You wake up without a care in the world….
But as you yawningly reach for your phone, you see a text message. The person you’re dating says there won’t be a next one… A little disheartened, you get yourself ready for work and set out for work, only to have your right shoe be greeted by dog poo as you step out of the house!
“This day cannot get any worse!” You say as it starts to rain.
As Frank Sinatra once said “That’s Life!” and the fact is that you will have bad days or weeks. So, what do you do to ensure that bad moments don’t turn into bad days and bad days don’t turn into bad weeks?
In other words:
How do you get yourself out of a rut?
If your mood is entirely predicated on what happens in your life, you’re pretty much doomed. What are ya gonna do? Live your entire life at the whims of luck, only feeling happy when good things happen?
Not on my watch!
In this post, I’m going to share 3 (3.5 actually) simple ways to get out of a rut quickly! These techniques will help you turn around a bad day and take back your good mood!
Brighten your own days easily! 🙂
Table of Contents
#1: Rack Up Some Karma
This is probably the fastest way to make yourself feel better!
When you do something for other people, brighten their day or are the reason for someone’s smile, you’re going to feel a lot better yourself as well.
And it doesn’t have to be big either.
A simple heartfelt compliment can completely make someone’s entire week in some cases. Be that kind, giving person when you’re in a rut and watch your mood soar higher. No matter how big or small, be there for someone else!
Just to give you an example:
I made a compliment to someone in a group chat, and I got this private message back.
This. THIS is how little it can take to delight someone else, and yourself in turn!
#2: Embrace Your Feelings
This one might seem counterintuitive.
When you’re feeling down, your instinctive response would most likely be to get away from those feelings. Which is exactly what most people do:
They shove their feelings down to their subconscious.
Just one slight issue…
Whatever you resist will persist!
When you try to repress your feelings, your focus and attention are on those feelings. And so the more you try to get them out of your head, the more you are reminded of them.
Think of it like a really persistent cat:
It will continue clawing its way at your legs and meowing endlessly until you finally feed it. You’re not going to have a moment’s rest until you do, so better get it out of the way quickly.
Feed the damn cat!
Instead of trying to repress your feelings, lean right into them! Acknowledge them, take them in and then let go of the negativity surrounding them. By doing this, you get relief! The cat has been fed and you can move on with your day.
Here are 3 ways to feel better almost instantly:
- Talk to someone about whatever is bothering you, so you can get things off your chest.
- Write down how you feel. Journaling can be very powerful to overcome depression by objectively reviewing your days and feelings.
- If you have nobody to talk to at the moment, talk to yourself in the mirror and ask questions to better understand yourself.
Doing the above will help you get out of a rut by releasing the tension and negativity attached to the moment, instead of carrying it around with you constantly.
#3: Take Action!
Now, you may feel like working is the LAST thing you want to do when you’re in a rut or feeling down…
I totally understand!
However, when you postpone your work until you “feel better” (procrastinate), things will only get worse! On top of your sad mood, you’re now going to feel bad about not doing what you need to be doing as well.
I call this the circle of self-loathing.
It usually starts with feeling down, which makes you not want to do anything. Because you know what to do, but aren’t doing it, you start to hate yourself because of that inaction. And of course that makes you feel even worse about yourself.
And so, it all spirals out of control…
Break the circle!
That’s why you NEED to take action (even if it’s just small steps)!
Write this down:
“Your brain needs proof, not promises of getting better in order to believe you!”
And guess what?
If you take one of those first steps you’re supposed to take, you can now be PROUD of yourself because you did it! You didn’t feel like it, but you did it anyway!
That feeling can brighten your entire day!
And you can start working on a virtuous circle instead because you’re going to instantly feel a lot better! You build momentum and improve your mood so that the next step becomes easier!
You feel better about yourself and regain some self esteem!
And the circle continues moving up this time!
#3.5: Have a Compelling Vision
This one will prevent you from getting in a rut in the first place.
Small and medium annoyances will happen regularly without fail. However, when you have a big goal, a dream so compelling that it draws you towards it, it becomes easy to shake off inconveniences!
Trust me on this.
This is literally what saved my life back in high school and being bullied on a daily basis. Having a vision for my future is what allowed me to get out of depression instead of ending everything!
I could cope with everything because I knew I would become more successful than my bullies could even dream of!
It becomes easy to shrug off negativity when you’re en route to a much bigger goal!
You Set Your Own Mood
Life is going to happen.
Some days are great, others not so much. However, when you have these 3 techniques in your back pocket, you can always get yourself out of a rut fairly quickly!
You can set your own mood, rather than be at the mercy of whatever happens on a day-to-day basis.