Topic: Stuck in a rut.

[Skidder.]

 Without going into too much detail (details are manky), I feel as though I have got myself into a bit of a rut. Not like a depressive rut, more of a routine rut. Habit-repetition-habit-repetition. I'm fairly sure I'm not alone here, as it's one of those feelings like... Well, it's like Deja Vu isn't it? Everyone gets it, but can't explain it.

 A little more to the point though, I'm a writer and since moving back to where I would call home, I have found myself developing into a place where I find myself remembering memories (Both good and bad), and pondering on them to the point where I no longer feel empowered over my own fate. I don't think it's a subconscious choice; hell, I don't even think it's conscious choice, I just think it happened.

 So without harping on and harping on about myself, I wonder what one does to 'get out of a rut', so to speak. I wonder if other members have had the same experiences and I'd be interested to hear how they have traversed this feeling. Advice over the form of ASCII-text is well... It's a bit like a well picked bogey of sorts, you flick it about a lot, but you never eat your own. So whilst, I'd be inclined to not directly ask for advice (as it where), I'd be interested to hear members thoughts, experiences and/or 'things'.

[Titi Camara]

Should have gone for 4WD!

[Skidder.]

Should have gone for 4WD!

Tried that, burnt my engine out mate. Would prefer to steer clear of bogs, swamps and wet sodden grass.

[Titi Camara]

[Slightly Less Mediocre Baron Bennekov]

In my opinion it's all about being conscious. If you're being conscious / aware of your thoughts and feelings then you can practice in stopping them before they turn into something you can't snap out of again. It's important to remember that you're not your thoughts or your feelings. They are both products of your mind but they're not the real you. We humans have between 60.000 - 80.000 thoughts a day - every day - and if we start to believe we are these thoughts then we're on a path to no good.

When I sometimes get caught up in negative thoughts and emotions I try to be aware of what thoughts and feeling are going through my head and try to stop them and think of good / positive things instead. It's hard work but it works for me. Once you get to know yourself better it also gets easier to stop your thoughts.

EDIT: This is a translation of a message I sent to a mate earlier this year who felt he was stuck in a rut too:

Don't listen to your thoughts and emotions, let them be what they are: thoughts and emotions from your past and perhaps even past lives. Note and experience them without giving them more space than that and then sense what you want to do and do it whatever may be triggered or appear from the past.

[The Fletcher Memorial]

“The mind spends most of the time lost in fantasies and illusions, reliving pleasant or unpleasant experiences and anticipating the future with eagerness or fear. While lost in such cravings or aversions, we are unaware of what is happening now, what we are doing now.”

[Titi Camara]

Snip

Found that very interesting but if I'm not the sum of my thoughts and feelings, what am I?

[Slightly Less Mediocre Baron Bennekov]

Found that very interesting but if I'm not the sum of my thoughts and feelings, what am I?

Your inner you is not your thoughts and feelings. You could say you are what's in between experiencing the thoughts and feelings. We can have bad thoughts about hurting others but imo no one is born evil.

Mind English is not my native language so I might not be able to express exactly what I mean but I'll do what i can to get my message across as clear as possible.

[Titi Camara]

So what can you do to tame your negative thoughts?
 
1. Be aware.
Notice next time you experience a negative thought. Often we are so “in our heads” that we don’t even realize that we may have spent the last 20 minutes in the throws of self-pity or worries.
 
2. Keep calm.
Try not to have an emotional reaction to any negative thoughts that pop up. Remember that you are not your thoughts, and try to distance yourself from them.
 
3. Catch the first thought.
If you can catch your negative thinking early on, then it will be much easier for you to stop it before it escalates into a big problem. Often something that starts out as a minor problem ends up being completely blown out of proportion.
 
4. Assess if the thought is true.
Most negative thoughts are not based on reality. So ask yourself, “Is that thought 100% true?” Usually this will help to break down the meaning of the thought.
 
5. Look for a positive take on it.
Instead of finding ways to escalate the thought, do the opposite and look for ways to prove that the thought is not true. For example, if you’re doubting your capabilities you could look for an example of someone else who has achieved in this area. If someone else has done it, then what’s stopping you?
 
6. Don’t beat yourself up.
You are not your thoughts. Resist the urge to beat yourself up when you catch yourself thinking negatively. Everyone has negative thoughts from time to time. Just be aware and choose not to listen to all of them so you can get on with living your life.

I'm massively guilty of thinking negatively and allowing those thoughts to spiral, ultimately leading to anxiety.

Funny that I'd not considered this point of view before.

[Titi Camara]

“Your body is precious. It is your vehicle for awakening. Treat it with care.” ~Buddha

“Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.” ~Andy Rooney

“We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.” ~Cynthia Ozick

“Every day brings a choice: to practice stress or to practice peace.” ~Joan Borysenko

“To ensure good health: eat lightly, breathe deeply, live moderately, cultivate cheerfulness, and maintain an interest in life.” ~William Londen

“We first make our habits, then our habits make us.” ~Charles C. Noble

“Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.” ~Benjamin Disraeli

“You get peace of mind not by thinking about it or imagining it, but by quietening and relaxing the restless mind.” ~Remez Sasson

“Man surprised me most about humanity. Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the future; he lives as if he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived.” ~The Dalai Lama

“Whatever you fight, you strengthen, and what you resist, persists.” ~Eckhart Tolle

“To wish you were someone else is to waste the person you are.” ~Sven Goran Eriksson

“It is better to make many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward.” ~Proverb

“You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” ~Buddha

“Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.” ~Kahlil Gibran

“Have respect for yourself, and patience and compassion. With these, you can handle anything.” ~Jack Kornfield

“If you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into place.” ~Lao Tzu

“If you do nothing unexpected, nothing unexpected happens.” ~Fay Weldon

“Waking up to who you are requires letting go of who you imagine yourself to be.” ~Alan Watts

“The heart is like a garden: it can grow compassion or fear, resentment or love. What seeds will you plant there?” ~ Jack Kornfield

“He who lives in harmony with himself lives in harmony with the world.” ~Marcus Aurelius

[The 5th Benitle]

I'm Gonna Make A Change,

For Once In My Life

It's Gonna Feel Real Good,

Gonna Make A Difference

Gonna Make It Right . . .

As I, Turn Up The Collar On My

Favourite Winter Coat

This Wind Is Blowin' My Mind

I See The Kids In The Street,

With Not Enough To Eat

Who Am I, To Be Blind?

Pretending Not To See

Their Needs

A Summer's Disregard,

A Broken Bottle Top

And A One Man's Soul

They Follow Each Other On

The Wind Ya' Know

'Cause They Got Nowhere

To Go

That's Why I Want You To

Know

I'm Starting With The Man In

The Mirror

I'm Asking Him To Change

His Ways

And No Message Could Have

Been Any Clearer

If You Wanna Make The World

A Better Place

(If You Wanna Make The

World A Better Place)

Take A Look At Yourself, And

Then Make A Change

(Take A Look At Yourself, And

Then Make A Change)

(Na Na Na, Na Na Na, Na Na,

Na Nah)

I've Been A Victim Of A Selfish

Kind Of Love

It's Time That I Realize

That There Are Some With No

Home, Not A Nickel To Loan

Could It Be Really Me,

Pretending That They're Not

Alone?

A Widow Deeply Scarred,

Somebody's Broken Heart

And A Washed-Out Dream

(Washed-Out Dream)

They Follow The Pattern Of

The Wind, Ya' See

Cause They Got No Place

To Be

That's Why I'm Starting With

Me

(Starting With Me!)

I'm Starting With The Man In

The Mirror

(Ooh!)

I'm Asking Him To Change

His Ways

(Ooh!)

And No Message Could Have

Been Any Clearer

If You Wanna Make The World

A Better Place

(If You Wanna Make The

World A Better Place)

Take A Look At Yourself And

Then Make A Change

(Take A Look At Yourself And

Then Make A Change)

I'm Starting With The Man In

The Mirror

(Ooh!)

I'm Asking Him To Change His

Ways

(Change His Ways-Ooh!)

And No Message Could've

Been Any Clearer

If You Wanna Make The World

A Better Place

(If You Wanna Make The

World A Better Place)

Take A Look At Yourself And

Then Make That . . .

(Take A Look At Yourself And

Then Make That . . .)

Change!

I'm Starting With The Man In

The Mirror,

(Man In The Mirror-Oh

Yeah!)

I'm Asking Him To Change

His Ways

(Better Change!)

No Message Could Have

Been Any Clearer

(If You Wanna Make The

World A Better Place)

(Take A Look At Yourself And

Then Make The Change)

(You Gotta Get It Right, While

You Got The Time)

('Cause When You Close Your

Heart)

You Can't Close Your . . .Your

Mind!

(Then You Close Your . . .

Mind!)

That Man, That Man, That

Man, That Man

With That Man In The Mirror

(Man In The Mirror, Oh Yeah!)

That Man, That Man, That Man

I'm Asking Him To Change

His Ways

(Better Change!)

You Know . . .That Man

No Message Could Have

Been Any Clearer

If You Wanna Make The World

A Better Place

(If You Wanna Make The

World A Better Place)

Take A Look At Yourself And

Then Make A Change

(Take A Look At Yourself And

Then Make A Change)

Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!

Na Na Na, Na Na Na, Na Na,

Na Nah

(Oh Yeah!)

Gonna Feel Real Good Now!

Yeah Yeah! Yeah Yeah!

Yeah Yeah!

Na Na Na, Na Na Na, Na Na,

Na Nah

(Ooooh . . .)

Oh No, No No . . .

I'm Gonna Make A Change

It's Gonna Feel Real Good!

Come On!

(Change . . .)

Just Lift Yourself

You Know

You've Got To Stop It.

Yourself!

(Yeah!-Make That Change!)

I've Got To Make That Change,

Today!

Hoo!

(Man In The Mirror)

You Got To

You Got To Not Let Yourself . . .

Brother . . .

Hoo!

(Yeah!-Make That Change!)

You Know-I've Got To Get

That Man, That Man . . .

(Man In The Mirror)

You've Got To

You've Got To Move! Come

On! Come On!

You Got To . . .

Stand Up! Stand Up!

Stand Up!

(Yeah-Make That Change)

Stand Up And Lift

Yourself, Now!

(Man In The Mirror)

Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!

Aaow!

(Yeah-Make That Change)

Gonna Make That Change . . .

Come On!

(Man In The Mirror)

You Know It!

You Know It!

You Know It!

You Know . . .

(Change . . .)

Make That Change