We’ve all been there. Super motivated, excited about the direction life is heading, hustling to reach goals and grow into the person we envision. Everything is going smoothly. Then it hits – the dreaded rut. You feel completely stuck.

The rut happens when the sparkle wears off from the shiny new goal. All that inspiration and motivation fades and what’s left is actually really hard work. It’s the late nights working on a business venture. The early mornings dedicated to training. It’s the extra minutes found in the day to check in with those we love. The prioritization and re-prioritization of expenses and budgets to validate that the rewards are worth the effort. 

Let me tell you – these ruts – they show you what you’re made of. They test your potential. They help you stretch beyond it to achieve the greatness you’re worthy of. 

Recently I’ve experienced a rut of my own. For months my blog posts just poured out of me. I had entire paragraphs written in my head and they would flow through my fingers on to my keyboard and magically the posts were written sometimes faster than I could think of them. Sometimes two or three posts written in a single sitting. I felt so blessed that my creative juices were flowing so generously. 

Then, my rut hit.

For almost a month my creative generosity dried up. I started writing a post here and there but lost my thought and it faded away. What to do? I still had so much to say but the themes didn’t come together or there wasn’t enough meat to the message I wanted to deliver.

It got me thinking a lot about what I do when I hit a plateau, a wall or a change of plans throws everything I wanted off. How do I react? What are my go to next steps? What actions do I take in order to keep moving towards my goal, life worth living or dream come true?

I boiled it down to these 3 things:

  1. HAVE A MOMENT

We all need a moment to be real and release pent-up emotions. Whether its anger, frustration or stress that your plan didn’t work out. Perhaps it’s fear of what’s to come. Allow yourself a few minutes, an hour or a day to let it sink in.

2. REFOCUS & RENEW

Get back to the roots of your goals and plans. Write or re-write your goals. Figure out the true reason – your WHY – for the goal or plan and hold true to that. Also talk to those around you about your goals and plans. Sometimes people around us see us in different light and that gives us a spark of inspiration to keep moving forward.

3. GET BACK TO WORK

Lastly – get back to work! Leveling up and goaling higher is hard work and not for the weak-hearted or lazy. It’s the consistent effort day in and day out that makes the difference between a dream and a goal achieved. Never forget that hard work will trump luck every time.

Thankfully – I used the 3 steps above to help me through my writers block. Luckily for you, there’s a lot more to come – every Monday, I’ve got you covered from the Inspired Diaries.

Jordanna