Don't Let Your Career Be 'Stuck In A Rut'

April 2, 2015
Police work famously offers the promise of daily variety and the allure of the unknown. “You’ll never be bored,” you are told, but the true day-to-day reality of how seasoned officers experience the job is often quite different.

To do the same thing over and over again is not only boredom: it is to be controlled by rather than to control what you do. - Heraclitus

“I’m stuck in a rut.” 

Most of us have said or thought these words at some point, examining our work or home life, how we spend our time and energies, dissatisfied and wondering if anything will ever change or if this is somehow it.  We feel bored, burned out, and each day looks like the ones before and foreshadows those to follow, and it wears on us.  This is especially true as we age and gain experience; over time, fewer things we are likely to do or encounter offer freshness to our lives and familiarity with our work, relationships, hobbies, and environment fosters a comfortability that, while safe and reassuring, can be dull.

There is nothing inherently bad about finding that comfortable place where you feel secure in who you are and what you know, comfy in your own skin and skills.  “Finding your sweet spot” can be incredibly rewarding and lead to personal and professional fulfillment.  It’s something for which a lot of people strive in vain.  But problems arise when dissatisfaction supplants contentment and frustration with the status quo breeds unhappiness.  Think of the etymology of the phrase “stuck in a rut”; it’s simply a metaphor for being trapped in a place you can’t escape, your mobility and freedom of choice limited, and forced to follow a route perhaps not (or no longer of) your own choosing.  People don’t say they’re “stuck in a rut” when they are happy to be there. 

Police work famously offers the promise of daily variety and the allure of the unknown.  In most street level functions, such as patrol or investigations, what you are likely to be doing day-to-day, or even minute-to-minute in busy jurisdictions, is a mystery until the call comes in and unfolds.  “You’ll never be bored,” you’re told, but the true day-to-day reality of how seasoned officers experience the job is often quite different, and even in the busiest jurisdictions.  Although the word is practically anathema, so much becomes just so routine: traffic stops become rote exercises in the mundane; on domestics you’ll see the same dysfunctional couples and families fighting the same fights over and over, and even when the actors might change the script is agonizingly familiar; your calls for service stem from the same disputes, fears, paranoia, and human blunders as you’ve seen a thousand times before.  Investigations hit walls and roadblocks, cases stack up, and when you do develop leads and persons-of-interest they are often just “the usual suspects” doing what they do for the usual reasons.  And then, after an eight to twelve (or more) hour shift when someone asks how your day was and what you did, you stop and realize you have absolutely no recollection whatsoever!  And after it happens occurs more often than not you realize you’re bored and in a rut.

Most of us can handle this as long as we have something to hold our interest in the other parts of life.  “It’s just a job,” we say, satisfied in the life built at home or socially.  Or we remind ourselves everyone hits that rut sooner or later, everyone feels burned out from time-to-time, but it will surely pass.  We’ll get a promotion sooner or later, or grab a cooler assignment down the road.  And if those are goals you are working toward and in realistically reach, the rut is no big deal and a little temporary burnout a small price to pay.      

But what if promotions are hard to come by or there are more eager beavers looking for special assignments than slots to fill.  And what if, as often happens, our home lives and social scenes have fallen into ruts of their own? 

Our human nature is easily conflicted over two competing drives:  One is a desire for comfort, stability, and familiarity.  We learn what we like, what makes us feel content and satisfied, and to seek out the known.  Those things that challenge or take us from our carefully constructed comfort zones come to seem an annoyance, too much effort to take on, or maybe even vaguely threatening.  Relationships fall into easy rhythms, interests narrow, hobbies become habits, and the world fashioned into a safe cocoon. 

The other drive is to experience novelty.  For most people this is not as strong as that for familiarity, although we are a species whose evolution is rooted in large part in a desire for and adaptability to new experiences and the drive for novelty varies greatly among individuals.  Those who favor novelty over familiarity are sometimes referred to as neophiliacs and can be easily bored without new experiences and mental stimulation.  Not surprisingly, many cops skew this way.  Imagine the frustration then when the more mundane realities of police work, the daily routine of family and life, and the logistical limits on their ability to completely experience the world around them hit home.  Like anyone else, they fall into ruts.  Unlike the less novelty-driven, they become bored and suffer.

In order to live free and happily you must sacrifice boredom.  It is not always an easy sacrifice.   - Richard Bach

And then there is inertia.  This third factor, the resistance of an object (or, in this case, a human) at rest (and languishing) to stay at rest (and languish), is what really traps us in our ruts.  We get comfortable, we feel safe, and we opt for the known and safe over the unknown and possibly risky options we could choose.  Whether at home, work, or in the many personal choices each of us makes every day and throughout life we tend toward what’s safe, eschew those requiring effort or likely to fail, and settle.  It is often the settling that bores us, locks us into a rut, and threatens our happiness and sense of worth. 

And inertia grows in direct proportion to age, doesn’t it seem?  Don’t we feel it more in our late 30s, 40s, and 50s than in optimistic youth?   We are more likely to settle into ruts at the ages we have less energy and time to climb out.  Still, if you are troubled by the sense you’re in a rut, no matter your age, climbing out is crucial for your happiness and further personal and professional success!

Are you bored with life? Then throw yourself into some work you believe in with all your heart, live for it, die for it, and you will find happiness that you had thought could never be yours.           - Dale Carnegie

What is important to remember is this:  No one is obligated to help you out of your rut.  Your bosses should perhaps be interested in keeping you interested, but it’s simply not likely to happen.  Your friends and family should care, and probably will if you mention your need to reenergize with them, but we all know the best intentions of others work best in the short run and then their focus turns inward.  Getting ourselves out of a rut ultimately is our own responsibility.  So step up for yourself:

At work

Ask for new, added, or different responsibilities.  Seeking promotion or a new assignment is the obvious answer but opportunities may be few and far between.  Instead, look for long or short term projects that serve your community that are ancillary to your regular duties, come up with creative challenges for yourself to keep your mind and skills sharp, ask for training to expand your knowledge base, or propose and develop trainings using your strengths you can offer fellow officers.

Police work can keep you hopping, true, but often has down time that can be used for self-initiated efforts either in enhanced enforcement or service provision.

At home

Like work, relationships with significant others, family, and friends easily become stale without regular nurturing.  Find new ways to keep these key relationships fresh.  Date nights, adventures and new experiences to explore with your important people, and learning to focus more on taking care of others as well as self all go a long way toward staving off boredom and interpersonal ruts. 

Personal self-improvement 

Far too many of us see growth and self-development as something to undertake in our youth and young adulthood, followed by a long coast to the end.  The temptation to become set in our ways, preferences, and beliefs, rarely challenging ourselves to learn anything new or uncomfortable or difficult is a common default setting for a lot of people.  But one critical key to avoiding ruts (and depression, boredom, and ennui) is to refuse to see yourself as completed or “old.”  Think young to stay young and view learning and growth as a lifelong responsibility.

If you're bored with life – you don't get up every morning with a burning desire to do things – you don't have enough goals.             - Lou Holtz

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