It is so easy to get in a rut. A rut is where we do pretty much the same thing over and over and over and over and over. We get in ruts because it is easy and comfortable to do the same thing over and over. After all, we have become experts because we have done the same thing repeatedly.
The problem with ruts is that they go downhill; the quality and volume become less and less. It is a law of life; brainless activity becomes unchallenging, leading to mediocrity.
Some of my goals for my goals are to make a goal to do something I have never done before, another goal is to learn a skill that I have never learned before, and another one to go someplace that I have never been before. Those three goals take a lot of thought and planning, and I think about what they might be all year long. As I read books, listen to videos and podcasts, and read magazines, I am looking for ideas for these three goals.
That is how I came up with the goal of riding a motorcycle, hitting all the lower 48 States in 30 days, and camping each night. I also made a goal to learn how to make soap, and I did that for several years. I learned how to keep bees and had two hives for five years. I have ridden my bicycle in 40 of the lower 48 states. I have been to 38 different countries, Hawaii, Alaska, and all of the Canadian Provinces.
Doing something you have never done before, going somewhere you have never been before, and learning a new skill won’t happen without making goals. Without a goal, you won’t plan when to do it, how to pay for it, and how to make it happen. It could be as simple as learning to knit, paint, or take a college class.
Most never get out of their rut except for a vacation to a different place once a year, which is undoubtedly not bad, just not enough.