From time to time, pretty much everyone could use a little “reboot” in their life – an opportunity to pause, reflect, and step into a better and more uplifting mode of living.
There are all sorts of things that people do in order to help create these “reboot” moments for themselves, ranging from the popular annual tradition of New Years resolutions, to the rituals and ordeals involved in something like an ayahuasca retreat.
Some ways of “rebooting” are obviously going to be tailored to specific situations, while others will be for more dramatic cases.
Here are a few things you can try in order to reboot your life, regardless of what circumstances you find yourself in.
Begin only doing one thing at a time
It seems almost obligatory, these days, for everyone to be multitasking all the time, and trying to juggle a dozen or more different chores, projects, or ideas, at the exact same instance.
In fact, though, living like this is one of the surest ways of guaranteeing that you never feel in control, and always feel stressed, distracted, confused, and irritated.
Psychological researchers have actually found that multitasking specifically causes problems for the brain, and leads to elevated stress levels.
Beyond this, though, when you are trying to focus on too many things at once, you are not really deeply engaging with any one thing. This means you are likely to underperform, while also struggling to properly organise your thoughts, or make things happen the way you want.
So, if you want to reboot your life, start by committing to only doing one thing at a time. It may feel weird – even uncomfortable – for a while, but the rewards may be significant shortly down the line.
Unplug and ignore the noise
The famous Norwegian explorer Erling Kagge once walked solo to the South Pole, and his only means of communication was broken for most of that trek.
The result was that he walked in more or less perfect silence for a pretty long time.
Surprisingly, though, he doesn’t think this was a bad experience at all. In fact, it’s part of what inspired him to write a book called “Silence in the Age of Noise,” in which he argues that we are all too distracted these days, and that this distraction stops us from getting in touch with the deepest parts of ourselves.
So, consider unplugging, removing yourself from the vortex of information and social media arguments, and enjoying a bit of “silence.” You might find a much calmer, more focused, and more positive view on the other side.
Simplify your life, and go back to basics
Even if you are doing one thing at a time, and are finding opportunities for “silence” on a regular basis, your life can still be too “cluttered” with different obligations, projects, and hobbies, for you to really feel in control.
As much as you are able to, it can really pay to simplify your life, and to go back to basics.
In other words, say “no” to more things, and do less stuff, but make the things you do really count.
