Mary’s Minute
“The path of least resistance and least trouble
is a mental rut already made. It requires troublesome work to undertake the
alternation of old beliefs.”
~John Dewey
The term stuck in a rut is believed to come
from the early 1800s when pioneers were traveling in the mud and their wagon
wheels literally became lodged in a groove.
If you think of a rut as a well-worn track you can see that it is
possible to keep moving in the same direction, but getting out of the track is
when the trouble comes. I think that in
life this happens to us when we find ourselves going through the motions of
life without really being happy or experiencing life to its fullest. We can become like drones not capable of new
thoughts, but just following the path of least resistance. Because while we are in the rut we are still
moving, we do not always realize that we are even stuck. There is an element of comfort or more
accurately, complacency that we feel.
The tough thing about a rut is that the longer we go without being
pushed out, the deeper the rut becomes and the more difficult it is to get
out. Picture the wagon wheel getting
deeper and deeper in the mud. When the
groove is shallow a gentle nudge can push the wagon to a smooth surface, but
the deeper it gets the more force it requires to push or pull out of it. The same is true in our lives. John Dewey explains that it is work to get
out, and work takes energy. When we are
in a rut, we need to make a conscious effort to get out. The beauty of making the effort is that we
can begin to experience life to its fullest.
We all have been in ruts personally or professionally, and the key is to
push ourselves out in order to find joy in our work or life. People of my generation remember the Dunkin' Donuts man commercials of “Gotta make the donuts.” That is what life in a rut seems to me like –
a life where we are just going through the motions without enjoying life to its
fullest. It does take effort to get out
of a rut, but in the end it is worth it!
Have a great week!
Have a great week!
Mary
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