You lack meaning. You don’t like you who you are; what you’ve become. You’re living the same day, day in day out. You my friend, are in a rut. This sucks. But what good does beating yourself up do about it?

Everybody experiences ruts, but what differentiates people is how quickly they recognize they’re in one, and take action to get out of it. By the time you’ve finished reading, you’ll learn the four simple steps to pull yourself out of the depths of despair and futility.

But before you that, you first need to address your biggest issue.

Stop the ANT

Neuroscientists say we have between 20,000 and 60,000 thoughts every single day. Only 5% of those thoughts are of the current task at hand, the present moment. The rest is made up of noise and a good deal of that is infested with Automatic Negative Thoughts – ANTs.

We are 10x more critical of ourselves than we are towards others. Our self-criticism can be intensely personal and judgemental; we ‘say’ things to ourselves we would never say to anyone else. For some, this negative self-talk can be like living with a gremlin, who is always ready to leap out and attack.

Treat and speak to yourself as you would to your best friend.

What You Need To Do

You need to address your ANT at the first sight they appear. You need to squish the ANT. Stop allowing it to live rent free in your mind. Remember, your thoughts determine your perspective on the world.

Learning to bring your thoughts back to the present moment is key. Visual, aural, physical, kinaesthetic and creative mindfulness exercises can help, such as going for a mindful walk, using the NOW technique to Notice, Observe and Wonder, or writing a gratitude journal.

Having taken back control of your thoughts, you are ready to implement to solution to climbing out of your rut.

The 4 Ways

1. Develop a Routine

Begin by getting up early. You don’t have to be in the 5am club, but getting up early gives you the opportunity to perform your morning rituals in peace and tranquillity, before the world has awoke, full of distractions.

Stay away from anything for the first hour of the day that will release dopamine – Your phone, music, anything that you get even the slightest pleasure from.

It may seem extreme, but you’re in a rut and need every weapon to tip the odds in your favour. So Avoid until you’ve at least done your meditation, and set yourself ready for the day with your To-Do List in front of you.

Write your To-do List the night before. Make it so your To-do List contains 1 main objective for the day. This is your biggest domino; The thing that will give you the biggest ROI. If you’re struggling to find it,

Ask yourself ‘What’s the 1 thing that if I got done today, I could go to bed well rested knowing I’m 1 step closer to my Goal?’

Not sure of your goals? I got you – Keep reading.

2. Goals

If you haven’t already, save yourself the time and worry of not knowing how to properly set goals – Use the RET Advanced Goal Setting System. It’s FREE for non-members, so get it whilst you can. Once you’ve done that, come back here.

Done? Good. Now with your goals clearly established, you will wake up with a sense of direction and meaning. It’s only when are goals become clear and we establish our WHY for achieving those goals, does our internal motivation kick-in.

3. Progression

As you tick off one by one your daily to-do list, and you strive closer towards obtaining your goals, you will feel a powerful sense of progression. This is important because every time you consciously register your little wins throughout your day, you signal to your brain that you’re able to set out tasks and execute effectively.

Initially you will struggle, but over time you will begin to rewire your brain to habitually see the wins more often. You will carry this positive momentum throughout your day, then your week and eventually your self-esteem will improve – An essential role in achieving your bigger goals.

And last but not least…

4. Speak

We are social creatures. We need to speak to others to help organise our thoughts. When you bundle up your thoughts to yourself, you don’t allow your mind to organise and articulate. Make an effort to reach out to a friend, tell them how you’re struggling to get up in the morning; how you’ve finally established a clear routine; how you read this amazing article and now you’re able to help yourself.

Speak. Think of it as therapy… in some sense, it is.

In Summary

• Get up early.
• Meditate.
• Have your To Do list Done the night before.
• Make sure your To Do list is Prioritized with the big the Dominos in mind.
• Have your goals clear and in front of you. Remind yourself of these when unsure what to do with yourself.
• Speak.

If you follow the above, I promise you will see results. It won’t be easy. you’ll stumble, but that’s part of it. Take the good days with the bad and stay on your mission.

And remember, don’t be so hard on yourself – Treat yourself as though you are your own best friend.