Ruts happen for a reason

a mindset piece

It’s easy to get “caught” in a rut, but what does that mean?

In our modern world of air travel and highways, it’s worth returning to the original meaning of a term to determine whether we’re using a modern idiom appropriately. Personally I find there is always something to glean from such an exploration.

Per Oxford dictionary, a rut is first defined as

a long, deep track made by the repeated passage of the wheels of vehicles.

The word is thought to come from old French “route”, and originated in the 16th century, well before the automobile or engines we take for granted today. While today one can easily swerve to miss a pot hole - animal drawn wagons and carriages of old were not as nimble. So where roads didn’t exist, travelers could follow the rut, or route from past journeys having relative certainty they were going the right direction. Over time as that route became a rut, there would come a chance the wagon or carriage would become stuck unable to turn.

The second definition is certainly the more common understanding of the word.

a habit or pattern of behavior that has become dull and unproductive but is hard to change.

You might have been told at one time or another that you were “on a path.” What is difficult to accept is that this path isn’t about a destination - it’s about a journey

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. There are times where the path will seem long, where you wish the path were different, even times where you want to leave the path behind. When we complain about being “stuck in a rut” we almost always mean it in a negative sense, and sometimes it is true that rut is leading you nowhere worth being. It is worth pondering however, whether you’re actually stuck or if you haven’t reached where you’re trying to be. Thinking back to our ancestors who didn’t have GPS or even detailed maps to find their way but still made the journey it’s worth asking:

Are you really in a rut?

Or are you en route to something greater.

After all, ruts happen for a reason.

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1. don’t be such a cynical reader, cliche’s are that way because they speak to something real