Avoiding self-imposed ruts

 

According to Oxford Dictionaries, a rut is “a habit or pattern of behavior that has become dull and unproductive but is hard to change.” A friend of mine recently said the difference between a rut and a grave is its depth. (We also have a choice about the one in which we get stuck.) At any given time, we might find ourselves trapped in old thought patterns or routines and feel like guinea pigs going round in one of those wheels because sometimes it seems easier to go through the motions. However, each day is an opportunity to transform our reality—to jump off that spinning wheel and reinvent ourselves. A few tips that have worked for me are to: practice 1) letting go of things I can’t control; 2) making choices that advance my goals; 3) not worrying about what others think; 4) prioritizing and learning to say ‘no’ and 5) engaging in activities that make me happy.

How do you avoid or escape the self-imposed ruts?

Image courtesy of Gualberto107 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Establishing your “self”

[Image credit: David Castillo Dominici]

Better to write for yourself and have no public,
than to write for the public, and have no self.
~ Cyril Connolly

I’ve mentioned in past posts how I like to hear myself talk.  When it comes to my writing, I might be described in a similar fashion.  I like to ramble, yes.  But that goes hand-in-hand with seeing my name in print.  Right now it may simply be a blog or an article or just my Facebook status.  But if I’m brutally honest, it validates.  It reinforces to me that yes, I am a writer, no matter the role.  Someday I hope my writing reaches the mass public.  But during this season, writing for my self is the greatest opportunity for me to keep fine-tuning — reinventing and improving upon — myself.  That way I can maintain the public I do have (thanks to my blog readers and followers).  And when Someday rolls around, hopefully my self will be firmly established.

How is your self looking these days?