A rut: The place nobody wants to go but everyone ends up in at one point or another. Whether you’re sick and tired of your job, friends or life, being stuck in a rut sucks all the happiness and excitement out of you. You go through the motions and everything feels gray, boring and bland.
I’ve been there a few times, and I’ve done some crazy things to turn my situation around (e.g., breaking up with my husband and moving to a different country without a job). But fortunately, there are less risky and painful ways that can bring bliss and sunshine back into your life. Here are five apps that’ll help you fight those negative feelings.
1. MoodKit: Mood Improvement Tools App
This app functions like your own portable therapist, and who doesn’t need that, right? MoodKit helps you take action and feel better by changing how you think. You can rate and chart your mood in order to monitor progress and develop self-awareness coupled with a healthy attitude. It’s super fun and helps instantly boost your mood.
2. Gratitude Journal 365: A Diary for Your Happiness
Being grateful is one of the most basic and helpful ways to get out of a rut. The more you focus on everything you have in your life, the easier it becomes to get your spirits back and re-fire that engine of passion for your life.
3. Be Positive Daily Inspiration
Sometimes, when you don’t feel that great inside, inspiration just has to come from outside. This simple app gives you a daily boost of motivation, inspiration and perspective.
4. Pocket Yoga
Yoga helps reconnect your body and your mind. By moving your body, you’ll
also start to move forward in other areas of your life. With this powerful app, you don’t even have to leave your home to get into this good habit.
5. Instagram
I find that seeing the world through a photographer’s lens makes you appreciate the glory of this world on a completely new level. Instagram is a fun app that allows you to give your pictures a new twist with filters, frames and colors. If you think taking pictures is fun, you’ll be surprised how thrilling it is to play with them afterward.
In the end, pulling yourself out of a rut comes down to a few simple actions: Mindfully creating habits of gratitude, perspective and movement. If you have the right attitude, you can even start to see the rewarding bits to a bad job or a ho-hum relationship -- or find the power within to move onto something better.