Get Out of Your Comfortable Ruts
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This video is from my recent keynote address at the AICON conference. I like to start my presentations with this quick activity that immediately engages the audience with a fun reminder of how easy it is to fall into ruts. Contact me if you’d like more info on my programs!
“The path of least resistance and least trouble is a mental rut already made. It requires troublesome work to undertake the alternation of old beliefs.”
― John Dewey, philosopher and psychologist
It’s so easy to fall into ruts in our lives and in our work. We do the same things in the same ways, over and over until habits form. These habits can become so entrenched that we don’t even notice them. There’s nothing inherently bad about that as long as nothing changes. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? Well… unfortunately there’s a problem in that kind of thinking - we live in an ever-changing world. When the only constant is change, it’s a good idea to examine our habits and make sure that we adapt to keep up with all those changes going on around us.
This is particularly important when we’re trying to intentionally create meaningful change in the world. We live in a time that’s seeing seismic changes in politics, culture and the environment. There are powerful forces at work and if we want to push against them, we need to take a good, hard look at ourselves and our organizations to overcome the inertia of stagnation.
There’s a fine line between a habit and a rut. In fact, I think it’s just a matter of semantics. Good habits help us move towards a better future, while ruts keep us firmly planted in place. Staying in a rut is easy but if we want to grow, then we need to do hard things. Fortunately, we can transform our ruts into good habits. It won’t happen overnight, but that’s ok. Good things come to those who work.
The first step is awareness. Take some time, take a good look. See if you can identify areas of stagnation. Consider journaling to see what bubbles up. You might also want to talk with a friend, family member or trusted colleague. After all, sometimes we’re too close to see ourselves clearly.
Once you see a habit, ask yourself how it serves you and how it’s holding you back. If you decide that you want to change, identify a small step you can take to transform it into a good habit. (When I say small step, I mean small step! If the step is too big it’s easy to get discouraged. After all, it took a long time to get into this rut, so it’s important to accept the fact that it’s going to take a while to change it.) Look for opportunities to take a small step every day. Even though your actions may feel too small, they will add up quickly.
This is a great approach not only for your personal life but also for your organization or team. What are the processes that are done just because “that’s the way we’ve always done it”? Don’t be afraid to experiment. Start doing things a little differently and see what happens. Not every strategy will be transformative but if you keep trying then something is certain to stick! With effort, we can transform our ruts into good habits that create more change that matters.
I’m curious - when have you been shaken out of a comfortable rut? What happened?
Please comment below!
You can read about my new keynote presentation at https://www.dantrommater.com/what-i-do/#speaking