Sometimes it seems like life just stagnates. You know how that is? When you’ve been working toward something, or perhaps just working. When you’ve been trying to get off of high center, whether in your personal or professional life. When it just seems like nothing is happening, to get you closer to your goals.
What’cha gonna do?
Shake things up!
Anytime you find yourself trudging through the same mud fifteen times over, or I swear, when that horizon line keeps moving faster than you do, or you’ve dug a hole so deep the light grows ever fainter, it’s time to do something different.
My ex-husband used to say in these situations, “It’s time to do something, even if it’s wrong.”
And while that sounds goofy, there was actually valid thought below his mental process. Because he would say it in situations where that rock just couldn’t be budged off its perch.
So, quit pushing. Quit racing after that horizon. Quit digging that hole.
And do something entirely different.
One thing artists of all ilk know, is that when creativity heads south for the winter and won’t seem to return (no matter how much you cajole that muse!), it’s time to take a hard left turn from your known world.
And it doesn’t have to be a big something. The ticket is to do something different.
If you write fiction, go to the museum. If you paint, read fiction. If you’re caught in the simple drudgery of the day-to-day grind, go the Renaissance Festival and dress up as a tart. Flirt your head off. That’s imperative! Flirt shamelessly with every man, woman, and child you encounter.
If you’re too busy for words, take the day off. Mental health days are imperative, especially the busier you are. Seems counter-productive, but it pays off in spades.
Dr. Lloyd Sederer, medical director of the New York State Office of Mental Health, said, “”It’s about learning your own self-management, an ongoing steady attention to a healthy life.”
Go to the movies, by yourself, in the middle of the day. Cook a chocolate layer cake and eat it (unless you cook all the time!). Go visit that vineyard—you know the one, whose wines you’ve been really wanting to taste.
Do the thing you never give yourself permission to do.
The point is to twist your mind in an entirely different direction from your “normal” day. When you have fun, endorphins release. Confidence returns. This rewires the brain and you literally “see” things different.
And perception is reality.
This is most likely not the time to sell all your possessions and go sell coconuts on the beach at St. Thomas. We’re not talking full-blown mid-life crises here! That’s a different discussion entirely 🙂
But rather, shaking your life up to make the one you’re living better.
As Joe Namath said, “When you have confidence, you can have a lot of fun. And when you have fun, you can do amazing things.”
Namath was fairly successful! And also known to have a lot of fun.
How do you shake yourself out of a rut?