I don’t know about you, but there are times when I feel less than great. Low, grouchy, fed-up, and bored are all words you could use to describe what I’m like on those days and I’ll admit I’m probably not the best company. The truth is, we all have days like those. It’s part of the human experience – it’s not an elective. There will always be off days, and that’s okay.

But what happens when you get a whole string of those “off-days”, maybe lasting weeks, months or even years? Too many of us say that we’re in a rut, feel stuck, fed-up, bored or even overwhelmed and know that we don’t want things to be that way. The problem is we don’t know what to do to make a change. That’s the reality, when you are in that state of mind you don’t have the energy or motivation to change things for the better, and it’s tough to find the insight or resources you need to make that jump.

Here are some ideas you can use right now to climb, or better yet, leap, out of the rut and start to get something better for yourself.

1. Do Something Differently

Life tends to run smoothly when we establish systems and routines for things, but the problem comes when things run too smoothly and we become blinded to any ideas or choices that sit outside of our routine. All the stuff we do every day becomes the norm, running on autopilot, and it becomes our whole world.

Start with making one or two simple changes to your day – maybe at breakfast time, switching up your gym routine, take a different route to work, lunch routine, etc. Don’t worry about what the changes are or whether they’re right or wrong, just make a couple of simple choices that will serve you well.

Doing something differently or changing parts of your routine, instantly takes you out of the norm and allows you to shake off the things that make you feel confined. Step out of your routine and you’ll be in a position where you’re able to make different choices, see things differently and get a different result.

2. Use your Intuition

Your intuition is a powerful ally, and we all have it even though you might not recognize it. The dictionary says that intuition is:

1.a. The act or faculty of knowing or sensing without the use of rational processes; immediate cognition.

1.b. Knowledge gained by the use of this faculty; a perceptive insight.

2. A sense of something not evident or deducible; an impression.

One of the best skills you'll ever have in life is your intuition, (coaches rely on their intuition when working with clients); and tuning into it and learning to trust it is something that can have some truly remarkable effects. Accessing your intuition is a bit like working and developing a muscle, but unfortunately it can be harder to tap into.

• Practice maintaining an open-minded, playful, experimental, non-judgmental attitude. This is the most fertile ground to tap into your intuition.

• Practice making wild guesses in your everyday life. Guess what a salesperson's name is, what a new person or place will look like or who's calling on the phone. Don't worry about getting it wrong, you're just working that muscle.

• Try a few simple observation exercises in your daily life. Whether you're in a restaurant, on a train, in a bar, or out shopping, practice noticing non-verbal behavior in others. Look for shifts in posture, eye movements, vocal tone or tempo, etc. Guess how they're feeling or what they're talking about.

The most important thing to remember when it comes to growth, is to have an open mind, embrace the new, be curious and practice using your intuition; you will be surprised what you discover about yourself.