The older I get, the more I dislike personal development.
Odd, eh?
I've built my whole following on self-development. And I continue to do so. However, the trend of personal development seems ingenuine.
Or perhaps, I should say not as humanistic. I say this because a lot of personal development content ignores the fact we are human beings and instead forces upon us this ideal we can all reach.
Ideals are for the naive.
Anyways, where am I going with all this?
One of the personal development trends that gets a lot of eyeballs is 'How to Get Out of Rut?' And although all this content gives good advice, they tend to ignore one aspect of being in a rut.
Which is that we have to be okay with being in one.
Now, I must sound like a crazy drunkard, but I'm not making too many spelling mistakes here, so I am sober, haha.
But I digress.
With ruts, we have to be okay with them. And instead of asking how to get out of it so quickly, we have to ask ourselves what we can learn from it.
Our bodies and mind communicate to us that we are doing something wrong. And we have to listen to it. It's asking us to pay attention to ourselves and to do some self-exploration.
Even though ruts feel like crap, we have to envision it like we are transversing hell, where we come out a much more whole individual.
"We learn knowledge; we cannot learn wisdom. Wisdom arises through the assimilation of suffering. Suffering assimilated enlarges the personality, brings amplitude to the soul." Swamplands of Soul: New Life in Dismal Places
When we avoid ruts and other forms of suffering,
we deny ourselves to enlarge ourselves. As I have mentioned so many times, many myths and literature show how the protagonists go through their hell (or rut), only to come out of it as a more mature person who can solve problems that have dumfounded them before.
Now, I want to forewarn you not to fall into the trap of not living your life while in a rut. Please, still work out, engage with your hobbies, and be social. But don't fight the feelings of the rut; let it sit in you. Just be willing to explore it and allow it to teach you.
And believe it or not,
it will be over, and you will have gained insights. However, another rut will come after some time, which is all part of everyday life. Life has its seasons, and we have to respect it.
When we can do that, we'll learn to appreciate all phases of life, no matter how painful.
Until next time,
Bulcha
The Charismatic Nerd