Clients come to me for a myriad of reasons. A desire to:
- eat more healthily
- reach their ideal weight
- start their day with more energy
- have a better relationship with others or themselves
- move toward a career or personal goal
and many more.
What it often boils down to is a feeling of being stuck.
Stuck in a rut
Mired in doing things a certain way – despite suspecting it is not one of the better ways.
Feeling unable to climb back out of the rut.
Yet as Albert Einstein famously said:
Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
If you’re feeling like there’s some sticky mud in your life, keeping you well and truly embedded in the depths – but you’d rather be higher up in the fresh air, able to move freely in any direction, and, well, not covered in guck, the 5 Tips below will help pull you out.
3 Factors to Keep in Mind
- Work out your why – this is the pull factor. This might be as encompassing as ‘to enjoy all that good health has to offer, like energy, enthusiasm, confidence and radiance’. Or focussed, such as ‘to have the stamina to finish a fun run with my son’, for example.
- Work out your why not – this is the push factor. To avoid ill health. To not follow in my parent’s footsteps of this / that / other health condition. To beat this niggly health concern. To reverse this unwanted weight gain. To step out of this unfulfilling career path.
- Be persistent. It takes time, commitment and energy to change. And it’s not always a straightforward path. You might go in circles sometimes. Or slip back into the mud. Or change the angle, direction or speed of the climb out. This is all perfectly okay. Just move. You’ll never, never know, if you never, never go.
5 Tips to Get Out of the Rut
- Do something totally new – and very much out of your comfort zone. Learn how to ride a horse (see Instagram for my first ever bareback experience, into deep water). Jump out of a plane. Learn a foreign language. Take a trip to an undeveloped country. Possibly solo. Take up public speaking. Join a performing arts group. Try out a new team sport. Go on a long bushwalk or trek. Action: book your first session or trial today.
- Brainstorm ideas with an inspiring friend or in a journal. Think about what your life out of the rut could look like. What you want to be remembered for. What you loved doing as a kid. What fills you with joy. What you are great at and enjoy doing but haven’t done for a while. Where you’d like to head with your life. Action: set a time you can focus on you, minimum one hour, within the next week.
- Do my Time Triangle Exercise to clarify what is most important to you. Work out your priorities. Schedule them into your calendar, or set reminders on your phone. Action: print the exercise and complete this week.
- Gain the support of those around you who either want you to be healthier or happier, or have similar goals themselves. Let them know what you’re working towards. Allow them to gently but firmly hold you accountable, cheer your successes and support you when the going gets tough. On a similar vein, spend less time with those who drag you down. While it’s not easy to move away from friends, if your values, interests and goals are no longer in line with theirs, it’ll be better in the long run to instead surround yourself with those who lift you up. Into the sunshine, not down in the mud, so to speak. Action: write a list of who lifts you up and work out how to spend more time with them.
- For inspiration, motivation and information, join our tribe of healthy and happy individuals from all around the world. Get insights, offers, success stories and tips every two weeks into your inbox. Also connect on our social media channels. Enjoy being part of a community that values health and happiness for all! The more the merrier, do join us. Action: join the newsletter here, social media using links below, and/or share your aspirations in the comments below.
Start now. Don’t leave it for another day. Start today. Or yesterday. Today is yesterday’s tomorrow.
Here’s to life out of the rut, it really is a blast, see you soon!
Kylie Bevan
Relocation Health Coach (& mum, wife, expat, wanderluster)
