No matter how motivated, driven or aligned we are, everyone of us goes through a period in our life when we are stuck in a rut.

Here are some of the sure signs your life is stalled:

Your energy drops dramatically

You suddenly become undecided, confused as to your next step

Now, playing the game becomes more important than achieving results

Seemingly overnight you are gaining weight, not sleeping and generally in ill health

And the biggy…you lose hope and stop dreaming about what is possible barely able to make it through what "is"

It can happen without warning to the most optimistic of people.

Suddenly progress slows to a crawl, you get bored, nothing seems to inspire you and the lack of results you are getting can be frustrating.

From the pages of "Achieving Extreme Greatness" – When your life gets stuck in a rut, here are 10 things you can do to help break the habit…

Convince yourself it will pass. When you are in a rut it seems that you will never break free, by recognizing that this is simply a phase you are going through, a period that you can change so take the pressure off and change will come faster Exercise. Even though times like this make any sort of physical exercise even more challenging, you must break free and focus on at least low-grade exercise such as a walk, jog or swim Get social. We tend to become withdrawn in the low points of our life, a better approach is to join a new sport, hobby, fitness class, support group or other social activity where you can be with others Change your diet. We tend to become self-destructive in times of trouble within our lives – eating too much sugar and carbohydrates, escaping reality with alcohol and stimulants – by breaking these bad habits we can build momentum that will break out of our rut Change your routine. Being stuck in a rut is really succumbing to a pattern of bad habits – by breaking your routine, just one step toward change can get the ball rolling Baby steps. Our tendancy is to wait for some major life event to break us out of our rut when the best way to quickly escape this hell-like, self-imposed prison is to take small steps each day toward improving our life Change your company. There are times in my life where I was kept in a rut largely by the negative energy of the people around me. When you are stuck in life look around you, do you have positive role models or mentors you can rely on to help you see the light? Step Up – Take Responsibility. Look inward and understand that you have everything you need to succeed wildly today, it's just that you are relying on external factors for your success. By taking responsibility for changing your situation you empower yourself to break free of your rut. Introspection and Meditation. When things around you get so heavy, so meaningless and challenging – give yourself permission to focus inward for 30-minutes each day by practicing yoga and meditation. With just a week of consistent meditation you will be amazed at how less terrible you will feel about your current rut Know the signs. Take stock each day of your feelings, your accomplishments and how well aligned your actions are with your inner purpose and desire. Recognize how you feel and how you respond when under pressure, out of control and out of alignment. If you can identify these characteristics early you can take control before you get stuck in a rut

There is no reason to spend another day stuck in a rut. Use these 10 techniques to break free and begin living life the way you really want to once again.