When we need a factory reboot: tapping into our personal reset button

Have you ever wished humans were fashioned with a reset button? Not unlike a smartphone, we’d be equipped with the ability to erase our cache of self-inflicted damage and begin again with a clean hard drive, so to speak, while still able to retain the good stuff: a foundation to draw from as we recreate ourselves. Yet, in essence, each morning affords our own personal factory reset—devoid of negative self-talk, and/or judgment, until we attach wings to our thoughts. At times, we might require extra impetus to break through the chatter that clambers for attention, to make way for new habits to replace the old. Yesterday, in fact, I began a 21-day cleanse—a detox of self-destructive patterns exchanged for self-affirmations—tangible gifts that function as a reset button: a mental spring cleaning to purge that which no longer serves me, whatever self-limitations keep me stuck or stagnant. And to bring into balance my mind, body and spirit.

What helps you swap out old patterns for new?

Image source: Shutterstock.com.

Habits are choices… good or bad

I’ve got a bad habit. Okay, numerous bad habits. As I engage in these harmful rituals, however, I realize the resounding reason why stems from fear. Oftentimes when I am challenged to step outside of my comfort zone, when change is inevitable or painful and/or I desire to avoid a certain situation, I seek solace in habitual patterns—even if these patterns are not good for me. I create a panacea for the unknown with something known, a temporary fix that is all-too-often self-destructive. In particular, I excel at stuffing my feelings with junk food and drink and then cursing myself the next morning when I awaken puffy, sad and no closer to a resolution. I sabotage any strides I might experience because it’s easier to fall back into my safety net of familiarity. And then I wonder why my life doesn’t change. But today is a new day. Time to make better choices.

What is a bad habit you can replace today with a better one?

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Avoiding self-imposed ruts

 

According to Oxford Dictionaries, a rut is “a habit or pattern of behavior that has become dull and unproductive but is hard to change.” A friend of mine recently said the difference between a rut and a grave is its depth. (We also have a choice about the one in which we get stuck.) At any given time, we might find ourselves trapped in old thought patterns or routines and feel like guinea pigs going round in one of those wheels because sometimes it seems easier to go through the motions. However, each day is an opportunity to transform our reality—to jump off that spinning wheel and reinvent ourselves. A few tips that have worked for me are to: practice 1) letting go of things I can’t control; 2) making choices that advance my goals; 3) not worrying about what others think; 4) prioritizing and learning to say ‘no’ and 5) engaging in activities that make me happy.

How do you avoid or escape the self-imposed ruts?

Image courtesy of Gualberto107 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.