Get Out of Your Rut and Make Life New Again.

Last updated on: April 1, 2017 at 8:46 am by Tom Rapsas

Get Out of Your Rut and Make Life New Again. 2017-04-01T08:46:54-06:00 Tom Rapsas

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Qing Hill via unsplash.com

Are you in a rut? Are you going through life limiting your contacts to the same narrow group of people each day? Are you restricting your activities to the same routine you followed yesterday and all the yesterdays before that? Maybe it’s time to try a different approach.

The definition of being in a rut is getting stuck in “a habit or a pattern of behavior that has become dull and unproductive.” And while changing that habit or behavior can be difficult, it can be done. Take this anecdote about Bobby Fischer who was one of the greatest chess players of all time (before descending into mental illness).

Fischer was an American chess prodigy who in 1972 was invited to play for the World Chess Championship against Boris Spassky of Russia. Both Fischer and Spassky had played in hundreds of competitions and detailed records were kept of the moves each player had made in previous matches. Fischer had even published a book titled My 60 Memorable Games.

While Fisher was an unrivaled chess player in the U.S., there was one flaw in his game. For his entire chess-playing life, he had started every game in one of 3 or 4 different but predictable ways. Up to this point, it hadn’t been an issue. Fischer was so good that even if his opponent knew his opening salvo of moves, he could still win–but playing Spassky was a different story.

When Fischer opened the first game against Spassky, the Russian was ready. He had studied every match Fischer had ever played and knew how to beat him. He had done so over and over again versus practice opponents who mimicked Fisher’s style of play. Then, a funny thing happened.

Fischer made his opening series of moves and they were different from any game he had ever played in the past. He did the same thing in the next game and the game after that. A shocked Spassky was unprepared for this new approach and Fischer went on to win or tie 16 of 19 games and claim the world championship.

What’s this got to do with life? Plenty. Fischer had played the same way, making the same moves, day in and day out, year after year. Much like we may make the same “moves” each day in our own lives, doing nothing to break out of routines that can grow dull and monotonous. What if starting today we tried something new?

What if instead of giving our spouse a morning peck on the cheek, we gave him or her a big wet kiss on the lips?
What if we took a longer, more scenic route to work, maybe stopped in a new coffee shop?
What if instead of passing by the neighbor or co-worker we don’t really know, we stopped to say hello and have a quick chat?
What if we reached out to the old friend we haven’t seen for a while and met for lunch or a drink?
What if instead of turning on the television set or burying ourselves in our phones at night, we went for a walk or went outside and looked up at the stars?

These seemingly small acts have the ability to change our world and connect us with new sights, new activities, new people, and can sometimes reconnect us. They freshen our perspective on life and our place in it and have the power to bring us recurring small doses of joy.

Especially important is our connection to the people who make up our universe. The wise John Templeton believed that we all have our own “personal ministry” and the success of our lives on this planet is linked to how we interact with those around us. How do we connect with those we encounter each day? What type of messages or signals do we give them? Do we offer them recognition or make them feel special in some way?

What small move will you make today? How will you shake up your status quo?

Previous Post

March 27, 2017

60-Second Inspiration: The Hidden Meaning of Zen.

Next Post

April 6, 2017 Was the Best Spirituality Book of All Time Written 120 Years Ago?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 50+ Spirituality 60 Second Inspiration Activism Adversity Afterlife agape aging Aliens Angels Angels and aliens anger animism Astrology Atheists Attention Attitude Authenticity Awareness Awe Ayahuasca Balance Beginnings Being Present Belief Bhagavad Gita Bible birth of Jesus Blessings Bliss Bono Breathing Buddha Buddhism Calling cats Centered Centering Prayer Chakras Change Character Character and Aging Christ consciousness Christianity Christmas Church Civility commencement speeches commitments compassion Connecting with God Consciousness Contemplation Contemplative Prayer Contentment Conversations with God Coping Coping mechanisms Corinthians Coronavirus Covid creativity Daily practice Dalai Lama David Brooks David Frenette Death Deathbed visions Decisions determinism Discernment disconnecting Donald Shimoda Dreaming of the Dead dreams Drinking Easter Eastern religion Eckhart Tolle ego Elders Emerson Engagement Enlightenment everyday magic Evil Spirits Expectations experience Faith fate Fatima Fear Feel Finding God Fitness Fulfillment Gandhi Gary Zukav Generosity Giving Gnostic gospels Gnostics God God's will Golden Rule Good & Evil Gospel of Thomas Gospels Grace Gratitude Grief Growing Older Guardian Angels gumption Gurus Halloween Happiness health health and happiness Heaven Helping others High Strangeness Hinduism Holiday Season honesty Honor Hope Humility impostor syndrome inner music Inner Work Insights insomnia Inspiration Inspirational intuition Investing Jeff Bridges Jesus Jesus Christ John Templeton joy joy of life Justin Bieber Kaballah Kabbalah Karma Kindness koans Law of Attraction Life Life after Death Life and death Life Balance Life Hacks Life Lessons Life Path Life Philosophy Life Plan life purpose Life Rules Life Tips Life's Big Questions Lindsay Lohan Listening Living Intentionally Loneliness Love Magic Mark Twain Marriage Meaning of Life Meditation mentor Mentors Mid-Life Crisis Mindful Mindfulness Money Monks Multiverse Mysterious World mystical experience Mysticism Mystics Mythology Napoleon Hill Near Death Experience (NDE) New Thought New Year New Year's resolutions Noise Oprah out-of-body experience Parables Peace of mind philosophy Plant Intelligence Pope Francis Positive Thinking Prayer prayers for the spiritual Preachers Premonitions presence Prophecies Prophecy Prophets Psalms Purpose Purpose of Life quietude Quotes Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Trine Reconnect Recovery reincarnation Relaxation Religion resolutions Resurrection Ritual Rituals Rules to Live By sadness Sam Harris Sandy Second Act Seeking self Self Mastery self-help self-improvement Seneca sermon sex shamans Sickness Silence Silence of God sleep small voice Smiling Social Activism solitude Soul Soul and Spirit Soul Awakening Spiritual Awakening spiritual beliefs spiritual guidance spiritual journey spiritual living spiritual path Spiritual philosophy Spiritual Practice Spirituality Spirituality and work Spooky Spirituality Stillness stoicism stoics Storytelling Stress Relief Success Suffering Suicide Surrender tao Thanks Thanksgiving the afterlife the bardo the Bible the Blues The Election the Kingdom the secret the self The Soul Thomas Keating Thomas Merton Thomas Moore Time Tony Robbins tradition UFOs Uncategorized Universe Values visualization Voice of God Wake Up Call Wake Up Call book Walls Walt Whitman Well-being Winter Blues Wisdom words to live by Work work/life balance worry Yogananda Zen

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 July 2012 April 2012 March 2012 January 2012 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 December 2009 November 2009

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who fasted and prayed after reading the prophecy of Jeremiah's 70 years?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Daniel Micah Hosea Joel

Books by This Author Books by Wake Up Call

See All Titles »