How to Reset Your Mindset
The Nystrom & Associates provider consulted for this article is Travis Quinlan, MSW, LICSW, Dialectical Behavior Therapy Team Lead.
It’s perfectly okay to feel like you need to reset your mindset. We’ve all been there. Maybe it’s a lack of motivation, a sense of unproductivity, or you feel like you’re in a rut. Whatever the case, it’s completely normal.
The good news is this is a great time of year to reset your outlook on life. Your power comes from focusing on what you can control and taking steps to renew your mindset in a way that empowers and rejuvenates you.
Shift Toward Acceptance
The first step to reset your mindset is to accept your current circumstances and allow yourself to fully feel your emotions.When applying the “reset button” regarding our path towards addressing mental health, it can prove helpful to adopt a mindset of “radical acceptance.” Radical acceptance is a Dialectical Behavior Therapy skill that helps individuals to nonjudgmentally accept their currently experienced reality despite the temporary emotional pain of doing so. Once we radically accept reality, we can move from feeling mired in past difficulties into a state of readiness and positive progression. -Travis Quinlan, Dialectical Behavior Therapy Team Lead.To move forward in our lives, we must take into account what we're feeling, nonjudgmentally. This is not an opportunity to beat yourself up for the hardships you’ve faced. Rather, this is the time to accept and move forward. Related: Ways to Move Forward When You Feel Stuck
Address Your Routines & Habits
After acceptance, we need to take an action-oriented approach and address where our routines and habits stand. A few questions to ask yourself are:- Do you have a consistent routine in your day-to-day? If so, are your routines benefiting your mental and physical health? If not, how can they be improved?
- What are your current priorities and how have you been currently working towards them?
- Do you think you’re prioritizing the right things in your life?
- Does something need to shift so you can focus on your self-care or goals?
Clear Your Clutter
Just like cleaning up your habits and routines, spring is the perfect time to "clean out" your mental and physical clutter. Our physical surroundings play a huge role in our mental state, whether we are aware of it or not. Clutter affects our ability to focus and even spikes the stress hormone, cortisol. Here are a few things that can help reduce clutter and shift your mindset:- Dump your mental clutter. Write down all your to-do's, appointments, and events coming up. Take this time to jot down your thoughts and what's been bothering you lately; get whatever you need to on paper.
- Take the time to clean and reset spaces like your car, kitchen drawers, and closet.
- Start opening up your windows and let fresh air in. Fresh air allows the oxygen levels in your blood to go up. In turn, higher oxygen levels circulate to your brain which will improve your energy and concentration.
