We Could All Use a RESET
It’s been 2 years since “All things 2020”, and for many of us, we enter 2022 with a fatigue we have never experienced before. For me, my ‘all things 2020’ was filled with loss. Along with losing my job, I suffered 2 late term pregnancy losses. My healing journey can be equated to a full-time job. My grief is compounded by my other roles of mother, wife, professional and caretaker. During college, I developed a RESET mantra at the start of every semester. For me, each semester was a fresh start. Another opportunity to do better. I carried this mindset throughout adulthood. Every new opportunity- work, living space, dating- would be a RESET. In this healing journey, some days are good, others not so much. As a recovering over achiever and people pleaser, I was beating myself up for the bad days. I returned to my RESET mantra as a way to show myself compassion. RESET is a built-in day of grace.
RESET day for me is Sunday. I work Monday through Friday, leaving Sunday as my work week eve. Growing up, my parents also worked Monday through Friday and they utilized Sunday as their RESET. I did not appreciate it as a kid, but Sundays were quiet and calm in our house (except for the yelling from Sunday sports and international phone calls…immigrant households get it). Our RESET Sundays consisted of church, a family style restaurant, and back home to do absolutely nothing! Everyone would be in their own spaces- only to reunite at dinner time. My mom would spend most of the day in the kitchen meal prepping for the week, my dad and brothers in living room watching basketball or football. I would be in my room, occasionally rotating through the house, joining in on the action of yelling at the tv with my brothers, or helping my mom in the kitchen. I valued solitude so I stayed in my room most of the time delving into a book, free play or journaling. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was developing my self-care routines. To be clear- I hated RESET Sundays as a teenager! Bored out of my mind… one of the reasons I got a job at 16 was to get out of RESET Sundays!
Overall, the goal of your RESET day is to do whatever fills you up and brings you joy. Listen to your body and ask yourself, what do I need? Here are 3 things to consider on your RESET day:
Movement
Strive for a minimum of 30 minutes of movement on your RESET day! Even if you intend on laying around most of the day, be sure to incorporate some form of movement. We carry stress in our body which leads to numerous medical and physical ailments. We move to get all that stress out. I often start and end my day in movement, including my RESET day. Take a walk, ride a bike, dance, or do some yoga. The science around oxygen and blood circulation produced in movement proves this is a great tactic towards a good start to your week.
Listen
We have to pay attention to what we consume in our mind. Be mindful of what you mentally consume on your RESET day. Sunday is the designated worship day in the Christian faith. I usually take in a sermon or two, or watch a personal development/ empowerment show (a super soul Sunday-ish type). I have an audible monthly subscription. I can listen to books while doing a light activity. Catch me on my RESET day, blasting my audible while repotting plants, folding clothes, or any other light chore to prepare for the week.
Sometimes we go through events that make us question who we are. Its good to listen or read messages that remind you of your greatness. Remind you of who you are, where you come from, what you have been through and how you came through it. This endorphin producing tactic will be the fuel needed to head into the week.
Rest
RESET day is not the day to check things off the to-do list! Minimal physical and mental movement should be done on this day. Give your mind and body the time and space it needs to rest! Gone are my all-nighters I mastered in college and early 20s. That lifestyle is not sustainable and is impossible to pull off substance free. I need my full 8 hours of sleep to have a peaceful and productive day. Easier said than done, but that’s where radical self-care reminders kick in! The mantra of I’ll sleep when I’m dead needs to be canceled. Lets go with Grind. Rest. Repeat!
For some, the days may all seem to run together. Incorporating a RESET will help break it up. Sunday is my designated RESET day on social media, but I have incorporated RESET into my daily routine. I typically begin and end each day engaging in some form of a RESET routine. Also “day” is subjective as well. REST can be a moment. It can be in solitude or not. Your call!
What started as a tool to help me along my healing journey has become habit and I encourage everyone to add this tool along your journey. Give yourself the grace of RESET.
