Christian Business Concepts
Christian Business Concepts
Breaking Free From Ruts: Transform Your Life and Business
Welcome to the Christian Business Concepts with your host, harold Milby. Christian Business Concepts is dedicated to guiding companies and business owners in becoming effective, efficient and successful through God's Word and godly principles. Now, here's your host, harold Milby.
Speaker 2:Thanks, kelly, and welcome everyone to this week's Christian Business Concepts podcast. I'm so glad that you've decided to be a part of the CBC family this week and I'm Harold Milby. I'm your host and each week we try to encourage, enlighten and empower you by discussing biblical business principles, and we're so happy that you decided to download this week's podcast and hope that you'll continue to do so and also share it with others. Now, before we get started today, I want to make sure I give a big shout out to Savannah Georgia here in the United States for having so many downloads here in the last few weeks. And thanks to all of you down there in the South, and we appreciate that, and we thank everyone that downloads podcasts around the world. We appreciate each and every one of you. You know our desire here really at CBC, is to help business leaders and organizational leaders find true godly success through the biblical principles that we discuss every week.
Speaker 2:Now let's jump into today's topic. You know I want to talk today about being in a rut. You know, being in a rut is really a common experience that many individuals face at some point in their lives. You know, and you know I myself have been in ruts before you know, it's just a situation where you feel stuck, you feel unmotivated and uninspired to make changes or progress in your life and while it may seem kind of harmless at first, but when you're in a rut it can really have a lot of negative effects on your mental, your emotional and your physical well-being. And so we want to talk today about what some of those effects are. We want to talk about what causes ruts and then, lastly, we want to talk about what do we do? How do we get out of a rut? And I want to talk about that from a business perspective. And also, again, this is Christian business concept. So we're definitely going to look at it from a Christian perspective.
Speaker 2:And what does the Word of God say? As Christians, we're called. We are called, each and every one of us, to a life of faith and purpose and growth in our relationship with God. But there are times that even believers can find themselves in a spiritual rut. We'll say you feel disconnected, maybe unmotivated, maybe you feel overwhelmed by some of the challenges that you're going through. So by turning to scripture and seeking guidance from God, christians can find hope, they can find strength and wisdom and you can break free of whatever this stagnation is and you can rediscover a vibrant, even fulfilling, faith as you continue to move forward in your quest as a believer and as a child of God. You know, psalms 51 and 10 says Create in me a new, clean heart, o God, filled with clean thoughts and right desires. And that passage really describes what it is like when you're not in a rut. You know it's not so much addressing being in a rut, but if you're not in a rut, that's what it looks like. You're looking to God to create in you a new and clean heart and to be filled with clean thoughts and right desires. That's when you know you're not in a rut.
Speaker 2:But what are some of these effects that being in a rut causes? Well, first there's mental effects. So you have decreased motivation, because when you're in a rut you may feel that lack of motivation to take on maybe new challenges or pursue certain types of goals, or you know those types of things. You just don't have an interest in those activities that maybe you once enjoyed. Yeah, there's a lot of feelings of apathy, just melancholy. So that's one mental effect. Another is cognitive decline. So being in a rut sometimes can also impact your cognitive abilities, such as your memory, your concentration, your decision-making skills. You may find it difficult to focus on tasks or make sound judgments, which can affect your performance at work or at home. It can affect your performance in every area of your life. And then the other mental effect is negative thinking. If you're in a rut it can trigger a lot of negative thought patterns. You can have self-doubt, a lot of self-criticism, pessimism instead of optimism and these negative beliefs. Honestly, they can lower your self-esteem, your confidence, and that just continues this cycle. It perpetuates this cycle of being stuck in a rut.
Speaker 2:But there's not only mental effects, there's also emotional effects of being in a rut. You know there's this increased stress and anxiety because you know when you're stuck you feel unfulfilled and that leads to these heightened levels of stress and anxiety. You may experience depression. You know being in a rut for an extended period of time can also contribute to that. You can experience a sense of hopelessness and sadness and despair and that can affect your overall mood and your outlook on life. And then, of course, there's irritability and mood swings. You know when you're in a rut you may find yourself more easily agitated, more easily frustrated by just minor things and this can lead to these mood swings, and not only mood swings, but when you have mood swings it can affect relationships that you may have with other people your spouse, your coworkers, people who work above you, people who work below you. It can affect those relationships in a negative way.
Speaker 2:And then, of course, there's physical effects. So the physical effects many times of being in a rut is like fatigue. Maybe you have a lack of energy. You know being in a rut is like fatigue. Maybe you have a lack of energy. You know being in a rut it can drain you, it can drain your energy. It can leave you feeling very lethargic. You may struggle to find the motivation to do anything physically or to take care of your health, and that really can impact your overall well-being. And then it can cause sleep depravity or sleep disturbances. You know stress and anxiety from being in a rut can really disrupt your sleep patterns. It can lead to insomnia, it can just lead to a lot of restlessness and when you have poor sleep you just kind of exacerbate the whole issue. It just adds to the mental and emotional struggles and again it just continues this cycle of all these negative effects. And then lastly, on the physical side, it weakens your immune system, which is very important. So you have a lot of this stress and negative emotions that's associated with being in a rut. That just weakens. It weakens that part of your system and your body and it makes you a lot more susceptible to illnesses, sicknesses, infections, and so those are some negative physical effects.
Speaker 2:And then there's the spiritual effects, the spiritual effects. So your faith becomes stagnant. You know, when you get in a rut, you can. It can lead to a lack of any kind of spiritual growth or progress in your relationship with God. You may feel disconnected from him. You may feel like you're a million miles away from him. You'll struggle with doubts and questions and you'll lose your passion and maybe your zeal for your faith. It'll also lead to unfulfilled purpose. So see, god's got a unique plan. He's got a unique purpose for each and every one of you. But being in a rut can sometimes prevent you from fulfilling that purpose or even seeing that purpose, because you begin to feel lost. You don't have any direction and you're unsure of God's calling for your life and you're unsure of God's calling for your life.
Speaker 2:Another spiritual effect is just a decreased desire to pray and study the Word of God, you may find it difficult to maintain a very consistent prayer life and engage in regular Bible study. This can weaken your spiritual foundation, if it were, and hinder your ability to hear from God and receive guidance from him. And then of course we can't you know, we can't forget about the emotional effects of being in a rut, because then you begin to have this guilt and shame, you know, for being in a rut, and it can lead to you feeling like you can't live up to your spiritual expectations or your natural expectations. You feel like you're going to fall short of God's standards or maybe your company's standards, and this can create really a barrier in your life with regard to your relationship with God, and it can hinder your ability to receive his grace and forgiveness because you don't believe you deserve it. And then it can create anxiety and fear. You know, when you feel stuck and uncertain about your faith, it can trigger feelings of anxiety about your future, fear about your future. You may worry about making the wrong decisions or having to deal with challenges alone, or maybe you could even have a fear of just totally losing your faith altogether, and so you know it just leads to a lot of frustration and discontentment. So being in a rut can just lead to these feelings of frustration and discontentment with your natural life, your professional life, your spiritual life, and so you know, you've got to understand that there's a lot of negative effects when it comes to being in a rut.
Speaker 2:Now, what kind of things cause us or lead us to get into a rut to begin with? Because, see, if you maybe know what can bring that on, or you know what causes you to be in a rut, then maybe you can head them off at the pass, so to speak, and you can stop it before it ever starts. And one and one of those things is is that, uh, that causes you to become a person that's in a rut? Is you don't have, uh, clear goals. You know, one of, that's one of the primary causes of getting a rut you don't have clear goals, you don't have good direction in your life. Uh, you know, when you're unsure about what you want to achieve and where you're headed, it's easy to feel lost, it's easy to feel unmotivated and unsure about how to move forward. Without these clear goals to work towards, you could find yourself just stuck in a routine, in a cycle every day, and you become complacent in a cycle every day and you become complacent, and that just leads to this sense of stagnation and disconnection from your purpose.
Speaker 2:The next thing that can cause a rut is just a fear, a fear of failure. When you're afraid to take risk or make mistakes or step out of your comfort zone and you want to play it safe and avoid new challenges or opportunities for growth. A lot of times this will lead to being in a rut. Now I understand this fear can hold you back from pursuing your dreams and trying new things and embracing change. Those things right there in and of themselves will lead you to feel like you're stuck. Those things right there in and of themselves will lead you to feel like you're stuck and so fear of failure.
Speaker 2:Next is just negative thought patterns. You can get into these negative thought patterns like self-doubt, maybe some self-criticism. Those are the kinds of things that can contribute to getting into a rut. These negative thoughts, these beliefs. They can create a barrier. It's like a brick wall that hinders your ability to overcome these challenges and setbacks. Doubt and uncertainty about your faith also contributes to us getting into a rut. So when believers grapple with the questions and struggles and crises of faith, they kind of feel lost, they feel confused. Maybe you might feel distant from God. I want you to know that God's always there for you, no matter what you think, no matter what you feel, no matter what you're going through. Even in the midst of a rut, god is still there for you.
Speaker 2:Another is lack of self-care. You know, when you don't care for your physical, your emotional, your mental well-being, that can cause you to get into a rut. You know, when you fail to prioritize your health, your happiness, your overall well-being, it's going to lead to these feelings of exhaustion, to burnout, disconnection even from yourself. So, without taking care of your needs and nurturing your soul, you may find yourself feeling depleted. You've run out of gas, you're unfulfilled and you just feel like you're stuck in a rut. Out of gas, you're unfulfilled and you just feel like you're stuck in a rut.
Speaker 2:Another is external factors like work stress or relationship problems, financial difficulties or health issues. These can also play a big role in getting to a rut. You know, when you're overwhelmed by these external pressures and challenges, it's hard to find the energy, to find that motivation and resilience to kind of break free of it and break free of the negativity, break free of that stagnation, to get out of that rut. You know it causes a lot of feelings I think that you have within yourself and as Christians we can easily get caught up in a lot of busyness, a lot of distractions that just kind of pull us away from our faith. So balancing work and family and social commitment and other responsibilities can leave very little time for ourselves sometimes. But we have to make sure we look at these things and don't let them get out of balance.
Speaker 2:Another is a lack of spiritual discipline. You know one of the primary causes that Christians get into a rut is a lack of spiritual discipline. You know, when believers neglect consistent prayer, bible study, worship, fellowship with other believers, you begin to feel disconnected from God and your faith. And without a spiritual, a strong spiritual foundation, it's easy to fall into a rut, into complacency. You lose sight of the importance of nurturing and having this strong relationship with the Lord.
Speaker 2:And then there's sin and spiritual warfare. It can cause a lot of Christians to get into a rut. When believers struggle with temptation, they struggle with guilt, shame, spiritual attacks. They may feel defeated or maybe unworthy, or you feel distant from God's grace and forgiveness. And so you know these sinful patterns, these unresolved conflicts or maybe spiritual strongholds in your life can really create barriers to intimacy with God. It can hinder you, as a believer, from really experiencing what I think is the fullness of God's love and the fullness of his power for you in your life. You know God's grace is greater than any sin. God's grace is bigger than anything that you feel like you're stuck in, any sin. That you feel like you're stuck in. God's bigger, he's greater and his grace is there for you.
Speaker 2:And then, lastly, you may have this lack of community support, in other words, the isolation and lack of church support, community support. It can contribute to us getting into a rut, because when believers feel like they're disconnected from a supportive church family or a small group or a mentorship, they're going to find themselves struggling and you just can't get any kind of encouragement, you can't get any kind of accountability, you can't get any kind of spiritual guidance. So without this strong community of faith we'll call it to lean on, believers can feel like you're alone, you can feel discouraged. And let me just say this there's a lot of people who go through this, but it's of their own doing, because they don't feel like they can. Let's put it this way, they feel like they should be stronger, stronger than that. They feel like, well, if I have to go get help, then I'm not very strong, I'll just try to press through and try to get through it on my own, and that's really the farthest thing from the truth. What you need to do is actually call out upon those people who can encourage you and help you and minister to you, so don't be afraid to do that.
Speaker 2:So how do you get out of a rut? Well, let's talk about that briefly. So what you want to do is, first, you want to identify what the root causes are of you being in a rut, what the stagnation is. You've got to begin to reflect on what's contributing to these feelings that you have, such as maybe not having clear goals or having this fear of failure or negative thought patterns. You know, I think you have to understand what the underlying reasons are for your rut that you're in, so that you can pinpoint those areas that are affecting you and so you can attack those areas and begin to grow and change through that. You can attack those areas and begin to grow and change through that. And it's really important during this time as you're trying to identify these root causes. You know that you actually are honest, completely and totally honest with yourself and I would put it in a journal, I'd write it down. I mean, you look at something on paper that you're feeling. That really helps you to try to discern what the root cause is. So that's the first thing Identify what the root cause is. Then, next, you want to set clear goals. You know, once you've identified this root cause of your rut, you need to begin to set some clear, achievable goals, define what you want to accomplish, break down those goals into smaller, manageable steps and then create this plan to track your progress. So when you set specific, measurable and realistic goals, it'll provide for you direction and motivation to move forward.
Speaker 2:The next thing you need to do is you need to challenge absolutely challenge the negative thoughts that you may have and you've got to replace them. So you challenge them, but you replace those negative thoughts with positive affirmations and beliefs. You know, if you go on the CBC website, you'll find in the resources tab. There's a lot of great things in there and a lot of confessions that you use to confess who God says. You are Not who you think. You are not who you think you are because you're unworthy, but you begin to confess who God says you are and there's nothing more powerful than that and that's how you get that help to overcome these negative thoughts. So there's a lot of helps there on the CBC website. I encourage you to check out.
Speaker 2:But you've got to cultivate this positive mindset. You know the Bible says to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. That's something you have to do. You've got to be transformed by the renewing. You've got to seek out ways to renew your mind read the right things, watch the right things, listen to the right things, do things to bring encouragement and help you to change those negative thought patterns. Uh, you know it takes just one positive thought. When you know, when you're given a chance to survive and overcome an army of negative thoughts, it only takes one. So you want to make sure that you do everything that you can to cultivate a positive thought pattern in your life.
Speaker 2:The next is practice self-care. We talked about the effects and how. Self-care is one of those effects. But you can do something about that. You need to set time back to exercise, whether you start five minutes a day, 10 minutes a day. But just start, do something, you know exercise, meditate, have some hobbies, do something to relax, do something to to help you, uh, physically, emotionally and mentally. Uh, you know, take the time to rest and recharge and rejuvenate. Those are the three hours. I talk about a lot rest and recharge and rejuvenate, uh, and you do that for your, for your mind, for your will, for your emotions, spirit man. So you've got to be able to replenish your energy, replenish your motivation. So self-care is so essential for combating stress. If you're having a stressful day, go home and work out, go home and walk on the treadmill, go home and walk in your neighborhood, do something physical and it will help you if you're feeling stressed. So make sure that you take care of yourself.
Speaker 2:Then next, try some new experiences. You know, step out of your comfort zone. Try something new. Try something you've never done before, whether it's something creative, whether it's something inspirational, something that'll help you grow. Just try to experience and embrace change. Take some risk. Explore opportunities that maybe challenge you to expand your horizons and break free from that routine. You know you've got to try some new things to help you get out of that rut. Try some new things that'll help you discover, maybe some new passions in your life that you didn't even know you had. Or maybe it'll help you find that you've got talents you didn't know you had. But you want to change your perspectives and help that to ignite your passion and again your motivation. So try some new things, try to do some new things.
Speaker 2:And then next, you want to stay persistent. Stay persistent, be resilient in your efforts to get out of that rut. Don't quit, don't give up. Continue to do everything you can to get out of that rut. Progress doesn't happen overnight and setbacks are going to be a natural part of that journey. But you need to continue. You've got to push through it. Embrace that failure. Look at it like a learning experience, a learning opportunity, and then celebrate just the littlest victories. It doesn't matter how big the victory is. Celebrate it and then stay committed to your goals. You know James 1 and 12 says blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him. So be steadfast, be resilient.
Speaker 2:Next, seek God in prayer. That can't be under-emphasized, I can't over-emphasize that enough. The first step for Christians to get out of a rut is you've got to begin to seek God in prayer. Turn to him. Turn to him when you're in a struggle, pour out your heart to him. God's not afraid of your emotions. God's not afraid of you complaining. God's not afraid of you speaking your heart's not afraid of you complaining. God's not afraid of you speaking your heart, speaking what's really in your soul. You know, look at David. David did that in the book of Psalms. You can read many chapters in the book of Psalms and listen to David pouring his heart out to God. God wants you to do that and then seek his guidance and he'll bring you comfort, he'll bring you strength, but that comes through prayer.
Speaker 2:Prayer brings that peace and clarity and direction, even in the midst of some of the greatest uncertainties and challenges that you may be going through. You know, philippians 4 and 6 says do not be anxious for anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, but in every situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your request to God and then next meditate on the Word of God, meditate on Scripture, find encouragement and wisdom. Again, go to the CBC website. There's all kinds of lists that have Scriptures that you can confess over your life. Open your mouth, speak them out loud. Don't just think about them, but just speak those words and then meditate on what you've heard yourself say.
Speaker 2:Dive into God's word, you know. Look at his promises. Allow that truth to renew your mind and your heart. You know, let the word of God be a lamp to your feet, a light to your path as you seek to really break free from this rut. All right, and then embrace change and renewal.
Speaker 2:You know we talked about that a little bit, but embrace it. You want to be renewed, as the Bible talks about in your spiritual life. Allow God to transform your heart, your mind, your spirit. Let him lead you on a path of growth and transformation. Let him change your life for the better, not just to change, but change it for the better. You know, maybe you got to let go of some old patterns, let go of some old habits and beliefs that are holding you back. But ingrace God's plans and purposes for your life.
Speaker 2:You know, 2 Corinthians 5.17 says Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he has become a new creation. The old has gone, the new is here, and so embrace that, embrace the change, embrace renewal and then connect with some kind of a Christian community, connect with a church, family, a small group or a fellowship to find support and get that encouragement, accountability in your life. Surround yourself with fellow believers who can really encourage and inspire and challenge you and when you get out of that rut you're going to be willing to help somebody else who comes along the way, who's going through what you just went through. You know, hebrews 10, 24 through 25 says let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day approaching. So it's so important that we do that, so that we get involved. So you can't do that unless you're in a godly Christian community where that you can receive those things.
Speaker 2:And then, lastly, you need to trust in God's plan. And trusting in God that's the big thing, that's the hard thing at times, but you've got to trust in his plan and timing for your life. You know, even when you feel stuck or uncertain, you just got to surrender those fears, surrender those doubts and worries to him. You've just got to trust that he's working all things together for your good, because he is, and then you lean on his promises, lean on his faithfulness as you begin to try to get through and navigate through, maybe, these challenges to get out of that rut. You know, jeremiah 29 and 11 says I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future. If you're going to get out of a rut, you've got to trust God.
Speaker 2:You know getting into a rut can be caused by a lot of different factors. We've talked about them. You know lack of clear goals, fear, failure. You know, by understanding a lot of these whys and these underlying causes, and then we begin to take some proactive steps to address them, I believe that you can break free from this cycle, from this rut, and rediscover your sense of purpose and motivation and fulfillment in your life. Remember, it's okay to get help, it's okay to talk to somebody about it. Just make those changes. Take small steps if you have to for positive growth and transformation. But I believe, with determination and resilience and if you have a willingness to really make those changes and embrace change, you can break free from that rut, I believe you can have determination and resilience and, as you break free from that cycle of stagnation, I think you'll rediscover a very vibrant and a very purposeful and a very fulfilling relationship with God, which will help you to be more successful in your career, in your family and in your personal life.
Speaker 2:Lord, I thank you today for those who have downloaded and listened to this podcast. Lord, help us to apply these principles in our lives. Lord, to help us to overcome being in a rut or to keep us from ever getting into a rut. Lord, I pray that for those who have listened, and I pray that they will find true godly success in Jesus' name, amen. Well, again, I want to thank you for taking the time to download and listen to today's podcast here at Christian Business Concepts, and I ask that you help us to grow the CBC community by sharing this podcast with four or five other people that you think could benefit from it, and also, please help us grow by sharing the link to this podcast on your LinkedIn or Facebook pages. Well, that's all the time we have for today, so remember that Jesus is Lord and he wants you blessed.
Speaker 1:Thank you for tuning into this week's Christian Business Concepts podcast. Go to ChristianBusinessconceptscom for more information and resources. Be sure to check out other podcasts that will help you take your business and your personal life to a whole new level of success.