I don’t know about you, but there are times in my life when I just want to jab my finger into the power button and do a HARD reset. You know, the kind where you don’t even try and shut the computer down first. It’s like a release, a “whoo-sah”. Do you remember the Etch-a-Sketch craze from the ‘80’s? Do you remember how you could just go crazy with the little pen, creating all sorts of squiggles and chaos? Then, once there was nothing recognizable on the screen you could simply shake it up, and start with a clean slate. Oh how I miss my little red Etch-a-Sketch. But the good news is, there’s still a way to clean the slate, to start over. Whether this comes in the form of infusing a restart into your day, or taking a deeper approach, hitting the reset button, or, if you are like me, shaking the Etch-a-Sketch, can be easier than you think.

Hit The Pause Button

Sometimes giving yourself space to reset is as simple as hitting the pause button right in the middle of your day. Sometimes I have the kind of days that seem like tiny trolls are taking turns pushing new, random, crap straight to my inbox, and the faster I read and react, the faster they come in. I think they are having a contest. Sometimes I have so many tabs open my system literally slows down. My processor is overloaded. Sure, maybe my laptop processer is maxing out, but what I’m talking about is MY MIND. I find myself literally staring at my screen, frozen. My mind is no longer racing, it is stuck. If we were talking about my laptop I would hit ctrl + alt + del, open task manager, and close down the task that is “not responding”. So what’s to stop me from taking a similar action with my mind? Absolutely nothing. even when you are swamped, even when you are busy, hitting pause is ALWAYS an option. On most days I can take 15 minutes, duck into a quiet office space, and turn on nature sounds or a meditation and just sit still with my eyes closed. On even better days I march myself right out of our building, and onto the streets of downtown Cincinnati to take a stroll, or 3 around the block. If I want my processor to work effectively, and set me up for success, then it is critical that I pay attention to the signs that I need a pause, preferably BEFORE it starts to go into “not responding” mode. And if 15 minutes doesn’t sound feasible (though I think most of us reasonably CAN find 15 minutes to step away) - try just 5. If it really is one of those days, then I very deliberately take my time during a trip to the ladies room. I mean really - who needs to know why I’ve actually been locked in the stall for so long? For the next 5 minutes, it’s not a stall, it’s my happy place.

Get Clear

So there's resetting during the day, and then there’s taking bigger steps to reset your own vision, and maybe even your life. When is the last time you did an assessment of your personal values? A few years ago I did a program called 31 Days to Reset Your Life. It was very cool. It took me into some pretty introspective places, and once I got to the section that asked me to list all my personal values, my priorities started to become so clear. I took all of my values, and actually wrote out a personal mission statement, with all my values bolded. At the time I was going through a breakup, and although I knew the breakup was for the best, I still couldn’t really reconcile the disappointment. However, once I became clear on who I was, what my values were, and what my personal mission was, my vision became so much more clear. Even now, as I contemplate what direction life wants to take me in, I read my mission statement, and find my direction again. I wish I could direct you to the program. But it doesn’t seem to exist anymore, but you can absolutely walk through the exercise of writing out all your personal values, and using those to reset your approach to anything going on in your life.

What steps have you taken to hit the reset button? How do you find ways to hit pause during the day? Here’s to putting our own needs first.

Namaste,

Tian