Reset Your Day - Reframe your Life

We all have “bad days” – and we all, at times, feel “down.”  Realizing that, in itself, can be a step towards health and wholeness.

At the same time, knowing how to “reset” our lives is important too.  Sometimes (but not always), a few direct & intentional minutes of specific diversion – can do much to reframe our mood.

Here’s a simple idea for you.

Write down a list of a few specific things you enjoy – that genuinely make you feel good.  (Not  things like that temporarily make you feel good but make you feel bad later – eating or drinking the wrong things in poor quantities, for example!)  Rather – think about things like this which can be done in a few minutes:

1.  Stand with my face in the sun for 5 minutes.
2. Listen to [Insert Song Title Here.]
3. Climb a flight of stairs while being thankful that I can walk!
4. Watch a bird in a tree, being mindful of the many freedoms I have in life.

Or things like this which can be done in about an hour:

1. Walk around the park – or walk for 20 minutes at the gym.
2. Watch a single episode of [Insert T.V. Program Here.]
3. Call a list of friends and share memories from [Insert Event Here.]
4. Listen to a specific speech, sermon, lecture, musical that always inspires.

The KEY is to have specific and tangible practices that have a proven history to help you reframe and reset your life perspective.  Whatever has worked for your life! 

There is a good amount of scientific evidence that demonstrate that practices involving us in kinesthetic activity (moving), being outdoors, laughing or watching others laugh, participating in conversations involving emotions, or hearing compelling stories, physically changes the neural activities in our brains!  Consider motion, emotions, smiling, activity, laughing, & stories as activities in your life.

Keep the list with you – and the next time you’re “down in the dumps” or “feeling funk” – pull out your list – and intentionally DO one of the specifically targeted practices you have written down – EVEN if you don’t "feel" like it!

Of course, you could just wallow through your day in the miry-dreariness.  Or, you could intentionally “turn off” the miry-dreariness for an intentional, pre-programmed time – with the possibility of returning to the day refreshed, rejuvenated and with a re-framed perspective!

Sometimes being “down” is directly tied to our lack of sleep, poor eating, genuine issues of chemical imbalance – or long term troubles (hospitalization, family crisis, and more) – but sometimes – a simple, intentional, practiced “habit” can reset a day getting off kilter – to a refreshing day of remembered joy.

1. Make your own list.
2. Carry it with you.
3. When you’re "off-your-prime-energy" or "losing steam" in the near future – DO one of your specific habits to reset your day, your outlook, and your productivity.

While not a "guarantee" for a refreshed day - an intentional, specific, targeted practice can help often enough to make it worth the effort!  I'm sure of it!