I recently shared how I chose a word to focus on this year and I challenged all of you to do the same. My word for the year is reset. I am giving myself one great big reset.

Reset my focus, attention, intentions, and goals. Start to move forward and stop being stuck on the negative, wasting time worrying about what’s next, the unknown.

Once I had my word I needed to decide what to do with it.

How was I going to reset?

After all, there is no magic “reset button”, though wouldn’t it be great if there was? Probably would have pressed it a long time ago!

I decided to go back to how I chose my word to help me figure out how to put it into use. I mentioned in my article, A New Year Reset All About You, what helped me choose my word was thinking about what I had learned from the past year. By taking what I had learned I would focus on what I wanted to be different for the year ahead.

A reset.

Think About What You Want

What creeps into your mind when you are thinking about how you wish things could be different? Is it a new job? More free time? Fewer problems? More peace?

Do you ever think that what you want seems so unobtainable?

Does it have to be?

What if one step that you take today were to get you closer to having what you want tomorrow? That would mean then that doing one more step the next day, and the next day, and you see where I am going here?

So much of what you have today was something you wanted at one time. Sometimes, or a lot of the time, we spend our time wishing, hoping, dreaming of things to be different. Of wanting something different, something more. We so often forget to slow down and realize how much we already have.

How much we got what we once wanted.

So think about it. What do you want? What did you learn from last year that you want to be different for this year? What are you missing?

The good news is, if today we have things that we once wanted, then tomorrow we could have what we want today.

Know What You Control

It’s easy to get caught up in thinking or focusing on our obstacles in life. It’s also easy to allow the obstacles to make us feel defeated and contribute to giving up.

This past year for example, like many, I felt more tired, anxious, and after a long workday followed by being a mom, I had nothing left to give of myself to work on my hobbies, goals, or dreams.

It’s absolutely ok to have days like that. We are going to have days where there is just not one ounce of energy left to give. The problem I had though is I allowed those days to turn into weeks, and then months.

I kept dreaming of what I wanted and wished I was doing but did not bring myself to take the steps to do it.

Partly, because in my mind, I made the steps seem so big. I only thought about the end result and the thought of getting to it seemed so daunting.

What I needed to remind myself of though was that everything I had already accomplished was a series of small steps that eventually got me to that “daunting” finish line.

I might not be able to control all the outside events happening around me but I could control what I focused my energy on. I could also control what steps I wanted to take to get to where I one day hoped to be.

A few minutes each day, even just ten minutes, would get me one step closer than not giving myself any time. Instead of spending those 10 minutes to dwell on negative world events, or doom scroll on social media, taking those 10 minutes instead to apply to something I enjoy such as reading or writing would not only make me feel better and happier but get me closer to my goals.

Eliminate Distractions

Part of what we can control is eliminating distractions.

When I say distractions I don’t mean a favorite television show you enjoy watching or even connecting with friends on social media.

What I am referring to are the distractions that make you feel like you can’t. The ones that send your thoughts spiraling into the negative, the frustration, the wanting to give up.

For me, that included moving on from some friends and even family who were not benefiting my or my family’s health and energy. Those who consistently wanted more from us than they were ever willing to give back in return. Those whose ideas and behaviors no longer fit into our life.

Identifying the distractions in our life that are hindering us from being and feeling our best will not always be easy and can even bring about sadness. But life is short and time is precious. So ask yourself what is currently pulling your energy in a direction that is not serving you in a more positive and productive way. What distractions can you eliminate to help give you back the time and energy you need?

Redirect Your Energy

Once you start to eliminate your distractions you will start to have energy to put into other things. Things that will help move you forward, feel hopeful, and lead you back to what you want.

For example, maybe you get caught up in scrolling through Facebook and sure, you get to see some great updates from those in your life. But then you also get caught up in the negative posts and articles. Next thing you know you are feeling frustrated, bummed, even angry…and you just spent a lot of time getting to that point.

Why?

It’s not worth your time but you can also be using that time to focus in on something more beneficial for you and your life. Something that brings you hope, happiness, and one step closer to where you hope to be this time next year.

Now sure, all of this can sound great and easier said than done.

But you can do it!

You have already done it before even if you do not realize it or remember it. Remeber everything you have today, worked hard for to get to was something that you once had to work towards. Something that wasn’t possible that YOU made possible.

Don’t worry, I’ll be sharing my journey with you of how I will continue to reset throughout this year. And I know we will stumble. Some days harder and others easier than the next or the one before. We will get there no matter how many times we need to keep resetting.