Brian Craig has been a good friend for many years. Three years ago he and his wife retired. They relocated from San Diego to Taos, New Mexico.
I was on a zoom call with him. We were catching up. I was picking his brain on a variety of issues.
On the catching up phase of our conversation he shared how he had been in a Mountain Bike accident. He was with a neighbor. They were making their way down a bike path at a decent rate of speed. On the excursion down Brian ran into a tree. Ouch! I would detail the extent of his injuries, but it makes me throw up in my mouth.
In describing the accident he said this, “I crashed into the tree because I couldn’t get out of the rut I was in.” What a fantastic statement! What a teachable statement for us all.
His experience can be ours. There are times we just can’t get out to the rut we’re in. Our rut may not be located on a bike trail. It may not even run us into a tree, at least literally. But our ruts can lead to some devastating results.
Ruts are the same way of doing things. Ruts can be mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, even relational.
A mental rut is thinking the same way all the time. It is resisting innovative thinking. Physical ruts are ignoring changes that need to be made in your fitness or diet. Emotional ruts are responding in the same way to life. Spiritual ruts are often found in connecting with God in the same way, using the same methods. Relational ruts are keeping friendships on a surface level, or not looking to develop new connections.
Ruts are staying status quo. It can be lacking inspiration. It is settling into the ‘same ol, same ol.’
The thing with ruts is they are moving you somewhere. Brian’s rut was leading him down a hill on a wild ride. But if you are unable to disengage from the rut, when you realize it will not end well, you can have trouble.
None of us are rut free. We all have ruts in our lives. These ruts can be either positive or negative. The key is to identify which one it may be and get yourself out of it. But how?
Identify the rut you’re in
Slow down, even stop
Disengage
Try something different
Find a support system for your new different
Getting out of a rut is not easy, but it is doable. Avoid the tree. Get out of the rut. Either that, or brace for impact.