Rut is wrong with you?

So, how automatic has your life become?  When you think about what you are doing now and where you thought you would be in your life by now, are you there?

We sometimes get stuck in our lives in a place of tyrannical sameness.  We get up, follow the same patterns (good or bad) day after day and become comfortable with the way things are.  We get stuck in a rut.

What is a rut anyway?

Definition: rut (rut), noun

1.    a fixed, routine course of action, thought, etc., esp. one regarded as monotonous

When you are stuck in a rut in your car, you do everything imaginable to shake yourself loose and get out of that place, right?  You shift gears, gather help from friends (or strangers), push, pull, fight, whatever it takes.  But, when it comes to our lives at times, we just sit back and settle into the “stuck.”

Are you in a rut in your relationship?  Are you in a rut in your career?  How about with the resolutions we all made at the beginning of the year?

The first step to getting out of the rut is recognizing you are stuck, and then take action.

1. Acknowledge you are stuck
2. Acknowledge that the past doesn’t equal your future
3. Make a decision to change
4. Remember change is a process, not a destination
5. Get some help (it is okay to reach out)
6. Don’t let fear enter in on the way to your new destination
7. Make a plan and commit your plan to paper (Write it down)
8. Begin where you are and start with something small  (Chinese Philosopher Lao-Tzu said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”)
9. Celebrate victories, no matter how small
10. Never give up

Are there ruts you are stuck in?  What could you do today to begin the process of getting out?  As a friend of mine always says, “Enjoy the journey!”