What should you do when you are stuck in a rut that seems inescapable? Someone asked this question to April Shprintz, and she shares valuable tips in this episode on how to finally get out of the hamster wheel. She explains the right way to take action, why you should not wait around to gain clarity, and how to highlight and appreciate the things you are actually good at.
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Stuck In A Rut You Can’t Get Out Of? THIS Is The Answer!
I am so glad you’re here. I have to ask you a question. Do you feel like you’re stuck in a rut or have been stuck in a rut in the last year and found yourself in that place where you’re like, “How do I get out of this?” I had someone ask me if I ever experienced that. They said, “Are you always up like this or are you always motivated in going to get it and go after it?
I try hard to share with people. “No, I have the same struggles that every person has.” I don’t care how great you think someone is at getting it done and making things happen. They struggle, too, and you should know that. You should know that when you struggle, you are not alone. They asked, “What do you do when you get in a rut or feel like you can’t accomplish the goal you’re looking to accomplish? What is your answer?”
Stuck In A Rut: Whatever you think about other people, remember that they have their own struggles too. When you struggle, you are not alone.
I always go in and ask myself, “What am I not doing?” They’re not taking action. I’m not taking the right action or I’m not consistent. That’s how I’ve gotten into a rut and I’m not getting to the goal that I want to get to. If I’m not taking action, this is what it looks like. You’re waiting for clarity. You are never going to get clarity by waiting for it. You will always get cleared by taking action and getting feedback. If you’re waiting for clarity, get going. Start taking action and be deliberate about it. The clarity and the results will follow.
Another one of my favorites for not taking action is, “I’m waiting for a better time.” The best time to have done it would have been yesterday. The earlier you can get yourself to do action, the better. I say this with certainty, and I say it as I do it all the time, but I will literally sometimes be saying this to myself because I’m not doing it. At other times, I am taking action but it’s not the right action. I’ve talked about this before. It is hamster work.
Anything and everything that can make you feel like you’re accomplishing something while not moving your goal forward. If you cannot identify when you’re doing hamster work because you can be very sneaky with yourself about it, a good friend, someone you trust, or someone who cares about you can tell you it’s hamster work. Hamster work tends to be something that isn’t absolutely necessary to move something forward but feels important right now.
The last one is you’ve nailed the action. You know what to do but you’re just not being consistent and that can happen to any and all of us because consistency is easier for us in some areas of life than others. If you find yourself struggling with any of these things, all you have to do to have a breakthrough and move forward is to own it. Take some ownership and realize, “This isn’t my situation. This isn’t other people. This isn’t a lack of time. This is me.”
It’s because the moment you take ownership, you’re no longer a victim of any other thing. You get to be the hero, figure it out, and make it happen for yourself. I went through this process with myself and it is the most relieving feeling to take ownership and then know you can fix it. Interestingly, you will fight it like a toddler who doesn’t want to take a nap. When you get there and you get that ownership, you’re like, “I need to take my deliberate action. I’m worried. I don’t know how I’m going to get the consistency.”
Stuck In A Rut: The moment you take ownership of your life, you will no longer be a victim of anything. You get to be the hero and make everything happen for yourself.
Keep in mind that there are areas of your life that you’re very consistent with that come naturally and easily to you. Literally, ask someone else in your life and they’ll point them out to you because you’ll probably take them for granted and not even think of them. However, you borrow those habits that make you good at that area of your life. You are good with the consistency, the plan, and the way that you execute. All of those skills are transferable.
Stuck In A Rut: There are some consistent areas in your life that come naturally to you. Ask someone else to point them out to you because you might be taking them for granted.
I had an example of this. One of my best friends asked me how I got so good at painting. I’m not talking about artistic painting. I’m talking about painting the interior of homes. When I think about how many different homes I’ve painted the entire interior of my homes, friends’ homes, and families’ homes, I probably have more hours clocked painting the interior of a home than anyone who wasn’t a professional painter because I’ve moved so much in the military. My family moved so much and I tend to enjoy doing it so I’m happy to help people with it.
It made me realize that I could use those skills on big projects that I wanted to do in my business because the same way that I would go to plan, execute, and very quickly paint a home, it’s the same thing for a big project. I want you to do that for yourself. I want you to think about the things that you do that you’re good at and borrow that for the ability to take action. Borrow that to make sure you’re taking the right action, and most certainly, borrow it for how to develop those consistent habits. It’s going to make a difference for you and pull you out of that rut because when you’re there, you know you want to be out so badly. Imagine the relief that you’ll feel when you’re finally moving forward on that thing that’s so important to you. Here’s to your success.
Think about the things you are good at and borrow them. This way, you can take the right action and develop consistent habits. It will make a difference in your life and pull you out of the rut. Share on X