I’m assuming that you are in some sort of a mental rut right now as you are reading this. If not, I believe that we’ve all been in a mental rut at some point in our life. Whether it’s trying to solve an issue in your bug-filled code or feeling lost in life, I’ve been there so many times that I’ve lost count.

Mental ruts are really hard to get out. Sometimes, it feels like you’re trapped. Other times, it feels overwhelming. I don’t think it’s something you can just think your way out of.

So in order to get out of it, I believe it has to start with doing something active. Here are 3 active things you can do to get out of your mental rut and back on track to whatever you’re doing!

1

Leave you current environment for at least 10 minutes. It would be even better if you left for over an hour. Hop on a car or a bus or walk away and go somewhere far away from your current environment. The key is just to put yourself in a completely new environment. New stimulations and sensory input can either distract you and/or refresh your mind to get you out of the rut.

I always come to this spot whenever I need to destress. It’s about a 25 minute drive from my place

I do want to mention that getting up and leaving can be extremely hard. It is for me a lot of the times because when you’re in that rut, you feel stuck and not very motivated to change your environment. There’s energy required to get up and get prepped to leave. A helpful mental motivation is to tell yourself just to leave for 10 minutes. I think 10 minutes is a really good sweet spot for time needed to do something. It’s not too short but it’s also not too long. Once you leave for 10 minutes, you’ll realize that you feel a bit better than 10 minutes before. And that is enough to motivate you to stay out longer.

2

Go do something active like exercising or be somewhere that’s active. This is similar to the first way, but the key difference is that you’re doing something like walking, running, jumping, etc… Exercising has always helped me get out of the mental rut. There’s just something about working out and breaking a sweat that really eliminates the stress and gives me some clarity to why I was in the rut in the first place. You don’t have to do something intense. It can be as simple as taking a walk. For me, I go play volleyball or rock climb. They are exercises I really enjoy.

local rock climbing gym

Being somewhere active helps too. If I’m not exercising, then I’ll go to a coffee shop and journal. The coffee shop is a place where people go to work and chat. There’s music in the background and baristas making coffee. A lot of things go on at a coffee shop. The coffee shop is almost like a temple for me whenever I need to decompress. By the time I leave, I’m always feeling better.

getting coffee in the middle of the city – it’s about 30 minutes from where I was living

3

Talk to somebody. It can be a friend or a professional. Getting your thoughts or feelings off your chest really helps. I feel like talking to somebody doesn’t only provide relief but it also provides clarity to why you’re in this mental rut. Sometimes you may catch yourself in the middle of talking and realize where you went astray. The person you talk to can even provide some insight too to help you get out of the rut. When I moved to Tucson, I didn’t have much friends to talk to when I needed help so this way wasn’t the easiest for me. I had to make friends and even reach out to old college friends in order to have that somebody to talk to. Now I meet up with somebody every week and talking with them whenever I struggle has been extremely helpful.

I hope these three tips help you if you’re in a mental rut! Let me know what ACTIVE things you do to get out of your mental rut.

As always,

Be Confident. Stay Curious.