How to Get Unstuck

Most people occasionally get stuck in an emotional or physical rut. Stagnation in life can ruin motivation, ambition and happiness. Luckily, affecting change in our lives in simple ways can wrench you free of your rut.

Method 1 - Getting Unstuck at Work

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→ Change your commute. Spend a week commuting via bike, bus or walking. Shaking up how you start your day can change your outlook for the entire day.

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→ Do some reading on the company dime. Ask your boss for subscriptions to trade magazines or new books that could improve and inspire your work. If they won’t, go to the library and check out anything you can find on the subject as you enter this self-improvement phase.

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→ Resurrect a skill you think you’ve mastered. You can get complacent and stop trying to be better computer programs, web coding, design, writing and more. Challenge yourself with some deliberate practice to get to a new level of proficiency.

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→ Offer to be a mentor to a younger employee. As you teach, they can inspire you with youth and passion.

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→ Try the old adage “a change is better than a raise.” Turn your work routine on its head. After several weeks, you may find a new schedule that increases productivity.

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→ Ask your boss if you can work from home one day a week. More employers are willing to look at minimal telecommuting. Although full-time telecommuting can be discouraging, having one day where you work in your pajamas and go for a jog at lunch can improve your outlook on life.

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→ Imagine yourself in 15 years. Dream for five minutes about what you will be doing. If that daydream doesn’t match up with the path you’re on, consider changing fields or locations.

Method 2 - Getting Unstuck Creatively

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→ Don’t force it. When you recognize a creative block, it’s time to give your mind a break. Do things that allow your subconscious mind to take over.

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→ Take a creative class in a different discipline. If you’re trying to write, take a gardening class. If you need to paint, sign up to take a wood-block printing class. Let a different type of art inspire you.

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→ Use color to your advantage. If you’re stressed, fill your home with blue colors. If you are unmotivated, paper a room with red to inspire your passion.

→ Purchase big sheets of colored paper or cover your area with colored material if you don’t want to make a permanent change.

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→ Try a new type of exercise. Choose an exercise with “flow” like yoga, tai chi, dancing, hiking or boot camp. The bigger the distraction and momentum you gain, the better.

→ Exercise improves circulation and brain function.

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→ Immerse yourself in nature. One study found that natural settings, like those seen in hikes, improve creative reasoning skills. They found that three days is the ideal time to increase these benefits, but even a half hour hike might improve your problem-solving skills.

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→ Rearrange your home or workspace. Move everything into a dramatically different position. Then, see if the change helps open up creative channels for the next few weeks.

Method 3 - Getting Unstuck Emotionally

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→ Put on a song that mimics how you want to feel, not how you actually feel. Up-tempo music has the power to make us exercise at a faster pace. Favorite bands and songs can make you feel happier and more care-free.

→ Limit the sad or slow songs that you listen to while you are stuck.

→ Listen to something different. Make a new playlist and try some new bands. iTunes Radio and Pandora make it easy to pick a channel based on your favorite artists and find similarly inspirational bands.

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→ Call a friend or family member who has a completely different outlook than you. Listen to that person explain how they stay motivated to see if you can adopt some practices outside of your comfort zone.

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→ Start a journal that describes what you are passionate about. Consider asking yourself the following questions on a daily basis:

→ “When did I feel happiest today?”

→ “At what point did I find a “flow” where I forgot what I was doing and time passed quickly?”

→ “What did I look forward to doing?”

→ “What am I looking forward to in the next few months?”

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→ Give the thing that is bothering you some time. Assign a two-week limit to deal with something from the past that is haunting you. Write about it, read about it and cry about it if possible.

→ Then, make a conscious decision to let it go.

→ See a counselor during this time if you haven’t spoken to anyone about the problem.