I stared off into space and begin to think about all of the overwhelming tasks that I needed to complete. I organized them in my head really neatly and said I would start tomorrow. Well, the only thing about that is I had just told myself the day before that I would start the next day. Completely frustrated, I yelled out, “Lord what is going on with me?”
Have you experienced this? A never ending cycle of “I’ll start later”? If so, you’re probably unhappy with the way your life is going and can use a reset.
What does resetting your life mean?
In short, either something is working for you or it’s not. You can restart from where you are or you can consider a different way to do things and begin from that point.
Recently I was reflecting on my life (well I do this all the time:)), and I remembered something profound that my pastor told me years ago. He said in order to find yourself you have to go back to that place where you lost “her” and start from there. To get myself out of my most recent “funk” I applied that same technique.
I identified a time in my life when I felt like everything was going “as well as can be” for me. I was following my cleaning routine, journaling, exercising, working on my business, making time for myself, family, and friends, and I was just in an overall good space.
Next, I envisioned what my physical and mental space looked like, what smells did I enjoy, and so on. I don’t believe in reinventing the wheel if I don’t have to, so after taking time to visualize and be as much in that moment as I could, I begin to jot down what I did to make that time in my life a reality. Finally, I identified certain areas of my life that I would like to improve.
Picture the life you want
So that’s where I would like for you to start as well. I want you to find a quiet space. This may require some form of sacrifice. You may need to get up a little earlier or stay up a little later if you’re a mom/busy person, refrain from getting on social media, etc.
Wait a sec, did I tell you how proud I am of you for recognizing that something needs to change in your life and you’re actually doing something about it? By reading this blog post, you’ve already hit the reset button on your life.
Oh yeah, another thing. You are not alone. We all experience shifts in our mood at different times and sometimes need a little push to get us back on track.
Now that you’re in a quiet space, close your eyes and reflect. Remember, this time is being used to reflect on times in your life when you felt like your “best” self, not envisioning a whole new way of doing life. See it and feel it. Enjoy just being in this moment of reflection.
Once you’re ready, begin writing down all that you remember doing that made you feel good/at peace. I suggest using bullet points to jot down things as quickly as possible.
Next, look at that list and ask yourself how did you make those things happen? How did you create time/space in your day for it. What’s stopping you from doing that now? Could it be that you’re allowing not being able to have the “perfect” plan in place to stop you (AKA…procrastination)?
Then ask yourself how can I incorporate this into my current reality. This may require some adjusting/readjusting as you go. If you used to work out for an hour, consider fitting in 20-30 minutes for a workout. Then start with trying to workout at least once a week instead of starting with a goal of exercising 5 days.
Don’t have the extra money to eat the way you want? Focus on eating your main meals and do less snacking throughout the day. One of the first things we usually do is forget to take care of our essential needs like eating. You may over indulge or not eat at all. Staying focused on your plan will help you with remembering to take care of yourself.
Your “solution to your problem” doesn’t have to be perfect. You’re creating a plan that will help you to get as close to “you” as you can.
If you need help coming up with suggestions on how to incorporate something back into your life, then comment below and I’ll respond with a suggestion.
10 Tips To Reset Your Life Now
- Don’t expect grand change. This will set you up for failure and you will feel worse about yourself when you do not meet your goal.
- Start with a plan and create baby steps you can take to lead to greater change.
- Each day you will list your top 3 priorities. This could be shower, eat, and make bed. If you finish all of these things then anything else you do is a bonus for you.
- Accountability Partner – Find someone who cares about you to check in with you on a mutually agreed upon day/time.
- Practice gratitude and contentment. This will help to change your perspective and help you to see and appreciate all the good things you are blessed with. Gratitude helps us to determine what we want to “travel” with us on our journey.
- Use a timer to help you stay on track or to help you determine how long specific tasks take for you. (Be realistic and give yourself time for no more than a 5 minute break in 30 minutes and no more than 20 minutes within the hour).
- Don’t overexert yourself. Plan tasks that takes more effort/energy during times when you have more energy then do the non-urgent low energy tasks when you’re not as energized.
- Be open to changing your plan if it doesn’t work the way you imagined. Ask yourself, “What would make the things I want to do easier and require less energy/effort?
- Incorporate prayer in your day.
- Keep the promises you make to yourself daily. When I went through this process I found that the biggest thing I need to do was keep my promises to myself. This also required me to get rid of some things that were weighing me down.
Oftentimes, we do “all the things” but do not take time to celebrate our accomplishments. Please, take time to celebrate yourself and do not wait on anyone else to notice it/congratulate you.
Reflections as you implement your plan.
- What was I most proud of today?
- What is working/not working for me? Do I need to adjust my plan?
- What’s one task I’ve been avoiding this week? Schedule time to focus on that task only. This can be a physical activity or simply scheduling a doctor’s appointment or meet up with a friend.
- Schedule a “reset day” for the next week. Sundays work best for me, however, I have used a day in the middle of the week to reset. I will notice that my week is completely off and make time to reflect and create a plan to get me through the remainder of the week.
- Create a change in your environment that will make your goals easier to achieve. Our environment impacts how we feel, think, act/show up in the world. You do not have to make a drastic change. For example, I’ve been clearing my dresser and making my bed daily because that’s the space I use to reflect and where I spend most of my time.
- How am I using my time? Am I making excuses and saying I don’t have time, but I make time to binge watch a series on TV, talk on the phone more than I should, spend time on social media, etc?
A note from my heart to yours:
Be kind to yourself during this process. This exercise will require you to accept the things that you cannot change/control and create a plan for the things that are within your control. We can’t change people and we can’t change some of our circumstances.
You may have experienced several life transitions/loss that makes it close to impossible to returning to the way life used to be. If you find yourself experiencing grief during this process then I suggest taking a look at two resources below.
Let’s chat in the comments. What’s one thing you plan to implement to reset your life?
Live intentional,
Tiffany
