Let’s be real—being stuck is the worst. It’s that foggy headspace where motivation vanishes, every choice feels like a chore, and even the easy stuff suddenly feels like a mountain.
If you’ve landed here, chances are you’re looking for a way out—and fast. How to Get Out of a Rut Right Now: Simple, Psychology-Based Tips is exactly what you need to help shift gears and get unstuck.
This isn’t about toxic positivity or vague self-help clichés. It’s about real, psychology-backed strategies that work with your brain instead of against it. From spotting the lies your mind tells you to learn how to reframe setbacks and visualize real progress—you’re about to learn how to crawl out of that rut and start climbing—one small, smart move at a time.
Table of Contents
1. Discovering Distortions
Your brain isn’t always honest with you. Sorry, sometimes it fudges the details, bends the truth, and makes you believe something you’d never normally believe.
These mistakes are called cognitive distortions, and your brain uses them as a kind of protection. Instead of dealing with something difficult or negative, your brain does something really strange—it completely rewrites your story.
For example, let’s say you missed out on an amazing opportunity at work. In your mind, you deserved that position. You worked hard and tried your best, so it’s only fair that you get what you want, right?
Well, in reality, someone else might have worked harder or deserved that opportunity more than you did. Deep down, you might know that’s the truth, but those are hard pills for your brain to swallow. So, it decides that it wasn’t your fault—that you got cheated out of something you earned fair and square.
This is just one kind of cognitive distortion, called the “fallacy of fairness,” but there are many more. You might recognize some of the more popular ones, like overgeneralization, catastrophizing, and playing the blame game. These are all different ways your brain tricks you into believing something that just isn’t true.
When you’re stuck in a rut, cognitive distortions get even more dangerous because you’re more likely to fall for them. You’ll start believing those inaccurate thoughts, and they’ll start controlling your behavior.
Let’s go back to our example: if you believe you were cheated out of that job, you might not work any harder the next time around—or maybe you’d just give up. You’d never take another shot at that amazing opportunity because you’re convinced the world just isn’t fair.
To instantly pull yourself out of a rut, don’t let these distortions control your life. Think about the truths you tell yourself and make sure they reflect what really happened. Because whether you realize it or not, your brain might be lying to you.
2. Upward Counterfactual Thinking
When something goes wrong, what’s the first question you ask yourself? Probably something like, What could I have done differently? Or What could I have done to make this work? But those questions can dig you into a hole. You drive yourself crazy wondering what you could have done instead of actually doing anything.
Psychologists call this “counterfactual thinking.” In your mind, you’re trying to go back and rewrite the facts by deconstructing what went wrong. You think you’re helping yourself move forward, but more often than not, you end up buried in regret.
So, does that mean counterfactual thinking is more destructive than helpful? Should you completely avoid asking yourself what went wrong? Not at all—you have to approach these questions the right way.
There are actually two types of counterfactual thinking: downward and upward.
Downward counterfactual thinking is when you imagine things going even worse than they did. Let’s say you get a shot at your dream job but completely bomb the interview. If you were using downward thinking, you might say, At least I got an interview—it could have been worse.
The big problem with downward thinking is that you’re accepting failure. Even though you’re trying to build yourself up, you’re actually holding yourself down because you’re framing failure as the end of the road. According to a study on downward thinking, it also creates a self-destructive mindset.
People who used downward thinking were much more likely to procrastinate, and their mental state wasn’t getting any better. Those downward thoughts made them feel uncertain and lowered their self-esteem.
But upward counterfactual thinking does the opposite. Let’s say you walk out of that interview and say that it could have gone a lot better. Here are the reasons why. Now, you’ve given yourself the chance to improve. You’re pushing yourself out of that rut and making progress toward your ultimate goal.
However, there’s one very important thing to remember about upward thinking: you should never use it to beat yourself up. Just because your interview could have gone better doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to fail. Everyone makes stupid mistakes. Everyone has regrets—and hey, that’s okay. But you should use those regrets to make changes and solve problems so you can perform better next time.
3. Mental Contrasting
When you’re stuck in a rut, try to get your mind out of the present. Instead of focusing on the things going wrong in your life, jump forward in time—skip ahead a few weeks, months, or even years to when you’ve put this whole rough patch behind you.
For some people, that means setting new goals and honing in on their dreams. For others, it means reimagining their lifestyle or conjuring up better habits and routines. It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as you’re focusing on a future that’s not just good for you but also actually possible.
That last part—about being actually possible—is especially important. Your future has to be within your reach, and it has to be something that will genuinely make you happy. So, that leaves you with one big question: How do you decide what a fulfilling and realistic future looks like?
Many people use something called mental contrasting. Mental contrasting is a technique you can use whenever you feel like you’re going through a rough patch because it pushes you to take action. It encourages you to pull yourself out of your slump by creating a feasible path toward your future.
So, how do you do it?
You start by thinking about your long-term goals. Let yourself dream big, and don’t be afraid to look five or ten years into the future. Once you’ve got that image in your head, it’s time to do some mental contrasting.
On the way toward your dreams, you’re going to run into roadblocks. You’ll have to overcome all kinds of new barriers and face your fears—but it doesn’t all happen at once. You face each challenge one at a time. Almost like you’re making a timeline, you place those roadblocks chronologically on your path.
For example, if you’re trying to write a book, your first challenge might be committing to your story. Your second challenge might be pushing yourself to be a more disciplined writer.
Your third challenge might be finding the courage to show your work to the world. But those three challenges don’t happen one right after the other—you face them in pieces.
When you realize how much room you have to breathe, your future will seem more possible than ever.
4. Talk It Out
When you’re stuck in a rut, do you internalize your problems? Do you keep them all bottled up and pretend like everything’s fine? Most people keep their rough patches a secret. They preserve a strong exterior, then fall apart as soon as they step out of the spotlight.
But the truth is, being vulnerable is good for you. Telling your problems to someone can help you overcome almost any obstacle because you can’t resolve every problem in your head. Sometimes, your brain gets so nervous and confused that it can’t see the writing on the wall. But when you talk it out with a friend or family member, you get some much-needed clarity.
You get those negative feelings out in the open and give yourself the chance to expose your worries for what they really are. Oh, but that’s not all—talking to someone also gives you a sense of validation. It’s a huge relief to know that someone not only understands your problems but also sympathizes with them.
It shows you that you’re not alone. Other people have overcome similar roadblocks in their lives, and that knowledge will help you climb out of the hole you’ve dug for yourself.
So, find someone you trust and lay all your cards on the table because bottling up your doubts makes it even harder to move on.
5. Acknowledge progress
Every small step forward counts. Each little victory pushes you closer to your goal, so it’s worth celebrating.
Imagine you’ve been in a rut at work. You’ve been struggling to be more productive or creative, and you just haven’t felt motivated like you used to. But one day, that spark comes back—just for a few hours, you remember what it’s like to feel really passionate about your job.
Even if it’s only a small step, you’re still one step further than you were before. Yesterday, you didn’t know if you could ever find that fire again—but right now, you know you can. And that’s worth rewarding.
But the trick is to reward yourself with something that doesn’t hold you back. You need a reward system that encourages you instead of undoing all the progress you’ve made.
You reward that great day at work with an evening full of distractions. Is that going to make you more productive, or is it going to kill your motivation? Probably the latter. So, it’s important to use rewards that boost your mentality.
You could spend quality time with your family, starting a new book, or exploring a hobby you’ve never tried before. All of these rewards can be fun and relaxing while still keeping you moving in the right direction.
Conclusion:
Getting out of a rut doesn’t require a life overhaul—it just takes a few smart shifts in how you think, what you focus on, and how you respond to challenges.
Whether it’s spotting distorted thoughts, reframing failures, picturing a realistic future, or simply opening up to someone you trust, each tool helps you build real momentum. And the best part? You don’t have to feel ready. You have to take one small step. The rest will follow.
Sources:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/dont-delay/200806/avoiding-what-might-have-been
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15285834
https://www.forbes.com/sites/francesbridges/2017/10/31/6-ways-to-get-out-of-a-rut/#7a47b1277c73
https://www.forbes.com/sites/glassheel/2013/04/25/8-ways-to-dig-your-way-out-of-a-rut/#5da731862328
Founder and CEO of Lifestyleflux.com, I bring years of expertise in self-improvement, wellness, and personal development to help you lead a happier, more balanced life. Through practical insights, eBooks, and consultations, I share actionable strategies rooted in experience and a passion for empowering others to unlock their full potential.