5 Ways to Get Out of Your Rut

5 Ways to Get Out of Your Rut

Or 5 Things Your Can Do to Make a Difference in Your Life

 

By S. R. Morris

 

Many people find themselves in a rut and don’t know how to get out of it. They’re not happy with their life, but they don’t know how to make that change. Maybe you’re one of them. You see your life as a continual, unending ritual of boredom. You work, eat, watch TV (or play games), and sleep. There is no reason or purpose to your life . . . except to work, eat, watch TV and sleep.

 

Make Your Own Bucket List.

 

Since the film debuted in 2007, The Bucket List has become very popular, and making a bucket list has become all the rage. If you’re not familiar with the movie, Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman were terminal cancer patients and decided to go on a road trip with a list of things they want to do before they “kick the bucket.”

 

Many people, even those who aren’t terminally ill, have started their own bucket lists. The problem with many bucket lists is that they contain too many places to see or visit. While these were also included in Freeman’s and Nicholson’s list, a few of the things on their list were unselfish items too, like “help a complete stranger for the good.”

 

If you don’t have the time, energy or money to visit all the places you’d like to, why not make a shorter, more meaningful bucket list. Try to find some things that would get you out of your rut, off your couch (even out of the house) and into a more interesting, meaningful life.

 

Don’t Kick This Bucket List

 

1.)   Help someone for the good. Like Nicholson and Freeman, find a way to help someone else. If part of your rut is because you find yourself feeling sorry for yourself, find someone who is worse off than you are. This is the advice that many psychiatrists and therapists give to people who are having a hard time recovering from a divorce or death in the family.

 

In 2000, I found myself wanting to get more out of life. A friend told me that she got involved helping the homeless in a small way. I took her advice and got involved near my home. After two years of devoting my Sundays to feeding the homeless, I was offered a position helping a church and school on a nearby Indian reservation. It turned out to be one of the most meaningful experiences of my entire life.

 

2.) Learn to fly. I’m not talking about taking a flight to New York City or San Francisco from wherever you live. I’m talking about learning to become a pilot. While it may be too expensive for your tastes (and budget), there are ways to accomplish that goal if you plan it. Even many community colleges offer classes in flight training and the cost is not as expensive as you might think.

 

What if you’re not really interested in becoming a pilot, but you’d really like to cross off your list “fly a plane.” Let me suggest two very easy, inexpensive routes. Many flight schools offer “introductory” flights in which you get the feeling of flying a plane. Of course, you have to have the ability to “just say no” when, after your flight, they try to persuade you to sign up for pilot training.

 

The other way is to take a flight in a glider. Years ago, I won a contest in which I got to take a free ride in a glider. It took a little nerve to get in a plane with no engine, be towed by another plane to a comfortable elevation, and then be released. The best part is that the pilot told me to “grab the stick” because he would turn over the controls to me so I could fly the plane. It was a very peaceful, surreal experience; one I’ve never forgotten.

 

3.) Make a difference in a child’s life. How you do that will depend on how much involved you want to be. I’m not talking about being a better parent or grandparent to your own children or grandchildren. I’m talking about becoming a part of a child not blood-related to you, and there are many ways to do that

 

You could become involved as a ‘big brother’ or ‘big sister’ for a child that needs you in his or her life. There are several programs that match children with caring adult. Some programs even seek ‘grandpas’ or ‘grandmas’ with a needy child. You could volunteer at a school to help a child learn to read, and there are mentoring programs to help children with specific subjects like math.

 

If you have room in your house, you could be come a foster parent and make a real difference in a child’s life. If you’re really ambitious, you could adopt a child. I have three children (grown) and three grandchildren, but the joy of my life for the past two years has been my adopted daughter. It has brought me new life and given me a new perspective and purpose for everything I do now.

 

4.) Learn a language. This one really beats watching reruns of Seinfeld or Friends. The hardest part of learning a language is deciding which language you want to learn. Do you want to learn a language because you hope to travel to another country and want to be able to converse with citizens of that country? What about learning sign language? There are so many ways to learn a language. I can’t list them all, but here are a few:

            Take a class at a community college.

            Get books, or tapes, or videos from the library

            Take an online class (some are free for basic conversation).

            Just book a flight or cruise to the country you want to visit and take along a guidebook.

 

5.) Get yourself healthy. If your interest in bettering yourself, because you just don’t have the energy to make a difference in someone else’s life, that’s okay. It may sound selfish to others, but maybe you need to take interest in your health before you can make a difference in someone else’s life.

 

Diet is a good way to do that, but I’m not talking about a crash diet. Read a book or two about changing your diet so you can have more energy. Buy a cookbook or two and start trying some of the recipes. I just picked up a cookbook at a yard sale (very cheap) that gives recipes for people allergic to certain foods.

 

Being healthy usually means more than just eating the right food. It often involves some level of exercise. If you don’t have the self-discipline to make yourself exercise, join a club or gym, or take a class. There are many exercise classes available, from Zumba to pilate to aerobics to yoga. If you don’t see yourself taking a class, and you can talk yourself into getting into a routine for your health, try swimming or bicycling or just plain walking

 

Be Like Mike and Just Do It.

 

The best way to get out of a rut, is to ‘just do it.’ You can start with a simple step-by-step method. Don’t try to take on too much as you start, but do something to make that change. Life is more than simply working, eating, watching TV and sleeping. It can change your life in more ways than you can imagine.

 

 

 

 

Reviews

[S. R. Morris]

T H A N K S .

[Sami Khalil]

Good advices . Thank you for sharing , sir...Bravo