Escape the Rut

byScottCorvus

68 followers

6 years ago

Getting stuck in a rut is never an enjoyable experience and occurs extensively more often then we tend to believe.

Procrastinating working on a big school paper, going through work with only enough effort so that you don’t get fired, putting your goals and dreams on the back burner because they require too much concentration and intentionality, slacking in the relationships that you have with other people, or even putting off writing an article for a few weeks straight (i.e. *guilty*).

Ruts are depressing, damaging, and even addicting behaviors that suck out the very life force within us and replace it with useless tasks and habits.

So when you get in a rut, and you will at some, how do you escape it? The same exact way you would escape a physical rut such as in the case of a stranded car.

*** Assess the situation, seek a solution, and ask for help.

Assess the Situation: The first step to solving a problem is admitting that there even is one to begin with. You can rev the engine as much as you want, but it still won’t change the reality that your car is stuck on the side of the road. Therefore, take a step back, look at your surrounding, and see what needs to be done in order to get you back on track with your goals.

Seek a Solution: Now that you’ve acknowledged that there’s a problem, what are you going to do about it? Get back in the car, take a nap, and hope everything takes care of itself? Of course not. Every reaction is caused by an action, and every little shift in the muddy tires is caused by a push. Escaping a rut is going to be dirty, sweaty, and exhausting, but it’s definitely going to be worth it. It’s also going to require planning, patience, and perseverance.

Ask for Help: But more often then not, it takes more than just one person to help get a car back on the road again. Why would you go forth living like an island with the hopes that since you alone are in this rut, then you must be the one who has to fix it by yourself? Granted that seeking to solve the problem yourself is admirable, it is rarely ever the most streamlined solution.

Moreover, why would you gladly ask for assistance if you had a stuck car yet refuse to call out for help when you’re letting your very livelihood slowly slip away from your grasp? Being stuck in a rut isn’t shameful or something you should be embarrassed about. If anything, others will be more willing to help since they themselves have probably had their own fair share of blown out tires and broken axels along the roads of life.

So there they are. Assess the Situation, Seek a Solution, and Ask for Help.
Who knew the road lines between the motivational and the mechanical were so close together.