Why Now Is the Perfect Time to Hit the Reset Button
Anybody here ready to regroup?
Like it or not…summer’s come and gone. It’s mid-September. Most of us were able to relax a bit into the flow of summer. I think particularly of you mamas who because of COVID had to homeschool your kids this past spring. While summers aren’t exactly a 10-week vacation, some of the pressure is off because most kids are out of school.
But…we’re baaaaack. Though not quite back to the level of busy before COVID, it is a season to regroup and prepare for a busier and more intentional season ahead. That can be bad news, or good news depending on how you look at it.
I’m looking at Fall as an opportunity to regroup, to carve out a new normal.
And by the way, a new normal is actually quite the norm. Because we are, most of us, often shifting our rhythm, which requires us to stop and think, focus, and commit or recommit to an action.
If a lot of our time is spent raising little humans, well, just when you think you’ve got them figured out, they change, grow, and get older. That in itself requires an adjustment in how you care for, relate to, feed, and clothe these dynamic creatures. It requires a constant new normal.
If we’re running our own business and our adult children have returned to their own homes after quite suddenly moving back into the nest for the past six months (anybody?), well it’s time to get a little more focused on those goals you’ve lost sight of.
If we’ve succumbed to the quarantine 15, then it may be time to stop heeding the rationale for eating extra carbs and moving a little less because…well…it’s COVID after all. Now just may be the right time to take better care of you.
It’s a good time to decide what we want these next few months to look like.
What do we want the rest of 2020 to look like? I know it can be tempting to consider these next few months a wash. I’ve heard many people say they are looking forward to 2021. Understandable - this has been a complicated and painful year with an unprecedented pandemic, the tragedy of racial injustice, a volatile political climate. But don’t wish these next few months away. Time is way too precious a commodity.
Resetting doesn’t mean you change everything at once.
That’s a tactic I’ve tried many times and failed. Oh it feels good to think about changing every aspect of my rhythm – my quiet time, what I’m eating and drinking, my exercise routine, adding five big goals to my list of many already, taking that eCourse I signed up for, listening to five podcasts I’ve been meaning to listen to all summer, etc., etc. I feel stressed just writing this. Trying to change everything is a set up for guaranteed failure.
Let’s set ourselves up for success instead with these three small steps.
1. Stop – While some of us have actually picked up new hobbies because of the slowdown of COVID, most of us still have trouble stopping. We’re just not used to it. It’s uncomfortable. But I can guarantee you will gain great clarity just by setting a timer for 5-10 minutes to sit quietly with a question like, “What’s most important to me in this next 3 ½ months?” or “What will I regret not doing (or doing!) in the upcoming few months?”
2. Record – Write in your journal or notes on your phone, record a video, or speak into a voice recorder. Somewhere, record your thoughts (you will forget!). Choose one thing from your list – the most important thing – you will do to reset and regroup. What one thing have you lost sight of? What one thing do you most want to do…or not do? Write that down on a piece of paper, use your blackboard or white board, or have some fun in Canva. But keep that one thing in front of you.
3. Adjust – You’ll likely have to change your thinking, your schedule, or your routine to make this one thing possible. I know there are inevitably many things you may want to change. But those many things have to be tackled one at a time. Truly you will see that as you succeed with that one thing, the momentum builds. And you will be ready for the next thing. If it takes you a week to get that first one thing down, great, choose another. If it takes a year or more, that’s okay too. If it’s the most important thing, it’s worth it!!
Are you with me? I’ve made a handy little worksheet to help you figure out your one thing. Just click below.
Share the one thing you’ve come up with in the comments. I’d love to cheer you on.