Sometimes in life you get a little stuck, almost glued to the spot and unable to move forward. Sometimes it’s because of a major life event, other times it’s just a shitty mood, the kind you just can’t shake.
“You put too much pressure on yourself”
“ You’re too hard on yourself”
“You need to have more confidence in your decisions”
Lately I’ve heard these statements a lot, but nobody ever offers me any magical fixes, amazing cures or helpful advice. It’s not their fault that I can’t snap of it, I know I should but knowing and doing are always closely aligned. Sometimes it feels like I’m doomed to be eternally unhappy with myself… I achieve something and immediately find fault and point out my own short comings.
I’ve been stuck here before, and know what I need to do in order to reboot and reset. I don’t expect perfection from others people, so why am I so hard on myself?
When you reboot or restart your computer, you’re fixing how it is functioning currently, rather than changing the whole computer. You’re bring your computer back to where it was before or where it needs to be, rather than slow and sluggish. By restarting your computer, you’re helping it run at it’s full potential. This is exactly what you’re doing when you reboot and reset yourself, it’s not an overhaul or complete change it’s more of a refresh. Think of it as catching your breath before powering forward.
Remove Yourself
Step back and remove yourself from whatever it is that is causing you to feel the need to “reboot“… it may mean taking a day or two off work or taking a small trip out of town. Go somewhere you can get a clear head and relax. It doesn’t matter how you remove yourself, just make sure whatever your doing is going to break the cycle … the cycle of what you normally do, or in my case, have been doing a lot of lately.
Removing yourself in 3 steps:
- Ditch social media, not necessarily forever but perhaps a weekend.
- Get out and get some fresh air, even if it’s just for a jaunt around the block.
- Make no plans, and plan no chores for the weekend…or even just for one day. Take it easy.
I remove myself by making time for a walk in my local regional park. It’s hard to think with so much going on sometimes, so a quiet walk is a great way to remove myself and create some thinking space. I often find perspective lies in the great outdoors in the middle of a trail.
Rest Yourself
I’ve been going a bit hard with my health and fitness buzz lately… potentially bordering on obsessive and not cutting myself any slack. My body was tired and so was my mind. When your computer restarts it takes a bit of time to refresh and come back to life. A reboot isn’t an instant fix, your computer just like you, will need to take a little time to prepare itself for the next steps… and that’s exactly what we should do to.
It’s important to reflect. Reflect on where you want to go and what you’ve decided to do, it’s important to remember why exactly you’ve made certain decisions and goals and to look forward to what’s around the corner. Like me with my health and fitness goals … I have to remember that I’m just warming up and getting ready to go. A new goal or new path will take time and energy, so I need to rest up, and be kind to myself before focusing on the go, go, go!
Recognise Yourself
Now fully rested and with a clear head, recognise what needs to be done in order to continue operating at the level you need to… without having to reboot again anytime soon! Recognise what constitutes as pushing yourself too far and learn to rest and recharge when needed – stay focused on what your overall intention is and try not to get side tracked by smaller distractions which may crop up.
Like your computer, rebooting slows you down initially, but once you’re up and running again you start to progress rapidly. Recognise this and realise that rebooting is initially a slow process, forget this and you’re likely to be rebooting yourself again far too soon.
Yourself…Rebooted
Not knowing how to become unstuck is just as unproductive as actually being stuck. The next time you feel just a tad worn down by life and a little like a hamster on a wheel…think about giving yourself a reboot! It may just be the wake-up call you need, and hopefully now I’ve highlight how you can get it done.
Don’t quit on yourself or trudge on in a useless situation. Take a page from the I.T Departments – Guide To Fixing Everything and “restart your computer”, you’ll find out a lot more about what’s going on inside your head.
