Keep hitting 'reset'

 If you're like me, you're frustrated. There's too much work and too little laughter in your days. There are never enough hugs. Times are tough, and you suspect they will stay that way for the foreseeable future. So what will you do?

I know. Hibernation is a great idea, but it doesn't work for human beings. Pretending you're fine works for a while, but eventually even you realize that faking it isn't helping you make it. And you've tried wallowing, but it's not really you.

So hit the reset button. That's frustrating, too. I know. For one thing, often the reset button is actually a hole into which you have to insert a push pin or paper clip. And then you have to wait. And isn't that just so very 2020?

And yet, over and over again, you'll hit a moment when you are sad or angry or distracted. And the right answer is to push reset. Don't try to get better yet. Try to get back to neutral. Get up and move around. In NLP, we say, "Shake it off." We mean that moving your muscles will loosen the feelings that get tangled up in them. If you're good at breathing, take a few deep breaths. 

Then try again. Do one thing that you want to get accomplished. It's okay if it's not what you were doing just before you hit reset. Build momentum through small steps you really wanted to get done. And then take another step. 

Until you get frustrated or sad or angry. Then you'll need to move, breathe, and shake it off. Until something changes in you or something changes in the world and you forget to get frustrated. Then you'll just keep moving forward.


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