Have you ever felt like you were in a rut or experiencing a particularly low point in your life? It’s times like these when we feel down, hopeless, and stuck. This can run the spectrum of significance, such as being bored at work to grieving the death of a family member or friend, but the symptoms are the same. We become disengaged and cannot fully focus or show up with our best selves.
The key to getting out of a rut is self-care, even when that feels like your lowest priority and the last thing you have time for. But really, self-care is the only way to move forward again. This type of “stuck” is a form of grieving and too often, we try to muscle our way through it instead of moving gracefully beyond it. We try to busy ourselves, self-medicate or avoid the flood of feelings accompanying the situation. Most of us haven’t been taught how to grieve, and because we are so uncomfortable with the pain, we can’t sit with it and be patient with the process. It takes time and requires gentle progress toward doing what it takes to feel better one day – sometimes it’s one moment at a time.
The good news is, you can’t think your way toward better acting, but you can act your way to better thinking. When you’re ready for progress, and only when ready, use the practices below to move forward again. In the process, you’ll redefine success and what it means to be your best self.
- Being Grateful: Remembering there are things to be grateful for, even in the darkest of times, helps keep us focused on the positive and moving forward. Keep a gratitude journal and list at least ten things you are grateful for every night before going to bed. This one intentional practice is a game changer for how you approach each new day. Some days the weather may be all you’re grateful for – and you can detail ten aspects of that at bare minimum.
Find the rest of the practices in tomorrow’s blog and try your gratitude practice today. Need some help getting started? Check our 365 Day Maximizing Success Journal. With a question each day and theme each week, it’s the tool you need to get out of your rut and change your mindset.
Categories: Sue's Daily Blog
