Do you ever wish you could stop time, or at least slow it down, so you could catch your breath between work assignments, errands, relationship demands, job responsibilities, child care, and self care? (Did I just hear you say, "Self care…who has time for that?")
Have you ever felt that something was missing from your life, from your relationships, or from your career, but you couldn't define it. Or perhaps you have a description for this feeling. Is it a void in your life, a feeling of emptiness, or a lack of depth or meaningfulness?
We live in a complex, ever-changing, technical world where time is a commodity and the meaning of life is often summarized for us in a five-second sound bite. Is there an alternative--aside from packing our possessions in the back of the Suburban and leaving town in search of a simpler life?
Whenever you feel that you're in a rut, seek novelty. Stimulate your mind (and your soul) with anything new. Strike up a conversation with a stranger, drive down a street you've never traveled before, try a new brand of shampoo, or read a book about a subject that you know nothing about. As Oliver Wendell Holmes surmised, "A person's mind stretched to a new idea can never return to its original dimensions."

Did you get into a rut during the winter? Not just in your food habits but in all aspects of your daily life. What have you done to get out of this rut? If you are still in the rut, brainstorm some ideas to get you out of it.

I'm a routine kind of person. I have, coincidentally, eaten the same breakfast every day for almost a year. Partly because it's habit to pull it together the night before so all I have to do is heat it up and eat it in the morning. This is a good thing since I'm rarely coherent before 10am, and most days I get up somewhere between 5:30am and 6:30am.

I eat lunch and dinner in "trends" where I have salads & sandwiches for a while, leftovers for a while, etc.

I have the same thing with exercise. I have a core collection of about 20 exercise DVDs. And I have a self imposed rule where I cannot use the same DVD twice in one week (I even have daily "tags" that I slip inside the cover when I'm done). I routinely use about 3 of them every week.

The closest I get to ruts is riding my indoor bike on test days because I can get 30 extra minutes of studying in before school. I will roller blade, walk amusement parks, and bike outdoors more once the weather stays warm, until then I mostly stick to my "winter" routine of DVDs.

The biggest rut I'm stuck in right now is this stress of my physics class (which I'm sure everyone is tired of hearing about by now, since I'm sick of dealing with it ). And I can't seem to figure out how to break out of it, and I've tried all kinds of stuff.

I think the breakfast is interesting. I had exclusively eaten Kashi Go Lean Crunch for several years - since I tried it. This winter, I started making oatmeal almost every day instead of the Kashi - in fact, I have some Kashi in the cupboard I should finish. I used to eat a variety of cereals, always more healthy than many, but not as good as these (shredded wheat, Special K). Eating the same breakfast and eating the same lunch is not necessarily boring to me.

Supper, on the other hand, is a completely different story and since I have the two picky guys, that is where I really fall down - get in the oh, if it's Tuesday it must be Tacos rut.

I have been trying to mix it up a little lately. We had beef roll-ups last night. mmmmmm.

Linda

I think that my ruts either work for me or work against me.

I tend to eat the same thing for breakfast or lunch. If the same thing is the #3 McBreakfast, that isn't such a good rut. If the same thing is oatmeal, then I'm pretty good.

I may be unique, but I don't worry about ruts too much. If I NEVER change my exercise and just go for a walk most days to McDonald's and buy a cup of coffee and walk home... I'm getting my recommended amount of activity. I'm doing sooooooo much better than watching TV.

Most of the time, I don't worry about food or exercise ruts. If it isn't broke, don't fix it.

But if I aquire a new bad habit and I do from time to time... or if I go back to an old bad habit... and I do from time to time. Then I may need to get out of the rut.

Have you ever felt that something was missing from your life, from your relationships, or from your career, but you couldn't define it. I think part of the problem is age, changing in family status for me. My dh and I are learning what it's like to be a two-some again, instead of having kids around. That is a major change for us since we put a lot of time and energy in to our kids lives and maybe forgot us????? Career-wise, being disabled is beginning to wear me down, I do need to find something to do with my life, and something that fills a need...I am sure that this will happen, as I have many feelers out there.


Did you get into a rut during the winter? I did, I didn't exercise, unless it was for PT, I made every excuse in the book, still do to some extent. But I have signed up for weights again, and will start swimming again on my off days from that. I am hoping to strengthen my muscles and not have to have surgery this summer.
As far as the rest of my life, it's never a rut, just sometimes not what I envisioned it to be when I was 20.

I really think that it's all part of what you plan, and then how ready and willing you are to change those plans to fit what life has given you. I wasn't ready to be a "consultant" parent, with really nothing to say, but "okay, honey, you're a big guy now" Change IS good, you just have to learn to flow with the go.

thanks for this homework, it was great!

Cathy J

I too can easily fall into a rut with a lot of things. And I do not easily get back out. It seems to happen more with exercise than food. I will admit that I am lazy, I like to lounge around, watch tv, etc. so when I get out of my exercise routine (like right now) it is not good. I always come out of them, but it can take awhile.

Jill

I am definitely a person who can get into (and stay in) a rut fairly easily because I am SO routinized in my daily life. My work requires me to be extremely focused and detail-oriented and would bore most people to death. I eat the same lunch Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of the week (though I change the menu every week). I even have a routine to the clothing I wear to work because I don't have a lot of work clothes that fit right now--I nearly always wear black pants on Tuesday, brown on Wednesday and gray or navy on Thursday (but I change it up with different blouses or jackets).

Staying in my ruts is comforting, but it also causes me to miss out on some things that I could and should be doing. I have been thinking lately that it is time for me to make a break from the computer and TV and get back to doing more creative things. The first baby step I've taken is to not have the TV on all the time when I am home on the weekends (I usually would have it on from the time I get up to the time I go to bed, whether I am watching it or not).

Oh boy, my life has been anything but a rut since we found out about the relocation.

I'm actually not a person that doesn't like change. I really don't mind change and am eager to try new things.

Dawn

I might not be the right target for this homework. I HATE sameness. The boyfriend would be perfectly happy with the same 7 dinners from week to week...and when he had to cook, that's how we ate.

I try at LEAST one new recipe every week and always try to buy something new at the store for each "big" shopping trip.

I was exhausted while we remodeled...but I was SO happy to get some *change* into the house. It's not like I can replace the couch every month...though now that I think about it, I *can* replace the throw pillows. Heh. He'll never see it coming...

Thankfully, our products at work (the big grouping of things to edit) are always changing. One day I might be working on a Power Point presentation, another day I might be working on a detailed article, and another might have me adding points of interest to a map. The jobs I've had that I know will be the same work every day have made me miserable.

My favorite television shows seem to never repeat plotlines, and they don't browbeat me with "this is important! You will need to know this! Pay attention!" They require and demand attention in order to catch the nuances and subtleties. There are some books and movies I'll enjoy repeatedly, but it feels more like visiting a friend than watching a movie or reading a book.

I find comfort in order more than in sameness, I think. I'd really like to pick up another set of inexpensive dinner dishes this weekend...I'm getting a little tired of the ones we've been eating off of lately.

I know others thrive on familiarity. It's part of the reason I'm glad we live places where both kinds of people are necessary!