our day to day life, our mental health must be the most important thing! Therefore, even if you are in a job that you need or in a relationship that you want to work, there are always other options if it makes you feel like you are in a rut.

It is essential to recognise the things that make your life difficult and things that build you into a stronger, more resilient person. Things in life that may make you more emotionally resilient are:

• A job that has the opportunity for progression and promotions
• A relationship that makes you feel happy and secure

However, things in life that will hold you back and make you feel like you are in a rut are:

• Working somewhere where you feel stressed and unhappy
• Working with people that make your working environment uncomfortable and miserable
• A job with no room for progression
• Feeling you are not reaching your life goals
• Being in an unhappy, toxic relationship or friendship

To take care of yourself to avoid situations where you are unhappy and, in a rut, you must practice techniques to reinforce your self-worth. Everyone deserves to live a happy life with people who improve their mental health rather than damage it.

Self-Care And Giving Your Brain A Rest

Furthermore, self-care opens up the possibility of you not being in a difficult situation at work. For example, you may have a work project you have worked on non-stop but feel you are not progressing. Overworking demonstrates a different kind of career rut. It is vital to take time away from work and practice self-care. You can show self-care in many ways. For example:

• Go for a walk
• Engage in social activities you have put off for work
• Take up a new hobby
• Cook a nice meal
• Practice breathwork and meditation

Written by Lily Shaw