How to Reset Your Mind.
Have you been stuck in a rut lately? This pandemic has brought the momentum that we created to a halt. Disappointing, I know, now as the world returns to normalcy, it is time to get out of the rut and reset our minds, this is not extreme, like a dopamine detox, these are methods that I have used and experimented to reset my mind to become better.
The first step you have to take is to realise that you are in a rut, there are some common indicators of being in a rut. Firstly, every day seems the same, you can forget what day it is, it could be Monday or Friday, but it would not matter because Monday is not different from Friday.
The second indicator that you are in a rut is that you feel unmotivated and unfulfilled, you don’t feel excited anymore, you might want to start a new project but you are not motivated to, life becomes dull and boring, you want to start, but you don’t know where to begin.
These emotions could be deeper and since we have been in lockdown for a few months now, you could be experiencing such emotions for a long time, you could have experienced these for years, if so, I would advise you to take care of your mental health and consult a psychiatrist, in the very least, please talk to someone.
To identify if you are in a rut analyse your vocabulary, to be specific observe the way you talk to yourself. If the words boring, stress and sad come up a lot, then you are in a rut, excessive groaning about life is also a key factor which tells you that you are stuck.
The second step to reset your mind for peak performance is to find the source of the rut, do not tell yourself that you are alright or that life is good. This is counterproductive and you will be lying to your self, which is the worst thing that you can do. A good piece of advice is to remember all ruts are not the same, they are different, so you have to think differently about solving each of these ruts.
You have to adapt to different situations and to think differently about solving each one, with that being said, you must have a basic framework to get out of a rut, this is similar to a boxer’s stance, it stays the same but the boxer can duck and punch in different ways during a fight. The article provides you with a stance, it is up to you to throw a left hook or to jab.
The third step to release yourself from mental jail is to take care of yourself, I am not being soft, I just want you to show some self-love. The best way to do this is to sleep properly, eat well, drink loads of water and spend time with people who make you feel better after you are done talking to them.
As well as that you can change your routine, this is because you are stuck in your ways and now you are bored with your current routine. I like to keep a week that I call disruption week, during this week I disrupt my habits, I engage in new activities and I talk to new people. It is a whole lot of fun, you should try it.
During disruption week, I do stuff that makes me happy, I live off my happiness. I watch sitcoms, I do activities in a non-judgemental way. My mental health is much better since I have started the practice of disruption week.
You may feel helpless purely because you lack motivation. It is difficult to do anything without commitment or motivation, and boosting your motivation is the toughest thing to do, unless, you have a purpose. Try these two ways to become motivated:
- Take small steps: Do an activity that you can accomplish but that is slightly out of your comfort zone. Get going, you have to do the thing and then you get the power, you cannot get the power and do the thing, as Emerson said.
- Reward yourself: This will give you more motivation to do better and to show up every day. Positive reinforcement allows you to feel better about your self if you don’t feel good about yourself, nobody else will feel good about you.
Lastly, to help you get out of a rut, you must forget about perfectionism. I am not saying perfectionism is bad, I am saying perfectionism is developed over time, my 50th article was much better than my first article, this article is better than my 50th, show up every day with the intent of getting better, everything else will come.
Feeling stuck in a rut can be frustrating, and these are a few tips of many out there to help you, I have experimented with a lot of these tips and found considerable success if you feel that you are not in a rut but you lack motivation and you feel like nothing excites you, please consult a doctor, there is lots to live for and many things to achieve.
Get out there and conquer the week, play to win this week, don’t play for a draw.
