{"id":832,"date":"2017-04-25T23:23:46","date_gmt":"2017-04-25T23:23:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/?p=832"},"modified":"2017-04-25T23:23:46","modified_gmt":"2017-04-25T23:23:46","slug":"getting-unstuck-rut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2017\/04\/getting-unstuck-rut.html","title":{"rendered":"Getting Unstuck from a Rut"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"delicate-arch-night-stars-landscape<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.\u201d \u2013 John Anster<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We all go through periods in life in which we feel like we are in a rut. Our problems don\u2019t seem to get better or worse \u2013 they just stay the same.\u00a0 If we are working toward goals, we don\u2019t see any visible progress.\u00a0 As a result, we naturally feel discouraged.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve found that ruts are God\u2019s way of coaxing us out of our comfort zone. God wants us to be bold.\u00a0 He wants us to continually challenge ourselves and do things that we’ve never done before.<\/p>\n

However, it is scary to do something bold. When we take a risk and go in a new direction, whether it be with our career or in a relationship, we allow ourselves to be vulnerable.\u00a0 We risk failure.\u00a0 We risk rejection.\u00a0 And we risk embarrassment.<\/p>\n

But when I look back on my own life, I can only think of a handful of times when my risks have turned out badly. Typically, when we take risks, it works out well.\u00a0 In fact, our risks often lead to unexpected blessings.<\/p>\n

My biggest regrets in life are the risks that I didn\u2019t take. For example, I regret not having gotten out of my comfort zone and having traveled more in my twenties.\u00a0 Instead of pursuing jobs overseas at that age, I looked for employment close to home.<\/p>\n

My twenties were a period without responsibilities to either a spouse or a child. I could have done anything I wanted at that age.\u00a0 Sadly, I squandered those years because I was too afraid to venture out on my own.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t want to live too far away from my mother or my friends from law school.<\/p>\n

Now I now longer have the freedom to do what I want. Since I turned 30, I\u2019ve been tied down by either marriage or a child, or both.\u00a0 I had the ability to be bold in my twenties, and I let that opportunity pass by.<\/p>\n

Significantly, when I have taken risks in my life, they typically have paid off immensely. For instance, after I graduated from law school, I worked as a tax lawyer.\u00a0 The job suited neither my skills nor my interests.\u00a0 I ended up getting in a professional rut, and I couldn\u2019t figure out how to get out of it.<\/p>\n

It was only in my early thirties that I made the bold leap to change career paths. I left tax law and began working in child welfare law.\u00a0 When I did, my professional life suddenly clicked.\u00a0 It was a huge risk, and it paid off.<\/p>\n

When we are in a rut, it is because God is calling us to do something bold. He is asking us to get past our fears and do something different.\u00a0 Sadly, there are people who spend their whole lives in a rut.\u00a0 They never get past their fears, no matter how much coaxing they get from God.<\/p>\n

I recently saw an interview with Peggy Whitson, a U.S. astronaut who has spent the most days in space of any human being. When asked what her advice would be for young girls, she said, \u201cDon\u2019t underestimate yourself.\u00a0 Push yourself.\u00a0 Challenge yourself to do more than you think you can.\u201d\u00a0 Ms. Whitson\u2019s advice doesn\u2019t just apply to young girls.\u00a0 It applies to all of us.<\/p>\n

If you feel like you are in a rut, try making a bold move. Take the first step to pursue a lifelong dream.\u00a0 Introduce yourself to someone you\u2019ve been hoping to meet.\u00a0 Do something courageous.\u00a0 Be bold.\u00a0 Break out of your rut and into an amazing life.<\/p>\n

(Photo Courtesy of Pexels)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.\u201d \u2013 John Anster We all go through periods in life in which we feel like we are in a rut. Our problems don\u2019t seem to get better or worse \u2013 they just stay the same.\u00a0 If…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":593,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nGetting Unstuck from a Rut - Your Morning Cup of Inspiration<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Getting Unstuck from a Rut - Your Morning Cup of Inspiration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cWhatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.\u201d \u2013 John Anster We all go through periods in life in which we feel like we are in a rut. Our problems don\u2019t seem to get better or worse \u2013 they just stay the same.\u00a0 If…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2017\/04\/getting-unstuck-rut.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Your Morning Cup of Inspiration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-04-25T23:23:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/files\/2017\/04\/delicate-arch-night-stars-landscape-A.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Meerabelle Dey\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Getting Unstuck from a Rut - Your Morning Cup of Inspiration","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Getting Unstuck from a Rut - Your Morning Cup of Inspiration","og_description":"\u201cWhatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.\u201d \u2013 John Anster We all go through periods in life in which we feel like we are in a rut. Our problems don\u2019t seem to get better or worse \u2013 they just stay the same.\u00a0 If…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2017\/04\/getting-unstuck-rut.html","og_site_name":"Your Morning Cup of Inspiration","article_published_time":"2017-04-25T23:23:46+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/files\/2017\/04\/delicate-arch-night-stars-landscape-A.jpg"}],"author":"Meerabelle Dey","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2017\/04\/getting-unstuck-rut.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2017\/04\/getting-unstuck-rut.html","name":"Getting Unstuck from a Rut - Your Morning Cup of Inspiration","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2017\/04\/getting-unstuck-rut.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2017\/04\/getting-unstuck-rut.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/files\/2017\/04\/delicate-arch-night-stars-landscape-A.jpg","datePublished":"2017-04-25T23:23:46+00:00","dateModified":"2017-04-25T23:23:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/#\/schema\/person\/7250ab2fc75dd2e7e923fbec0fbb375c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2017\/04\/getting-unstuck-rut.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2017\/04\/getting-unstuck-rut.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2017\/04\/getting-unstuck-rut.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/files\/2017\/04\/delicate-arch-night-stars-landscape-A.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/files\/2017\/04\/delicate-arch-night-stars-landscape-A.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/2017\/04\/getting-unstuck-rut.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Getting Unstuck from a Rut"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/","name":"Your Morning Cup of Inspiration","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Meerabelle Dey","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/#\/schema\/person\/7250ab2fc75dd2e7e923fbec0fbb375c","name":"Meerabelle Dey","description":"Meerabelle Dey has a B.A. in History and Religious Studies from the University of Toronto and a J.D. from Fordham University School of Law. Much of her legal career has been spent dealing with issues affecting women, children and the poor. She has lived in the United States, Canada and the Middle East. Meerabelle now devotes her time to writing. Her mission is to use her writing to inspire others to achieve God\u2019s unique purpose for their life.","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/author\/mdey"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/593"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=832"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":835,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/832\/revisions\/835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/yourmorningcupofinspiration\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}