Is It Time to Reset Your Life? How to Pay Attention to Holiday & Year End Signals

 

“It’s all about falling in love with yourself and sharing that love with someone who appreciates you, rather than looking for love to compensate for a self-love deficit.”~ Eartha Kitt

Why does this year lead many to wonder if it’s time to reset your life? The flurry of activity during the holiday season is kind of like a snowstorm — it blows in with gale force, disrupting our regular flow and leaves us feeling a little worse for wear. Plus the changing season — darker days of winter here in the western hemisphere — contribute to the holiday/winter blues.

Have you noticed that when a snowstorm hits, you often have to fiddle with the radio dial to get the station to come in more clearly? (Yes, some of us still have radios with dials!) The storm disrupts the regular flow of radio signals. Life is like that too. We stay in touch with our truest self by looking for signals that mean it’s time to adjust “our dials”. 

While traumatic events are truly life storms, positive things that disrupt life can also be like storms. They are episodes that change us in some way. So anytime a storm arrives, it’s beneficial to observe and see how they give you signals that it’s time to adjust your dials. Even the changing seasons each year tell us that we need periodic refresh and reset times. That’s why we’re so drawn to starting a new calendar year with new resolve.

Holiday and year end signals that indicate it’s time to reset your life

The following is by no means a comprehensive list of “reset your life” signals, but they give you a sense of what you can be looking for in your own life…

The hustle and bustle leaves no time for your regular self-care routine. We often say, “I’ll just skip it this week/month and get back to it after the holidays.” But by that time, we’re out of the habit and are suffering the effects of neglect. Or we put off starting a new routine until… “the weather changes,” or, “I get exercise clothes,” or some other reason we give ourselves.

This is a signal to honor your self-care routine, even if the menu or decorations aren’t as perfect as you’d hoped. You and your guest will have better memories if you’re happy, and unstressed. If you don’t yet have a regular self-care routine — one that you do at a set time each day, then it’s time to reset your life and create one!

Feeling like “I have to…” not “I’m happy to…” External and internal pressures can build up so much that activities you might look forward to and really enjoy become a burden instead. It could be because of your quest for perfection or from cultural expectations.

This signals that it’s time to do a reset by practicing gratitude to recenter yourself. Appreciating what you have will make you content with less than you thought you “needed” to be happy.

Sensing tension in your body. If we listen, our body is telling us what we need. For example, when we’re in too much hurry — we feel out of breath; or when we experience awe, it takes our breath away.

Our body is telling us to breathe deeply and either relax or be fully in the moment to savor it and store away a wonderful memory. If we’re feeling tense, we need to stop and release it. Be mindful of what’s happening throughout the day and notice how your body is reacting to it.

“It’s not turning out like I want it.” Whining and negative emotions often arise from unrealistic expectations or being overly tired and undernourished.

Disappointment and disruption to your peace of mind is signaling that it’s time to reset your goals to be more attainable or to reset your self-care routine as mentioned before. By being mindful, you can engage the power of The Pause and notice what’s really going on in the situation and within yourself.

The blues are bringing me down. While sometimes there’s a medical reason for feeling blue, such as low levels of Vitamin D3, often it’s brought on by what we focus on…all the fun is over and we’re left with our negative thoughts and unfulfilled dreams. 

This is a big signal to reset your life with compassion. Believe that you’re worthy of love, peace and joy. As Venus Williams said, “You have to believe in yourself when no one else does—that makes you a winner right there.”

The New Year “High” is making you dream big. The end of the year may invigorate you like it does me. Every October I begin a process of taking stock of how far I’ve come and where I want to go in life.

Just as a seedling breaking through the soil signals Spring, so we have times when we need to nurture our growth, conquer our fears and break out of our comfort zones.

As you go through the seasons of your life, will you pay attention to the signals that it’s time to reset your life? I encourage you to mindfully do so. It deepens our enjoyment and helps you live with fewer regrets. Remember that a life reset is seldom a huge event. More often, it’s minor little tweaks that matter. You gradually embody the life you’re meant to live.

Are you new to the practice of embodiment? If you’d like to explore this further, download my free report, 10 Steps to an Embodied Practice. Even if you don’t plan on becoming a coach, the principles can be applied to how you live  your life.

 

Thank you for the use of your photo Christopher Campbell on Unsplash