This morning I woke up planning a mental to-do list. I wanted to write a blog post, plus work on my proposal for my book. I also have some research and writing for the business class I teach at Oregon School of Massage. That reminded me that I need to grade homework for the class. Plus I planned on working out. And that’s the beginning of my list.
When I notice that I have 34 programs running on my computer and that my mind has at least that many more programs up and running it’s time to hit my “reset button.” Periodically I need a big reset. A weekend away or a couple of weeks somewhere other than home. But I’ve found I don’t feel as desperate for a complete system overhaul if I include regular resets in my life.
My daily reset is meditation. Today the message I got was that all that other “important” stuff wasn’t really important. What was important today was to be of service, to feel loved and to allow love in. In a few breaths my perspective changed.
How do you know it’s time to hit your reset button? And then how do you reset? Sharing your ideas here helps others. I know I’d love to hear your ide
as.
One thing I always keep in mind when someone asks me to commit to something is – how will this affect me, my family, and my schedule; and is this so important I can't say “no”. ” I am sorry, I just fit this into my busy schedule at the moment” is the best way to deter even needing to hit my reset button. I use to run on reset all the time and found that life is to short to miss the important things in life by being just to busy.
Lately, I've found I wasn't aware of when I needed the “reset” button pressed but realize now that it was already being hit often, out of survival instinct. My ability to identify when I was to do this manually had somehow beeen dulled. I discovered that eventually it caused the “systems override” came into play in the form of a migraine that ceased most functions but that of basic necessity.
I am taking time now to work in the here and now more often than in the past and future. I have also reinstilled meditation which is to focus more on my Bible study and prayer multiple times a day. This is what I hope to prevent hitting the rest button or that dreaded “systems overide”.
This is perfect, Sharon; thank you for taking the time to remind us of our reset buttons. Our bodies do that when we're pushed to our limits but we fail to recognize it, as Sinthea notes, through getting sick or having an “accident.” I'm just getting over a bad summer cold that I see clearly now was a 'reset' event. You are also right in that meditation can communicate to us ahead of time, if we allow it to. Shutting off the mental chatter and letting in our body's inner knowledge, and our Inner Being's eternal knowledge, will keep us on from overload and away from the need to hit reset. Namaste!
Good point Diane. Prevention is always better than treatment. Sounds like you know your priorities which is an important step in being able to say no.
I love your insight. We can get dulled if we operate in more of a crisis/survival mode. And yes, our bodies will talk louder if we ignore their messages.
Glad to hear you have a plan.
You're welcome. Yes, shutting off that mental chatter helps. And getting it to shut off is definitely a practice. Some days it's easy for me than others.