Reset

Reset. R&R. Take a deep breath. Slow down. Think.

Breaks and reevaluations are a must in order to improve. They can be applied to any part of your life. Your relationships, your career, your habits, your emotions, anything in your life can benefit from taking a knee, assessing the situation, and deciding on the path forward. The last week of my writing has served as a vocal reset as I assess what happened in 2022 and how I want to go forward in 2023. If you are not checking in with yourself on different aspects of your life, I believe you are subject to going through the motions of life with the opportunity for increased unhappiness.

Lots of people use the New Year as an anchor upon which new goals can be formed. They use the New Year as their reset point. Lots of people who do this fail to enact habits that stay with them for the whole year. Studies show 64% of New Year’s resolutions fail by February. That is insane! I believe a large part of them fail because they are not effectively taking proper resets to evaluate their circumstances. One reset a year is not the solution for a successful year, a lot can change over 365 days. If your goal is to go the gym more times and you reach February with 0 workouts under your belt, you must reset and realize the root of the problem. If you want to spend more time with family but work a job requiring 60-80 hour work weeks, it may be time to realize the problem. Solutions come from the evaluations during a reset. With solutions in mind, you can act.

At the same time, there is little reason to say, “I will wait to do this until the New Year.” If you take time to reset in June and realize you want to lose weight, there is no point waiting until the New Year. Resets can and should happen sporadically, often, multiple times during the year. They can even be silent moments of reflection. They do not need to be hours of planning or internal discussion. Quick moments of self-evaluation are all you need to address issues taking away from your happiness.

Getting into the habit of conducting voluntary resets will help make the involuntary resets of life easier, and provide you with added incentive to grow. Involuntary resets are sudden changes to your life you are not expecting. Losing your job or a relationship ending are two common examples. When these sudden life changes happen it is important to take a moment, map out your attack, and continue on. It is in these involuntary resets that you can find the good of the situation and realize you may be better off than before. Resets will not make the change easier, but they can help you navigate your path forward in a more productive way.

Life is constantly flowing and changing. The way you have always done something should not necessarily be the way you always do it going forward. Every aspect of your life can be evaluated and changed if you find room for more happiness. Don’t wait until next year to get started. Take a knee, and begin your reset.