Escape Your Rut

Self-created misery

Is it easy to escape your rut? Have you ever wondered why we, the intelligent human beings that we are, often find ourselves trapped in self-created ruts anyway?

I say self-created because we set the stage for the rut without outside help. We consistently repeat the same negative thought patterns not allowing ourselves to trust a more positive outlook. We want to escape, but the fact is we are comfortable in our ruts.

Truth is, ruts become so comfortable that complaining ends up as a main topic of most conversations. Just look through your Facebook feed and you will see at least a handful of your friends commiserating about some aspect of their life.   Yet if you offer this person any type of suggestions to change their circumstances they immediately push it aside as if they are doomed to stay exactly where they are.

Make a Conscious Choice

What I’m going to say next will probably cause you to roll your eyes and have the urge to scream; but, you HAVE A CHOICE in this. What you think and talk about on a regular basis matters. It matters a lot. You may be thinking that it can’t be that easy. You are correct, it isn’t easy, but you do have the power to do it. Making the conscious choice to think differently is the first step to breaking out of any rut.

If you are struggling with a job that you are not happy with, try to keep your thoughts focused on your future, not on all the things wrong with the present. Do not, no matter how tempting it might be, complain to your co-workers about it. They will validate your feelings (because that is what people do) and it pulls you further into the rut. Instead, create a visualization board or use Pinterest. Find pictures of work environments that appeal to you and put them on it. The reality of your future depends completely on the thoughts your produce today. Your visualization board will assist you as you practice to focus your thoughts and change your energy field.

Create new habits

It takes practice, but it can be done. Personally, I view my thoughts as a slide show. If a negative series of slides is showing up on my screen I  make a conscious choice to advance the projector. I can keep advancing it until I reach a slide (thought) that is healthy and that serves me well.  Just the image of having control helps me to stay positive.

For the next thirty days, try making a conscious effort to focus on the future you dream of having. The one that your ego is telling you can’t exist for you. The one your conditioning has convinced you that you don’t deserve. Picture that future in detail. Sometimes it helps to write it down. Describe it with painstaking attention to detail. Combine this description with any visualization boards you are using. Keep it where you can see it every day, several times a day.

Try It For 30 Days

Take several one minute meditation moments throughout your day to refocus your thoughts on the future you are creating. Consciously advance your slide projector when a negative thought appears on your screen.  Work to control your own thoughts every day for thirty days and you will be amazed at how much the rut you have been living in seems insignificant to the future you are creating. Escape from your rut and invest thirty days to allow your thinking to change your life.