As we welcome the new year, it’s a common tradition to set resolutions, but we all know often that these goals are abandoned as quickly as they are set. Let’s stop fooling ourselves that this year will be different. So, before listing all the ways you will reinvent yourself, let’s flip the script. Instead of the same old resolutions that fizzle out before the end of February, how about we hit the ‘reset’ button and do things differently? Let’s focus on daily resets, which means giving ourselves a fresh start daily to live by our goals, intentions, and values that will lead to meaningful change.
So many people are exhausted, burned out, and on edge; resolutions won’t transform this. Giving more purposeful reflection and attention to daily resets can improve the quality of our lives. That is the ultimate goal, isn’t it?
The Art of Letting Go
Resetting isn’t just about charging forward; it’s also about knowing when to release what’s not working. Picture it like tidying your room; sometimes, you must throw out the old stuff to make space for the new. It’s about recognizing when a habit, a goal, or mindset isn’t serving you anymore and saying, “Thank you, next!”
Why Resetting Beats Resolutions
Resolutions are often rigid – like fitting a square peg in a round hole. They’re all about setting strict all-or-nothing goals that you are not really committed to. Then you start slipping and say to yourself, why bother? Resolutions make you hyper-focused on the outcome and insufficient about the day-to-day process. Resetting, however, is like water – it flows and adapts. It understands that life is full of curveballs and that it’s okay, and even necessary, to reassess and realign often. It’s not about failing and starting over; it’s about tweaking and refining as you go.
The Science Behind Resetting
Integrating behavioral psychology and neuroscience provides a comprehensive understanding of why resetting is effective. Behavioral psychology offers insights into how we can change our actions and habits through feedback and reinforcement, while neuroscience explains the underlying brain mechanisms that allow for this change. Together, they underscore the importance of flexibility, adaptability, and continuous learning in personal development and goal achievement.
The science behind resetting highlights the importance of a flexible approach accommodating continual feedback, habit modification, stress management, and emotional regulation. By understanding and applying these principles, individuals can effectively use reset moments to navigate life’s challenges and pursue their goals with greater success and resilience.
How and when do we reset?
Reset Moments are the purposeful points of reflection that trigger a Reset Practice. A Reset Practice engages you in the following:
- Step back and reconnect with your goals, values, and intentions
- Get perspective on what’s working and what’s not, gain insights on options and possibilities
- Realign with your best next steps individually or collectively
Consider Reset Moments as the time and space you create for mental, physical, and emotional check-ins. For the sake of our 2024 goals, let’s call reset moments Progress Points. Preset time is allocated to check in on your progress. We often wait too long or don’t check in at all and then wonder why it took so long to reach our goals or why we didn’t reach them at all.
A Reset Moment acts as a progress point in several key ways:
- Reflection and Insight: Reset moments offer a chance to pause and reflect, providing insights into what’s working and what’s not. They help in making informed decisions for future actions.
- Course Correction: They allow you to recognize when you’re off track and make necessary adjustments to realign with your goals.
- Learning from Experiences: Every reset moment is a learning opportunity, whether from successes or obstacles, contributing to your growth.
- Reinforcement of Commitment: Engaging in reset moments shows dedication to your goals and willingness to adapt your approach.
- Enhanced Self-Awareness: They increase self-awareness about your strengths, weaknesses, and habits, aiding in better decision-making.
- Celebration of Achievements: Reset moments enable you to acknowledge and celebrate even small achievements, boosting motivation.
- Preparation for Future Challenges: Regular resetting prepares you for future challenges by keeping your approach adaptive and flexible.
- Maintaining Momentum: They help maintain progress, allowing you to move forward despite challenges, albeit sometimes in a new direction.
Build a Reset Mindset
You can see Reset Moments as vital to your goal-setting and reaching process. The more you reset, the more you are conditioning what I call a Reset Mindset. It means these regular resets are a conditioned response and a way of being, not a one-off reaction.
Practical Application of the Reset Mindset
Embracing the Reset Mindset isn’t just about understanding its principles; it’s about putting them into action daily. Let’s explore how you can apply this adaptable approach daily in all areas of your life.
Daily Personal Resets
- Prime Your Day: Set a word for the day to provide further focus to your intentions. Review your goals, focus on what’s working, and start your day with the most impactful tasks. Start your day with a walk or a workout, get your blood flowing and your mind engaged and primed for the day. DO NOT get on your phone, watch or listen to the news, or get on social media.
- Block Your Time: To avoid distractions (phones, emails, social media, and more), block your time for specific tasks and outcomes. Use a timer and allow yourself a break after each block to catch up with colleagues or other daily work. Putting your phone away and shutting off your email is critical for effective time blocking. If you block about 70% of your time, you will better manage urgencies by blocking out what’s important.
- Make Purposeful Transitions: Jumping from meeting to meeting or action to action hurts brain activity. Our brain needs rest between activities. Use a breathing technique between meetings, eat some protein, and light a scented candle – give yourself space between activities to take a short mental break to conclude the previous topic and clear your mind to prepare for the next.
- Set Boundaries: Actively work to maintain a balance between your professional and personal life. Working from home can have you working around the clock. Set a start and end time of work with a timer. Create an end-of-workday ritual that huts down your workday.
- Make Regular Check-ins: Schedule weekly moments to assess your physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Use an app or journal for tracking and reflection. Are you getting enough rest? Is your current exercise routine effective? Track your time. Are you spending your time in the most impactful areas?
- Listen more deeply: Practice empathy and understanding. Just listen instead of trying to fix their problem or share your perspective. You will get the sale faster; you will build deeper relationships, gain more respect, and feel more fulfilled. Just listen.
- Reflect on Your Day: This doesn’t mean focusing on the gap or what needs to be done. Reflect on what worked and what didn’t to solidify valuable lessons to apply. Acknowledge and celebrate your daily wins. When you do this, you will see you have accomplished more than you think. Write down what you are grateful for and see how much better you feel about your day, yourself, and your outlook.
- Focus on Better Sleep: Put greater awareness on the quality and quantity of your sleep. This is one area where quality and quantity matter. Write in a journal before bed to clear and reset your mind for a peaceful sleep.
The Reset Mindset is a powerful tool for achieving a balanced, fulfilling life. By regularly stepping back, gaining perspective, and realigning with our goals, we can navigate life’s challenges more effectively and reach our goals faster. The Reset Mindset allows us to continually evolve and adapt, ensuring we always move toward our true potential and values.
Penny Zenker, aka The Focusologist, is a renowned international speaker, business coach, and bestselling author. She founded and sold a multi-million dollar business by age 31, managed turnarounds at a top Market Research firm, and coached with Tony Robbins. Her expertise in productivity psychology, showcased in her book and TEDx talk, has garnered global acclaim. Featured on NBC, Forbes, and more.