Mindset Reset

I was in a meeting this week when the person facilitating the meeting asked all of those in attendance to announce our 2019 resolutions. I had had a very stressful day at work, and this was my last meeting of the day. The request made me feel anxious and irritated. For many years, I’ve made resolutions – exercise more, lose weight, try something new every month, read 75 books in a year, drink 8 glasses of water every day, etc. But I chose not to make any resolutions this year. It’s not that I have difficulty keeping resolutions; I don’t. With the exception of drinking 8 glasses of water every day, I kept the other resolutions. But, the past couple of years have been stressful at work, and honestly, I just didn’t want the added pressure of having to think of a New Year’s resolution.

Then, my sister mentioned that she and my niece are doing Arbonne’s 30 Day Healthy Living Reboot. It’s not a diet (although my sister and niece have lost weight and inches and look fabulous), but more of a commitment to eat foods that support nutrition and eliminating those that hinder digestion. Like it or not, as we age, our bodies don’t tolerate the same foods we could eat in our younger years. Since I’m not a foodie or a cook (my sister got those genes), I don’t have a problem not eating many of the processed foods I ate in my youth. When I became a vegetarian 20 years ago, I pretty much made a commitment to healthier eating.

As part of the Healthy Living Reboot, my sister and niece are also participating in a free 35-day Mindset Reset, offered by author and motivational speaker, Mel Robbins. It’s not that I can’t benefit from healthier eating, but I definitely needed to reset my mindset! Plus, it sounded like a good complement to the mindfulness work I had been doing with the Texas Injury Prevention Leadership Collaborative. So, I agreed to do the Reboot and Mindset Reset with my sister and niece.

The Mindset Reset includes daily 20-30 minute videos and emails from Robbins to help train your brain to make small shifts in your mindset, reduce anxiety, and handle stress. I watch the videos in the evening just before getting into bed. I have to say, the tips have been helpful.

But after an already long stressful day, I was irritated with the request to “announce my 2019 resolution.” Then, I started getting emails for last-minute work requests, which meant that I was going to have to work late – again. By the time I got home, I was frustrated and frazzled. I’m not proud of this, but I responded to a text my sister sent with how ******* my day was. She texted back, “You should watch today’s Mindset Reset.” Are you kidding me? I wanted to open a bottle of wine – not add one more thing to my “to do” list.

But, I took a few deep breaths. And, I watched the video. And, I felt better.

In one of the videos, Robbins talked about having an “Unfollow Friday.” She suggested “unfollowing” any social media accounts that do not support your values or make you feel good. She said your social media channels should inspire, empower, entertain, educate and support you. Hearing this was validation for an act that I did on November 9, 2016. When I awoke that day, I was despondent and felt viscerally ill. In spite of how I felt, I got up and went to work. I spent most of the day in a daze, as did many of my staff and other colleagues. Probably the only productive thing I accomplished that day was to “unfollow” anyone on Facebook who posted vile comments about Hillary Clinton or positive comments about Donald Trump. I got a lot of negative comments about doing that from Facebook “friends” in Oklahoma who were offended by my action, but clearly didn’t really know or care about me.

When I saw Robbins video, I felt it gave me permission for my actions that day. I felt validated.

Clearly social media is here to stay, but the content doesn’t have to control our lives. We have the ability to choose inspiration over hate. We have the ability to reset our mindset.

Perhaps, I have a 2019 resolution after all.