Life these days is like a video game set to Extreme Difficulty—except you didn’t choose that setting, and now you’re stuck with it. Your joystick barely works because it’s been smashed in frustration more times than you can count. The console is outdated, full of glitches, and no one really knows how to fix it. That’s life in 2025. If you’re a normal human being, you probably want to unplug it from time to time—but in this game, there’s no Quit button. Instead, most of us just fall into a rut.
Some days, I felt unstoppable—like a force of nature, fueled by energy, ideas, and an unshakable drive to conquer the world. Other days? It was like my brain had been hijacked by a dark, apathetic void. Nothing felt meaningful. Nothing seemed to matter. The highs were exhilarating, but the lows? Brutal. And trust me, on those days, you did not want to talk to me.
I call it being stuck in a rut. And if you’ve ever felt that way, you know exactly what I mean. It can last for days, weeks, even months—a period where you’re just drifting, disengaged from life, and watching opportunities slip through your fingers.
I used to think I just needed more motivation. But motivation is unreliable. It’s fleeting. What I really needed was a strategy—something concrete to pull myself out of that mental quicksand and keep myself from falling back in.
This is what I’ve learned.
Why We Get Stuck in a Rut
For me, the downward spiral usually started with one persistent thought: I’m not doing enough.
Not growing fast enough.
Not making enough money.
Not developing at the pace I should be.
From the outside, people might see a successful, ambitious young professional with a solid career and a promising future. But in my head? None of it was enough. There was always a higher level to reach, and I was nowhere near it.
That feeling alone can be enough to send you into a rut. But instead of letting it drag me down, I found something that snapped me out of it every time:
A Project That Fires You Up
I realized that as long as I had something I was building—whether it was my fitness, my business, or a new skill—I felt good.
On days I worked on something meaningful, I thrived. On days I didn’t? The rut crept back in.
So, if you’re feeling stuck, ask yourself: What can I create? What can I build? What can I chase that excites me?
Your brain craves progress. Give it something worth working toward.
Why Most People Stay Stuck
We live in a time when we have the knowledge of Einstein and Da Vinci at our fingertips, yet most people use that power to scroll through mind-numbing TikTok videos. I’m guilty of it too—when I first installed TikTok, I lost eight hours of my life in one sitting. Eight hours. That’s a full workday.
And here’s the problem: this kind of passive consumption puts your brain on autopilot. It numbs you. It makes time disappear without adding anything valuable to your life. And over time? It conditions you to avoid real effort.
But here’s the good news: you can snap out of it. You can retrain your brain. Here’s how.
How to Get Out of a Rut—Fast
If you’re tired of feeling stuck, here’s what you need to do:
1. Audit Your Life Like a Ruthless Contractor
Imagine your life is a house, and you’re a contractor tasked with fixing it up. Walk through each room—your habits, your routines, your environment—and ask:
- Is this improving my life in any way?
- Is it making me happier?
- Is it making me better?
If the answer is yes, keep it. If not, it needs to go. That could mean cutting out late-night doom scrolling, breaking free from toxic people, fixing your diet, or finally leaving that soul-sucking job.
2. Prioritize What Needs to Change First
Not everything needs to be ripped out immediately. Start with the biggest energy-drainers—the things that make you feel worse every single day.
For many people, the biggest problem isn’t what they do—it’s who they surround themselves with. If you have people in your life who constantly bring you down, it’s time for some distance.
3. Start Small, But Start Now
Making changes isn’t easy. But nothing will boost your mood faster than taking action. Small wins lead to big momentum.
- If you haven’t exercised in months, start with a 10-minute run.
- If your diet is trash, swap one unhealthy meal for a healthier one.
- If your mornings are chaotic, commit to waking up 15 minutes earlier.
One win leads to another. The more you stack them, the faster your momentum builds.
4. Build a Dopamine-Boosting Routine
Here’s a hack: dopamine isn’t just the feel-good chemical—it’s the achievement chemical. When you accomplish something, even something small, your brain rewards you with a hit of dopamine.
So, hack the system. Fill your day with small, meaningful wins:
✅ Work on your passion project
✅ Exercise
✅ Read something that expands your knowledge
✅ Get up on time
✅ Organize something in your life
Soon, these little wins stack into something bigger. A 10-minute run turns into a full workout routine. Waking up early becomes a full morning ritual. And just like that, your quality of life skyrockets.
The Bottom Line
You don’t need to wait for motivation to hit you. You don’t need to figure everything out at once. You just need to start.
And if you do it consistently? You’ll never stay stuck in a rut for long.
You have two choices: take back control and build a life you’re excited about—or stay in autopilot and keep scrolling.
What’s it gonna be?
