10 Ways To Reset Your Mind

Last month was full of ups and downs for me. To give you an idea of what I mean, early in the month I received heartbreaking news about someone dear in my life. A few weeks later, I had the most excruciating stomach pain of my life to the point of almost passing out (I thought I was dying, people).

A week later, I was rear-ended and hit the car in front of me on the freeway. In the midst of everything, I traveled to Southern California two weekends in a row to spend quality time with friends and loved every minute of it.

Now I’m left without a sense of routine. My mind is in a weird place, and I haven’t felt productive in the slightest. I’ve spent mornings not wanting to get out of bed, and I’ve stayed up late worrying about everything from tiny details to the bigger “what am I doing with my life?” questions.

Sometimes life likes to test my strength and patience in whatever way it can. Though there are worse things that could have happened throughout the month, I still feel a heavy weight on my shoulders that I haven’t been able to shake.

I know well enough that this happens to all of us. Every season of life brings new challenges. The tricky part is deciding whether we fight to get through them or whether we let them knock us down.

I’ve decided that I’ll keep pushing through. I want to feel like myself again, and I know that means I’ll have to hit the reset button especially around my mental space – a mindset reset, if you will. I see a mindset reset as a way to get the mind back into a calmer and positive place when feeling overwhelmed and stressed out. Here are 10 things I’ve been doing (or plan to do) to reset my mind:

10 Ways To Reset Your Mind

1. Get back into a routine.

You probably know by now that I love my routines, but it’s so easy to fall out of them when life gets hard or your schedule changes. When I don’t follow my normal routine, I start to get lazy and fall into bad habits like staying up too late or not eating well. Getting back into a morning and evening routine is my number one priority right now so I can feel like myself again.

Related Post: How To Give Your Morning Routine A Simple Makeover

2. Stay away from social media.

We all know social media has turned into a highlight reel, and sometimes seeing people’s perfectly curated pictures only makes me feel worse about where I’m at. I also feel pressured to post on Instagram every day since it’s a huge part of my work, but I simply didn’t have the energy to come up with anything to post over the past month. Staying away from social media for a week or two definitely helped me to clear my headspace.

3. Utilize your alone time.

I definitely value my alone time, and lately I haven’t had much of it or I haven’t been spending my alone time in the best ways. Sometimes you just have to take a whole day for yourself to relax, journal, go for a walk, make dinner, etc., and relish in the act of being by yourself. I know that I need solid alone time to feel like myself, so I plan to make the most of my alone time whenever I get it.

Related Post: How To Make The Most Of Your Alone Time

4. Meditate.

Since my morning routine has been non-existent, I’ve fallen out of the habit of meditating when I first wake up. We all know that meditation can have a huge effect on your mental space, and I know getting back into a regular meditation practice will help me feel less overwhelmed.

5. Exercise more.

Elle Woods taught us that exercise gives us endorphins, and I definitely feel like a better version of myself when I actually work out, whether that’s pilates, yoga, Tabata, or running. Exercise helps to clear my head and makes me feel accomplished, so my plan is to add a 30-minute workout back into my daily routine.

6. Read fiction.

I’m a sucker for self-help and non-fiction books, but sometimes I overload my brain with new information and it only overwhelms me more. There’s nothing quite as magical as getting lost in a fiction book where your only task is to create the visuals of the characters and settings in your head. Fiction encourages you to use your imagination in new ways, and I think that’s the perfect antidote to an overwhelmed mind.

7. Write it out.

Keeping all of my thoughts, fears, and worries bottled up inside me does nothing to actually benefit me. I’ve always turned to writing as my emotional release, and I know that I need to write through my feelings more often instead of keeping them locked inside. Getting things out of my head and onto paper gives my brain and my heart a chance to rest.

Related Post: How To Make Journaling A Habit

8. Listen to music.

Music can be so therapeutic when you’re struggling, and I’ve found that I feel more at ease when I have something playing in the background. Music can make you feel understood, creative, inspired, less alone, energetic, and cathartic all at the same time. Never underestimate the power music can have on your headspace because it truly can get you through the toughest of times.

9. Get more sleep.

When I stay up late doing nothing particularly productive, I either wake up exhausted or wake up late. Getting up late makes me feel overwhelmed, and I beat myself up for not going to bed earlier. When I wake up exhausted, my entire day feels like a struggle. The simple solution to this would be to get more sleep, right? If I start going to bed at a reasonable time, I can reduce unnecessary exhaustion and negative thinking.

10. Ask for help.

I am the queen of never asking for help and trying to do everything myself. Sometimes I don’t trust that other people will do a good job, but mostly I just don’t want to inconvenience anyone with my requests. But this past month, I asked someone for help with something that was completely out of my area of expertise, and she was completely willing to take it off my hands and saved me SO much time and mental energy that I didn’t have. If you’re in over your head, do yourself a favor and ask for help.

Related Post: 5 Ways To Say No And Stop Over-Committing Yourself

How do you reset your mind?

I’d love to know how you get yourself back into a good space when you’re in a funk. Leave a comment below with any tips you have!