Is the boredom consuming your mind? Reliving the same day over and over again? Does everything feel static around you?

It sounds like you might be stuck in a rut. But what does it mean to be stuck in a rut?

It is when you’re constantly in the same routine, doing the same thing over and over again. Most of the time, that routine is boring and has lost its spark from long ago. You feel unmotivated even to begin something new. If this describes how you think about your day-to-day life, I’m here to give you the tools you need to leave your routine behind and begin your life anew!

Firstly, you need to understand that everyone gets stuck sometimes, no matter the career they choose and the life they lead. It’s a part of our lives, part of the stability we crave by creating a routine that works for us.

But it is sometimes frustrating to look around and find yourself in way too deep, not feeling like going through the motions anymore. And that’s perfectly healthy to feel, as changing and developing yourself will make you more creative, aspiring, and innovative. 

So how does one go about changing, leaving their precious comfort zone behind? 

Here are five ways to do it:

1. Use Positive Reinforcement 

Boosting your motivation to try new things is frequently a challenging task when you’re stuck in a rut. What can be done to improve your motivation is using positive reinforcement to do new things and live different experiences than you have before.

To use positive reinforcement, you give yourself small rewards for checking things off your list, whether it’s a daily task you’ve been dreading or an out-of-the-box activity you’ve been postponing.

Slowly, you start lowering the amounts of rewards you get per task completed and give yourself something more significant at the end of the list!

2. Be Spontaneous

When you realize you’re stuck in your routine, an effortless way out is being more spontaneous. If you struggle with feeling like you’re not in control of your own life, making more spontaneous decisions can make you feel like you’re in charge of things.

Try being more spontaneous and say yes to more opportunities. Worrying about consequences all the time will stop you from having the best experiences of your life, so stop holding back!

3. Write Down Goals Everyday

Having a brainstorming session with someone you trust about your life goals can help you recalibrate your life to reach these goals. 

What’s more efficient is making a simple goal list that you tick off one by one, feeling accomplished at the end of the day. Remember not to make your goals unattainable; you’ll just make yourself frustrated when you can’t reach that kind of perfection.

Instead, make them realistic and break them down into tiny steps you can get done. This way, you’ll be able to motivate yourself into different activities later on. 

Creating a vision board can also help you picture where you want to be ten years down the line. So get creative, make your mood board for what’s to come, and a list of goals for your daily tasks!

4. Change Your Routine

Having a routine is good; it makes us feel safe and secure. But it can make your life more boring than exciting, and it’s good to sit down to figure out which routines are essential and which are holding you back. 

Getting out of a rut is ten times harder if you just keep doing the same thing every day since our minds stop registering things we constantly do. New experiences make new paths inside our brains, so start new routines: 

• Exercise three times a week, pick something you’ve always wanted to do.
• Read in a park when you’re done with work every day.
• Make a meal plan every Sunday to follow through the week while adding a new recipe every week.

Establish any routine you think can change up the rhythm of your life, and go for it!

5. Recognize Your Perfectionism 

There are times when ruts aren’t based on being bored with our routines, what we do, and how we say no to new opportunities.

Sometimes, it’s just perfectionism debilitating you from moving on with different projects and realizing other goals you have.

It’s okay if you’ve spent a long time trying to reach perfection in your personal or professional life. But I’m here to inform you that it’s also okay to let these dead leads go and start something new that can revive your imagination and creativity.

Ruts are hard to leave, especially when we’ve made ourselves comfortable in the benign. Feeling the excitement and adrenaline when you’re outside of your comfort zone is part of life’s pleasures. Try not to miss out!