Hitting Reset on Your Life
You are probably in a rut. I know I am. Most of us get into ruts at times; it’s also known as adapting to getting comfortable in the situation you are in. But if the situation you are in is NOT comfortable, and you’ve decided like me that now is the time to get out, you’re gonna have to do some work to hit reset in your life. You have to get yourself out of what you’ve become accustomed to, what has become your “easy.”
How to Hit Reset
A common way to start this process is to just change your scenery. Make the “everyday” not possible for a little while. Travel somewhere new! If you are lacking funds, you could try just visiting a relative for a short time. But if you can, it could be a great idea to put yourself into an entirely new situation where none of your previous routines are possible. That way you have to figure everything out anew in every moment.
If this sounds like out of your comfort zone, it is! But it’s also how you get yourself to try new things that you might not otherwise. It’s how you allow yourself to see yourself in a new perspective, and get so consumed in learning new things that you are completely in the present. Not in the past, not in your philosophical worries, not in what’s going to happen in the future and how you’re going to get there. Just in the moment, in a different situation, with different scenery.
There’s a reason why addicts, for example, often “go away” on a retreat during rehab. And then afterwards, they often attempt to avoid previously common locations and social circumstances. The reason is that when you are in the same old situation as always, it’s too easy to continue with the same old behavior as always. This is true even when you really don’t want to continue “as always.”
The Haters
There always some who will say, in response to travel plans, things like “You can’t outrun yourself” and “Anywhere you go, there you will be.” How helpful. However, the idea is not to leave yourself. The idea is to be just yourself. Yourself, and not the situation you are leaving behind that may be shaping you in ways you don’t necessarily like. Or, even if the situation you are in is not your issue, there is still good reason to try out a new situation. It helps to open yourself up and remind yourself that there’s other things going on in the world. There are other ways of being and living life. There are other opportunities, and people to meet. The possibilities of life are not limited to those in your little nook that you’ve carved out in your everyday life.
The beginning is always today.
Mary Shelley
Making a drastic change, at least for a short time, like traveling and changing your scenery and the culture around you, is a great way to help yourself hit reset on your habits, attitudes, and even your opinion of what you are capable of. Depending on how adventurous your trip is, it can also be a great way to get yourself out of your comfort zone. Outside of the comfort zone is where all of the best growth occurs, in my opinion.
My Own Experiences
Traveling to experience other parts of the country and world has taught me a lot myself, including how to appreciate more what has always been in my own backyard.
This idea that traveling helps you see your own treasures that you’ve always had is basically one of the big points of the plot of the The Alchemist. While I read this book many years ago, over time I have come to see that this point that it makes is so true.
Related post: Escaping the Cage
But even as I’ve come to understand how much I have to appreciate, my journey is not at its end. I’ve also found myself in that aforementioned rut, and so I’ll be using travel again this year to shock my system and start anew. There is more to see, more to learn.
Let's go!
Join me in taking at least a few trips this year, not only to inject a bit of newness and fun into your everyday life, but also to get to know yourself a bit better—the you that you are in any situation, not just the one situation you’ve been living in for however long. Remind yourself that the way things are is not the only way to be!
Meanwhile, I’d love to hear your reflections on what travel has taught you. What changes has it brought to the way that you live afterward?
