Last night, a friend and I sat in a bar drinking a beer, watching the Taney Dragons give their all in the Little League World Series with a bunch of other proud Philadelphians (including two dogs!), and catching up.
As we shared the joys, challenges, and amusements of our respective summers, our conversation wandered to what can be described as overload moments—moments when you find yourself in a state of physical, mental, and/or emotional overwhelm or depletion.
Overload moments can emerge when you push yourself really hard for days on end, or when you’re surprised with a sudden emotional punch to the gut. (A communication snafu. A professional disappointment. A loss. A failure to live up to your own standards or values.) They can build gradually or sneak up on you all at once.
Over beer and Little League, my friend described the ways that she had successfully “reset” herself during a recent overload moment.
I love that term! Resetting yourself—bringing yourself back into equilibrium, so that you can move forward as your best self, rather than the self who feels too stressed, exhausted, confused, hurt, trampled on, pissed off, anxious, or downtrodden to move forward effectively.
Taking even a very short time to intentionally reset can pay huge dividends—such as improved wellbeing, effectiveness, enjoyment, productivity, clarity, and impact on others. So the next time you find yourself in overload, ask yourself:
- What do I need in order to reset myself?
- What can I do to take care of myself right now?
- What little thing could I do to replenish my body, mind, heart, energy, or spirit?
- How can I give myself the space away from this situation that I need?
- What can I immerse myself in?
Checking in with myself after a very productive and at times very challenging week, and knowing that I’m heading to an all-day volunteer gig tomorrow, I’ve realized I need to take some time today to replenish and restore. So I’m going to head to Reading Terminal Market and eat an Amish pretzel and buy raw honey and look at produce and drink coffee and generally immerse my senses in a different environment. 🙂
And when I return, I’ll be “reset” and ready to keep moving.
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I’m curious—how do you reset yourself?
Photo by Ginny under Creative Commons License