Sometimes, everything in life feels like it’s going wrong. You feel demotivated, lost, unhappy, and you have no idea where to start turning it around. Have you — or anyone you know — ever managed to turn things around and get out of a major rut in life? We want to hear from you!
Picture: Vic/Flickr
Not too long ago, we asked what Lifehacker could do to improve your life. A few people asked about the same thing — they were simply in a rut and had no idea how to make themselves happy. Whether it’s your own story, a family member’s, a friend of a friend’s, or even somebody else’s story you just feel like sharing, we want hear your best motivations and strategies for turning things around. Maybe at one point your relationship was down the tubes, your job sucked, and you felt like you were going nowhere in your life, but you managed to overcome the obstacles. Share your stories, tips and links with us in the comments below.
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2 responses to “How Did You (Or Someone You Know) Recover From A Rut In Life?”
1. Don’t expect to be happy all your life, there’s nothing wrong or abnormal with being sad.
2. Make other people’s welfare more important than yours (focussing on your kids help)
3. Understand no matter how much others try, they’ll never make you happy or care as much as you want them to. You’re on your own when push comes to shove.
4. Exercise
5. Get over it, there are no “answers”, be happy you don’t have Ebola!
I caught myself in a massive rut during the first 6 months of the year. I was easily irritable, drinking far too much, having trouble sleeping and hating life in general. Eventually I realised that the thing I was hating the most and dwelling on was how much I hated the long commute to my job & that I didn’t feel respected there. I went on a holiday for a month & on the first day back they made me redundant & it was the best thing that happened to me all year – I found a new job with a great team of people who actually ask how I am in the mornings. They’re paying me better and I’m much closer to home so I get to walk there in the morning instead of dealing with the rat race.
Things are much, MUCH better.
I got myself “unstuck” from my rut by building up my savings account and destroying all debts. The more $$ I had, the more options I felt I had. My confidence grew and my job felt like it sucked less because I knew I could walk away and be able to afford to eat and have a roof over my head without for 3 months, then 6 months, then 1 year. Right now, I’m at 2 years worth of an emergency fund, and pushing any new surplus money into investments to back me up long-term.
It’s true what they say about energy vibes being felt by the people around you. The less I walked around with my tail between my legs and fearing job loss, the more respect and friendliness I got from my manager and colleagues, which made my weekdays a lot more pleasant!
Nowadays, I feel more free to apply for more interesting jobs, move to new places and take a sabbatical, all because of the savings cushion.