When you’re stuck in a rut, it can be pretty hard to see a way out. It can feel like you’re climbing, and the walls of your rut are just growing, the higher you climb, to keep you encapsulated with no visible way to break free. And this can be draining; it can impact your physical and mental health.
“Smile, and the world smiles with you”-it’s a cliche, but it holds a powerful truth. When you radiate happiness, the world responds in kind. It may not be immediate or obvious, but your positivity will bear fruit.
But, how do you find positivity when things aren’t going your way and you’re still fighting to break free from your rut?
This post offers some simple yet effective ways you can part the clouds of negativity, let the sun in, and finally find the ladder you need to escape your rut once and for all.
Rituals Not Routines
A routine is brushing your teeth every day because you need to, but what if you make it a ritual?
Pair brushing your teeth with other activities, such as lighting a candle, to put you in a good mood, or opening the window when you do so to “brush away negative vibes” before you start your day. Pairing things you need to do with activities that make you feel good can be a small but effective way to help you make your day more enjoyable and give you a mini boost.
It’s not about a ritual always being spiritual; if you don’t want it to be, it just needs to bring positivity. So have your morning cuppa with your favorite music on, or write a small diary entry about what you enjoyed from the day before bed, little things that invoke happiness regularly.
Manifestation
You get what you give, right? And if you’re putting out into the world what you want, then you can manifest things into reality.
You need to invite what you want from the world into your life; you need to push the doors open and welcome it in. It’s a mental shift in your mind that yes, you can do this, yes, you do deserve it, and yes, I will work towards getting what I want.
You need to identify what it is you want and then make it a goal to get it into your life. It’s being intentional, it’s about focusing on the tasks at hand and showing the world you’re deserving of this, and it’s yours for the taking. Whether it’s a new job, that dream house you’ve put an offer on, or even hitting fitness goals you thought were out of reach. Whatever you want, open your heart and mind and manifest it into reality.
Eat for Wellness
You are what you eat, yet another cliche, but one grounded in reality. Because if you’re fueling your body on junk food continuously, you won’t be feeling great. If you want your life to turn around, finally banish the blues, and get going on a positive path, then you need a body that can go the distance and join you on this journey.
It’s not about kale smoothies and following poor advice from “fitfluencers” on social media. It’s about incorporating more nourishing foods into your diet. It’s about balance, drinking a cup of water before your third coffee of the day to reduce dehydration, and cooking a proper meal from scratch on Tuesdays because it’s your quietest day and when you can devote more time to cooking properly.
You don’t need to remove all the tasty foods you enjoy; you simply need to incorporate them in a healthy way for moments of joy and treats while giving your body the nutrients it needs at other times.
Banish Energy Vampires
Everyone has encountered energy vampires. They’re the people who feel like they’ve sucked the soul right out of you, and you need to lie down in a dark room for a week to recover. Sometimes it’s not something specific you can’t pinpoint about them, it’s more about how they make you feel when you spend time with them.
If you want to, cut them free from your life to protect yourself. If you can’t or don’t want to, change how and when you engage with them. Make meet-ups shorter, change the location, and suggest something different. If they’re not receptive, then you know they’re not really worth keeping around, and if they are, at least you can balance the bad with the good so it’s not an overwhelmingly negative experience.
Cleanse The Air
If it’s more of a feeling that the air around you is heavy with negativity or there’s something lingering that you can’t hide from, like a permanent rain cloud over your head that won’t make way for the sun, then maybe you need something more drastic.
In the first instance, talk to your doctor about help for depression to see if you need medical therapies to help you move forward. And if you’re not depressed or this isn’t the right path for you, you might find that you need to address this at a more spiritual level. Using healing crystals and positivity charms can be a great place to start, as can seeing if you can remove a curse that might have been placed on you. If you feel it will give you peace of mind or a fresh start, embrace it, give it space, and reap the benefits.
Smile
Bringing it back to that cheesy quote from earlier in the post, a smile can work wonders. Smile at the barista when you get your morning coffee. Smile at the dog in the park on your way to work, even smile at your boss, especially if you don’t want to, and do it first, don’t just reciprocate all the time, be the instigator, because a smile is infectious, and you never know the ripple effect your single smile can have on those around you, even strangers. It’s not about the fake cheer or putting on a smile when you’re not; it’s about injecting something nice into the world in a small way and seeing how far your impact can go.
