How do you get out of an emotional rut!

Life for just about everyone has taken a dramatic turn this year, wouldn’t you say? The world has essentially shut down for a spell, as we were forced to wear masks and disinfect our hands so frequently that they feel like sandpaper! All of a sudden, we are thinking hard about the need to go out of the house, to stock up on necessities and spend time with loved ones for far longer a period of time than we signed up for.

Of course, with these changes, we are bound to go through emotional ups and downs. There are days where we will manage our emotions well, and days where it’s not so well. In my sessions I find myself addressing the following question a lot, however it seems to have been amplified by the current times:

“How do I get myself out of an emotional rut?” 

Whether you are a mum with a few kids in tow or an entrepreneur in ‘creation’ mode or an employee with a busy workload, we all go through it. We might get sick, we might feel overwhelmed, we might feel like the world is against us! Sometimes it’s easy to get back up but sometimes it’s really hard.

Here is the first thing we all need to acknowledge. We are ALL emotionally driven (even those that proclaim to be “unemotional”). We are addicted to feeling good. We chase it all the time. Feeling good about ourselves gives us a sense of self which gives us motivation to keep going. Where are we going? To feeling good of course! Some of us eat our way to find it, some of us make lists of life goals and tick them off, some of us chase those promotions...and some of us travel the world all for the sole purpose of finding ourselves. When we find ourselves, we are happy! (Until we lose the feeling and then we must find ourselves again).

The second thing we need to acknowledge is that our emotions are based on our thoughts. We are what we think. Negative thinking gives rise to negative emotions, which lead to negative actions. It is said that, biologically, we are less thinking creatures who feel and more feeling creatures who think. Thinking constructively really does build a more helpful relationship with ourselves, but when caught up in a fog of emotional loath, it is hard to pinpoint our root thoughts.

So, what’s the quickest way to get ourselves out of this destructive situation? It is by following this statement:

Physiology creates psychology.

When our emotional lead is letting us down an undesirable path, we must let our physical body take the lead. Let the emotion follow. If we can manage our physiology, then we manage our mindsets. The person with the most behavioural flexibility controls the situation!

So how can you disrupt your pattern of unresourceful choices and emotions to get you back to a more resourceful path of healthy thoughts, emotions and behaviours? It can be as simple as sitting up straight! When you’re in a stable and more calm state of mind, it is best to take a few minutes and plan for this downturn. Having tools at hand are a blessing to help ourselves to get out of a rut. Just as many of us are taught at a young age to prepare for our retirements by having enough in the bank, we need to prepare for the days where our sense of self-motivation refuses to turn on. We need a set of resources to reach to for the rainy day, from a mindset point of view.

So next time you feel your emotions are letting you down, shift your physiology – sometimes the smallest shift is all you need to get yourself back on track!