“Beware the rut you choose. You may be there a while!” A farmer in a small community in Saskatchewan once posted this sign for anyone who decided to drive down a local dirt road in the spring.
A rut is a comfortable place. We love to feel like we are on autopilot. Our brain craves the “known” and smooth feeling of that rut.
It isn’t easy because there is no work involved. In fact it can take A LOT of work to stay in the rut. It isn’t easy because there is no pain. There is often A LOT of pain created by staying in a rut. (If you haven’t listened to Why I Became a Kickass Koach—Episode #2, now is the time to listen. You’ll hear about the pain I experienced when I stayed in a rut instead of following my gut.) It’s easy because it is a painful road we know and understand so it doesn’t require us to do anything new. Nothing more than to survive.
Our brains are lazy. Our brains have a lot to manage and they prefer standardized systems and processes. The problem with the “standard” is that it becomes outdated and when we aren’t paying attention and seeking innovation and growth we become obsolete. Without growth and change—or adventure and curiosity—our life becomes stale.
The great news I have for you is that when you dump the comfort zone you actually see things—options—that you missed before. Your energy increases. Your patience expands. Your creativity triples (at least). Life FEELS effortless—joyful. Some call this FLOW.
I challenge you to listen to your gut this week and break out of one rut you have accepted as “just the way it is”. Open yourself up and see what you find.
If you want to explore the concept of FLOW—this is a good time to read Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s book called “Flow—The Psychology of Optimal Experience”.
If you haven’t listened to Episode #4 of my podcast this blog may not feel complete–Listen to it and write a review or a comment. I would love to know your thoughts.
Until next week—kickass!