Sometimes we’re not getting out of life what we want or think we should be getting. This can create a feeling of discontentment, depression, restlessness, and other negative emotions.
Maybe you’ve fallen off the wagon, gotten stuck in a loop of bad habits, or had a series of misfortune that knocked you off your path.
Whether your dissatisfaction in life is due to your own doing or life’s curveballs thrown your way, at any point in time you can reset. If you’re feeling unhappy or stuck in a position you don’t want to be you can always start over and start fresh. It’s never too late to create a lifestyle you can be proud of.
Even if the journey ahead will be knowingly long, making progress and inching closer toward your goals will put you in a better headspace to keep going. Below we’ll review some ways to hit the reset button and reset your life.
Values-
Your values can change over time. Years ago you might’ve thought it’d be amazing to be ultra rich and famous. Nowadays being ultra rich and famous seems to come with many other issues.
Being happy, fostering close relationships, and being financially secure might align more closely with your current values. When doing a life reset, review what your values are. Maybe you originally were a workaholic who made a great income but had little time left to spend with those you care about.
While all these areas are important what is most important to you? Is it lavish vacations, quality time with your loved ones, prioritizing your financial goals, reaching new heights in your career, or finally getting your health in order? Maybe it’s a combination of all.
When aiming to reset your life it’s good to have a clear picture of what you’re hoping to achieve. Maybe you think being able to afford a large home and a brand-new car is what you want but if you go a bit deeper you want more genuine relationships. When you go down into the core of who you are and what brings you peace and happiness you can more easily align what you want in this life and why you want it.
Goals-
When we don’t reach certain milestones that we’d like to in life check in on how you’re setting and tracking goals. Use this SMART goals method to implement a better goals system.
S- Specific: Pinpoint your goal and don’t make it overly broad. If it’s too vague it’ll be hard to tell exactly what you’re reaching for.
M- Measurable: When your goal is measurable you’ll know exactly when you’re getting close to reaching it. If you want to save $10,000, that is measurable and you’ll know exactly when you hit it.
A- Achievable: You want to set your goals high but also in a way that they aren’t so far out of reach that you give up halfway. You’ll want your goals to be in a place where you have to push yourself but isn’t so far out of your capabilities that you’ll never reach them.
R- Realistic: Make sure your goals can most likely be hit for your target and time frame. If you have a dream of becoming a brain surgeon but have failed every science class you’ve ever taken, reassess if that’s a realistic goal for you.
T- Time-Bound: If you have no time limits on your goals you might not have a strong enough desire to push yourself to reach them. Or you might make excuses or let it fall off your priority list. If you have a big goal you want to hit by next year break up the year into 3-month quarters. Each quarter will require a smaller goal to be hit in order to reach the bigger goal.
Habits-
If you want to reset your life you need to look at your current habits. Habits become automatic and can direct how your life will turn out.
If you eat mainly processed foods, never exercise, and scroll your phone for the majority of the day you’re most likely going to feel like shit and wonder why your life isn’t progressing the way you’d like. In order to change and reset your life you need to review and change your habits.
Spend a few days jotting down everything you do in one day. Make it realistic and don’t change it up because now you’re watching. Take account of how the bulk of your days are spent and then make the necessary adjustments.
The best-selling book Atomic Habits is a great read to help you with this. Habits may seem small and insignificant but they compound in either a negative or positive direction and snowball into either inevitable success or an unavoidable disaster…you decide.
Home-
A cluttered and disorganized home will inevitably lead to a cluttered and disorganized mind. It’s hard to focus when the space in front of you isn’t clear. You’ll have higher feelings of anxiety and may find it difficult to have a clear path in life.
Doing a reset on your life will be much easier when you take care of your home and space. Begin this process by deep purging and decluttering. Work through each room in your home and decide if it belongs in your home or not.
A general rule of thumb is that if something hasn’t been worn or used within the past year it’ll likely never be worn or used. You can either sell or donate these items. Keeping a clean home is also of great importance. Even if you aren’t in your dream home when you take good care of your space the universe takes it as a sign that you appreciate what you have and will take care of even better if it comes your way.
Keep your space generally clean and tidy (doesn’t have to be perfect). Make your bed every day, put dirty dishes away, put things back where they belong, and have a designated spot for everything. Do a deeper cleaning of bathrooms, kitchen, etc once a week. By staying on top of cleanliness it’ll feel much less overwhelming to keep things in order when you only have to do a little bit here and there.
When decluttering don’t forget things like your phone and laptop. Delete unused apps, close unused tabs, and delete duplicate photos. Make everything streamlined and neat.
Mind-
If you’re looking to reset your life, resetting your mindset is key. You probably feel like you need a reset because somewhere along the way your mental state started to decline. Maybe you lost motivation, purpose, passion, or confidence and began to compound bad habits. To get your spark back you’re going to have to do a mental reset.
Pick a healthy mental reset activity like meditation, reading, morning pages, praying, or getting in a therapist’s office. Maybe you have time for one or two of these activities or maybe you can fit all into your schedule.
Pick one thing you feel will help your mental state and do it every day for one week. Aim to piggyback off of that and complete it for a whole month. It can be hard to start and be consistent with an activity when you’re feeling blah but as soon as you get the ball rolling and feel the benefits you’ll want to keep going. Take it one day at a time.
Body-
If you need a total reset, incorporating physical wellness is an important step. When we aren’t moving our bodies regularly it can lead to sluggishness. You might get stuck living in your head and feel less motivated to get up and get going.
Moving your body is one of the best ways to get momentum started. Aim to include some form of physical activity into your life 5x a week. Whether that’s walking, hitting the gym, yoga, stretching, dancing, pilates, or boxing. There are so many styles of physical activity nowadays that it’s impossible not to find one or two things that you enjoy.
Taking care of your body also includes the foods that you’re ingesting. Are you eating enough whole, unprocessed foods in your diet? Are you undereating or overeating? What is your relationship to food like? Be honest with yourself and evaluate if you have healthy eating patterns and if anything needs to be shifted.
Spirit-
If you’re feeling down your spiritual hygiene might need sprucing up. Cleanse your energy regularly and be mindful of things that bring your energy down. If certain people or places make you feel unwell it’s okay to distance yourself and place boundaries.
Aim to connect to whatever higher power you believe in and ask for guidance on how to proceed in life. When your life is in a place where you feel that you need a reset, calling upon your guides and putting your faith in a higher power can be a good way to strengthen your faith.
Conclusion-
Life will never be a completely smooth path. There will be several twists and turns along the way. However, if your life isn’t panning out the way you want it to or you’re getting stuck or going off track know that at any point in time, you can do some reflection, see what’s not working, and course correct.
Whether you want something as small as a wardrobe update or something big like a career or location change. Using the tips mentioned above can help you to clear your mind and focus on what’s important in your life.
Evaluate your values so that you can authentically line up what’s right for you in life. Set smart goals to make it easier for you to hit the goals that you set for yourself. Declutter your home and tech devices to clear space in your mind to get clear on your life objectives.
Lastly, taking proper care of your mind, body, and spirit will give you the energy to propel your life in the right direction. Hopefully, these tips will help you if you feel that you need to reset your life.
