How To Get Out Of A Rut And Change Your Life (3 Daily Habits)

Your life is the result of your habits.

Actions that you repeat daily, normally in the same order and almost always in the same way.

From brushing your teeth.

To walking your dog.

To the way you drive to work.

Almost everything you do is a habit.

Even the way you sit at your desk.

Even the way you tie your shoes and the way you do the dishes.

Your life is a result of your actions.

The things you have done to create a certain result whether that was the result you desired or not.

Since habits are actions you repeat to create a certain result daily, your life is largely the result of your habits.

But the problem is, the majority of your habits, (and for a lot of people, all of their habits), are mindlessly chosen by their impulses, society and whoever raised them.

Which if you look around, isn’t a good thing.

If you have the same habits as everyone else, you’ll get the same results as everyone else and live the same life as everyone else.

A life of mindless distraction, poor health, no confidence, living for the weekend and barely making ends meet.

But the silver lining here is that most of your habits, such as the way you tie your shoes and the way you brush your teeth are harmless.

They’re not going to ruin your life.

That doesn’t mean habits are harmless.

You could have some massively detrimental habits, from drinking every weekend or every night to doing drugs to eating McDonald’s for every lunch to spending your life glued to the screen you’re likely reading this on now.

If you’re not careful, these habits, which the vast majority of people have, will ruin your life.

Not overnight, no.

Slowly.

Over time.

Chipping at your will to live, your mood, and your health.

Until eventually, you’re on your deathbed and you’re full of regrets.

This is how people end up in ruts. They repeat the constant cycle of mindless habits that don’t push them forward but instead hold them back.

With each day they perform the habits they sink deeper and deeper into the rut.

And they know it.

It might not be readily available to the top of their mind but deep down they know that this is the problem, they’re not living a life that is conducive to where they want to go, what they want to achieve, and to becoming all they can be.

But there’s another silver lining here.

You can massively change your life and get out of a rut by building just 3 habits.

If you build the right habits, by simply doing them you rewire your identity to someone who does those habits and therefore to someone who doesn’t do the habits that were originally holding you back.

You Need 3 Habits

You can’t just build any 3 habits and expect them to change your life.

No.

The habits must be conducive to all humans.

Their purpose must be so hard-wired into us that their impact on our psyche, our identity, is life-changing but at the same time, because they’re hard-wired into who we are as a species, you’re naturally drawn to building them, naturally pulled by them and you’ll find them easy to build.

You’ll want to build them.

You’ll want to live in accordance with the identity they give you.

What could those habits possibly be? Is it even possible that habits like that exist?

Well, think about when you were a child, when you were most true to yourself and least influenced by the world.

You always did 3 things;

1. You practiced

Whether it was walking, talking, drawing, or anything else.

You practiced.

You would try something every single day, chasing progress, until you mastered it.

2. You asked “why”

Kids are notorious for this.

“Why”

“Why”

Kids are always asking “why” to everything, always pursuing the meaning behind everything.

3. You followed what grabbed you

Whether it was dinosaurs, cars, or whatever else

Once something grabbed you, you followed it.

You went deep into its world and consumed everything - books, movies, tv shows, toys.

You followed your curiosities and you did it shamelessly.

With that, the 3 habits you need to build, not just to get out of a rut, get your life together and make progress but because you are a human being, are these:

One That Builds Mastery

You’ve been drawn to chasing mastery your entire life.

From when you were a kid trying to master the art and skill of walking, to the latest skill you’ve tried to build.

The problem is most people stop trying to master something once they finish school or university.

It leaves a massive gap in your identity and takes away a crucial part of being a human.

You have to strive for mastery in at least 1 thing.

I don’t care what it is.

If you’re a software engineer, chase mastery of coding

If you’re an athlete, chase mastery of your sport.

If you’re a writer, chase mastery of writing.

Or change up your entire life and chase mastery of something new.

Whatever you do, if you want to live a life you love, one of fulfillment and progress, you must chase mastery of something.

I go over how to master yourself and become all you could be in MasteryOS - you can click here to check it out

As for what the habit itself looks like, it’s entirely context and situation dependent on you.

The main thing is that you practice it daily and you learn about it daily.

This is where my 2-hour mastery formula can come in useful.

Every day, spend 1 hour practicing your craft, taking action, and 1 hour learning about your craft.

How this looks will differ depending on what you’re trying to master and how much time you can give to mastering it.

If you can give more than 2 hours, then do it, and spend more time taking action.

If you can’t, don’t worry.

The main thing is that you practice and aim to improve and strive toward mastery of your craft every single day - it’s what you’re meant to do.

One That Incites Meaning 

What is a life without meaning?

It’s quite literally pointless.

Without meaning, there is no point, there is no responsibility or risk, there is no adventure to life and life becomes boring.

This seems nihilistic.

It’s not.

Because you at any moment can decide to take on meaning, take on responsibility and risk, and make every second of your life meaningful.

You just need a habit that will incite that meaning in your life.

If you’ve read my past letter, “The Meaning of Life”, you’ll know that I believe the meaning of life to be the pursuit of becoming all you could be (you can click here to find out why)

And there are really 2 parts to that;

• Chasing progress and your potential in each area of your life (which of course has multiple sub-parts)

• Making an impact and leaving your mark

So a habit that incites meaning should do 1 of those 2 things.

It should be helping you chase your potential, this could be the likes of working out.

Or it should be helping you make an impact and leaving your mark, this could be the likes of creating content.

Of course, you can (and should) have multiple habits that incite meaning, for example, the 2 I just mentioned.

They’re fantastic starting points.

The gym will teach you more about yourself, delayed gratification, discipline, and consistency than almost anything else.

Creating content will give you the leverage to impact millions of people given the right amount of time, knowledge, and tools as well as the opportunity to live life on your terms.

Regardless, you need a habit that incites responsibility and risk and therefore meaning.

And there’s no greater responsibility nor no goal more meaningful than the pursuit of becoming all you could be.

One That Pursues Curiosity 

Humans are innately curious.

It’s why we’ve gone from horse and carts to electric cars that can go from 0-60mph in less than 2 seconds.

A life without curiosity is boring.

It’s mundane with no spice.

But, like I said, you are innately curious - you just have to follow your curiosities and lean into what grabs you.

Me?

I’m a sucker for philosophy, photography/videography, performance, mastery, conspiracy theories, and animals.

I will spend at least 1 hour a day learning about at least 1 of these topics.

I don’t curate it, I don’t force it.

I will just follow what grabs me, following my curiosities, noting down ideas, questions, facts, my thoughts, and how I could apply them to my life.

This keeps life interesting.

I’m learning in an exciting way, I’m learning about things that will benefit my life and my pursuit of mastery of my craft (through learning about philosophy, mastery, performance etc)

And most importantly, I’m building out projects related to all of them (except conspiracy theories and animals - these are just guilty pleasures haha), which means I can implement what I learn, share what I experience, provide value to the world and make a mark - helping me find meaning through the pursuit of becoming all I could be.

You are curious.

You just have to learn to listen to what you’re curious about, follow it without question and dive deep.

Whatever it is that grabs you, dedicate specific time each day to following it and dedicate specific time each day to building a project related to it.

Without the building, you’re wasting knowledge. You’re limiting your learning capacity as you’ll always learn more about yourself and your interest through action and you’re limiting the impact you can make.

When you’re innately passionate about something, the amount of value you can provide around it is insane.

Another reason I’m a massive proponent of the creator business model is how it entices you to share what you learn as you explore your curiosities.

So again, follow what grabs you and build something around it.

Let yourself pivot to what interests you more.

And keep going.

All you need to change your life and get out of a rut is 3 daily habits;

One that builds mastery.

One that incites meaning.

One that pursues curiosity.

- Ross

PS: MasteryOS 3.0 will be released in June and with the update the price will increase.

If you want to become all you could be, achieve self-mastery and build a bulletproof mindset, click here.