The Secret to Getting Out of the Rut
I’ve been lazy as fuck for the past few weeks, waking up late, sleeping late, eating as much junk food as I could, skipping cardio, and not doing the workout that I used to do. And the worst of all, I was just lying on my bed, scrolling through my social media, and pumping in that extra dopamine.
We all experience these things, and we often get into and out of the loop without knowing it, but the point that I want to highlight is that it’s not about the loop and other bad habits (we all have them); actually, the thing is: how much time do you spend in them? One day a week is not good; one day a month is fine; you can continue; one week a year is fine; you are on the right track. You cannot control all of your days, but we should find some ways to control the maximum of your days. Don’t go with the flow; go where the flow takes you, not where it is best for you.
I thought many times that I needed to change and desperately wanted to get out of the loop that I was stuck in, but the issue was that I was indirectly addicted to the comfort that I was experiencing.
I was productive at first, but later on, I was not able to gather the mental clarity that I had initially. We all know about desperation and how bad it is, but let me tell you a secret that I recently discovered about desperation. If you are desperate for growth, that is known as the hunger you have for your betterment. In some ways, you will discover new ways to deal with the problem you are facing because you have exhausted all humanly possible solutions. And because of this desperation, I figured out ways to escape the rut.
The thing you should keep in mind is that I am neither a psychologist nor a psychiatrist; I am just telling you what works for me and from what my friends and I have benefitted. I hope you will all learn a lot from this piece.
Ways to escape the rut
Shut up. Just get started.
We all often think that inspiration, motivation, and action are a straight line, but actually, it is exactly the opposite of what we think. It is a cycle or a loop, and you can always start it from anywhere you want to. I know it takes a lot of willpower to leave your comfort zone and do something that will make you uncomfortable; therefore, instead of asking yourself to do something difficult, ask yourself to do something as simple as possible.
“Success is the result of small efforts day in and day out.” ~Robert collier
Don’t tell yourself to go and jog for 5 km; just ask yourself to jog for a few minutes, and when you start it, the flow will take you somewhere ahead of where you had thought. Some of you are just going to close this page because indirectly I am saying that if you don’t want to do anything then just do something, but that’s the truth; actually, you need to do something to get out of that rut. Just imagine you don’t need any sort of motivation to just brush your teeth or just take a shower; you need to get up and just do it the same way; you don’t need the motivation to work on the task you have in front of you.
This may sound a bit weird, but I am asking you to do something that you don’t want to do. If you don’t feel like doing it, then just do it. You have to push yourself and start working. Now if I don’t feel like doing it, I just start with an easy part. I don’t actively work on it; I try to passively start it. If I don’t feel like writing the article, I’ll start with the outline, and once the momentum is established, I’ll be able to go much further.
Get easy on yourself.
Now If you are a frequent reader of my articles, then you probably know that I always promote the hustle and grind side, unless you are in your bed making money while sleeping. But now that you’ve started working and have just broken out of a rut, you’ll need more motivation and drive to keep working on it, so constantly reward yourself with rest and relaxation. So if you have finished writing your 5000-word essay, go sit on a chair on your balcony or your lawn and do what you genuinely like to do.
If you’re looking to keep yourself up to the task, there are a few things you can do to help. First, make sure you’re getting enough sleep. A good night’s sleep is essential for productivity and overall well-being. And if you’re working from home, make sure you’re getting enough exercise. Exercise is not only good for your body, but it can also help you reduce stress and improve your mood. Finally, make sure you’re rewarding yourself for your hard work. This can help keep you motivated and focused on your goals.
Progressive overload
Now you don’t have to keep rewarding yourself with small wins. If you keep on doing this, you will be satisfied very easily, and your capacity and desire to grow will be reduced. You must now increase the amount of work you do and the demands you place on yourself.
“If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.” ~Fred DeVito
This is very similar to lifting weights; rather than lifting way too much weight on the first day of the gym and then not going to the gym for the next week, you can lift less weight on the first day and then increase it day after day. Same with the amount of work you do on Day 1; it should be less in comparison to the amount of work you were doing previously. But day after day, you should learn to increase it and make it more difficult and challenging for yourself. Keep it simple similar to lifting weights; rather than lifting way too much weight on the first day of the gym and then not going to the gym for the next week, you can lift less weight on the first day and then increase it day after day. Same with the amount of work you do on Day 1; it should be less in comparison to the amount of work you were doing previously. But day after day, you should learn to increase it and make it more difficult and challenging for yourself. Keep it simple — don’t make it so difficult that you can’t handle it or so easy that you get bored.
Relationships that inspire
Sometimes you need people who can inspire you near you or around you. For example, you can get motivated by reading “Can’t hurt me,” but when you are in a depressive rut, you need someone whose thoughts can push you. For example, if you are in a rut and you have basically zero productivity, you can go and talk to that person, and that session or talk can make you think about your work and push you to work. This is not possible if the person is not around you or available to you when you are stuck.
You need to understand that it is not that simple to find people like that, but when you do, believe me, it is very easy for you to get out of any depressive rut. For me, it is my elder brother, and for you, it can be anyone — your wife or girlfriend, brother, parents, friend, or anyone else with whom you can meet almost anytime.
There are some relationships that make us feel that they help us, but they are not understanding us and our mental state. For example, the person who is helping you get out of a rut should know when you need support and you need to get up, and on the other hand, when you need to get down, or in other words, when you need to bring yourself back to reality. If you are constantly motivated and pumped, you may become overconfident and over-smart, and if you are constantly demotivated, you need to get back to basics: you need basic motivation and drive to keep going and not stop. So the person should understand what you need and when.
