My Top 5 Ways to Get Out of a Rut

I don’t know about you, but the last three years for me have been quite a wild ride. I’ve experienced the breakdown of some major relationships and the buildup of friendships, the closing of a major financial door, and the opening of a much greater prosperity window, there have been times when I leaned into blind faith and other times when I asked God “Why me? and we’ll just top it all off with a worldwide pandemic. I found myself in a pretty bad rut in life, love, relationships, spiritually, mentally, and just about everything else. I knew I had to make some deliberate changes if I wanted things to get better for myself and the people I care about. So I decided I was gonna get myself out of this sunken place. So today I’m sharing my top 5 ways to get out of a rut.

I’m typically a person that embraces change with open arms and is quick to dismiss the status quo in just about anything, but these years of rapid and drastic change have left me feeling lost, drained, and helpless. Basically, just not myself.

As I sat thinking about this year and what I want the theme of this year to be for myself. I found it hard to come up with a mantra when I felt so disconnected. From what? I’m glad you asked. I felt disconnected from “me.” Disconnected from everything that I thought made me who I am. Let me explain. 

The past three years stripped away every label and every box that was checked to help me identify myself. I was no longer employed at the job that I poured my all into, I was no longer the person that was super proud of my body. I was no longer financially secure. I no longer had my dream house in a prestigious neighborhood. I was no longer the happy-go-lucky cheerleader type. I was sad, fat, depressed, absolutely miserable, and I hated it. But I also had a plan to fix it. 

These are the practices I implemented in 2023 to get me out of my rut and back to my highest self. They helped me and I’m positive that they’ll help you or someone you love too.

1. Take Notes from Your Past

Mentally scan your life. Think back. Remember a time when you were on top of your game, when you felt comfortable in your own skin when you were the most connected to The Creator and to others, and when you felt your happiest. Think about what hobbies you had at that time, Think about things such as what friends you were with, what books you read, what smells you remember, what you looked like, and where you lived. Now that you know, write them all down and meditate on your list. Is there anything on this list that you could incorporate into your life now to get you into a better frame of mind so that you can begin the journey of coming to yourself?

For example some of the times when I felt like the greatest version of myself was when I went to church and meditated regularly, when I worked out more often, and had hobbies that inspired me creatively like writing. Next, I began to think about what things from this list I could incorporate into my life now. I decided to start this blog and practice make-up artistry as a side hustle to have a creative outlet. I also committed myself to at least 30 minutes of workout time per day. It’s only been a month and a half into the new year and I am already seeking positive results in my physical and mental well-being.

2. Journal Writing and/or Morning Pages

I know that journal writing is on every self-care expert’s list of productivity hacks. So you’ve heard this one before I get it, but don’t scroll away. Hear me out. I think a lot of the times we hear that we should journal but we don’t necessarily know why or how. This is what I’ll explain. Journaling can be done at any time. There’s no right or wrong way to journal. Journal entries can be written or typed, spoken or drawn. This is your outlet. No one defines it but you. The idea is to simply get what’s inside that beautiful brain of yours onto paper and into the universe and straight to God’s ears.

Journaling is a highly personal outlet that’s sort of like your personal therapist on paper (and a lot less expensive.) You can share things here that you may not feel comfortable sharing with anyone else, it’ll never talk back or interrupt, and it won’t judge you for feeling the way that you feel. And don’t roll your eyes, but it is seriously better for you if you just “get it out.”

Morning Pages are similar but a little different. I learned about this from reading Julia Cameron’s book The Artist’s Way. She defines the morning pages as:

“three pages of longhand writing strictly stream of consciousness……Pages are meant to be, simply, the act of moving the hand across the page and writing down whatever cones to mind. Nothing is too petty, too silly, too stupid, or too weird to be included.”

Julia Cameron The Artist’s Way

I’ll admit that at first, I thought it was a bit much. I mean three pages? In the morning? But this is game-changing, I now feel disappointed if I miss a day. Your creativity is at its highest first thing in the morning and it’s also the best time to build new habits because nothing has happened in your day yet to distract you or get your day off course. This exercise isn’t just for writers it’s for everyone who wants to reconnect to Source and change their life for the better.

3. Move at Least 30 Mins a Day

I said move and not work out because that’s exactly what I mean. You don’t have to wake up at the crack of dawn, down four raw eggs, and jog three miles in the rain to get healthy. This 30 minutes of movement could be dance, yoga, a bike ride, or a walk around the neighborhood with your dog. Anything that gets you up and moving. Depression loves a sedentary lifestyle. Don’t give it the opportunity to set in. I’ve made the decision to do this in the morning because sometimes I’m just not up to it after a work day, and this way I know I have a better chance of exercising the discipline that it takes to keep up this practice.

4. Act as Though I/it Were

This one is probably my favorite. First, I got very clear on what type of person the greatest version of myself would be. I thought about what type of daily routine she would have, where would she eat for dinner, how she would dress, what type of work she would do, how she would select friends or a partner, and most importantly I thought about how it would feel if I were her.

After getting this all down on paper I started another column that was what type of person I was at that time. I wrote down all my habits (good and bad), my routine, what I ate, and how I felt. I then compared the list. Things that did line up with my highest self I was super proud of, but the things that didn’t line up with what Tiffany at her best self would do or accept from anyone including herself had to go. I crossed it off the list and committed to replacing that habit or behavior with something from my “highest self” list. The last step was actually acting like I was the “highest self” version before I’d even gotten there yet.

This is not only a game changer, but a frequency changer. When we start to align with our highest/best version of ourselves, that is when we are closest to God. This is because we are living our lives doing our best and being our best and that is what The Creator wants for us. I dare you to act as though you are already the person you aspire to be and see how miraculous things start to fall into your lap.

5. Get Creative!

Ok so I lied, This one may be my favorite one! Get creative! I think we can be very short sited when it comes to creativity. Creatives aren’t just singers, actresses, rappers, and painters of the world. We are all creative. We were all formed and fashioned by the greatest Creator in the universe and made in His image. This means we are all inherently creative.

Creativity for you may mean baking, photography, organizing, flower arranging, dancing, sculpting, or writing short stories. We all are capable of creating something, and the something we are able to create is meant to be for the good of ourselves and society. Also, it’s a great form of escape as a side project if you can’t or don’t exercise your creativity in what you do for work. If you don’t know what your creative outlet could be, just think of something that maybe close friends and family have told you that you were good at. We oftentimes overlook the amazing things we do because we’ve become so used to doing them that it no longer seems as amazing as it truly is.

Making the decision to start this blog, my YouTube channel, and my business has truly saved my life and provided an outlet for me to help others along the way.

I hope that you’ve enjoyed the five ways that I am leveling up to my highest self beginning this year. These have impacted me in so many awesome ways and I know that they will for you too. Here’s a secret, I have 5 more that I’ll be sharing with you on a later post so stay in touch by signing up for my newsletter. Let me know in the comments what your top five would be or what you would add to my list. And here’s a great article published on healthline.com about the topic for some further reading: https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-get-out-of-a-rut#dig-a-little. Until next time, whatever you do make it beautiful. Talk soon xoxo