It’s time for a change
IF YOU’RE FEELING STUCK IN LIFE, WINTER IS A GREAT CHANCE TO RESET
When the US motivational speaker and bestselling author, Mel Robbins, announced in April that she was launching a free course about a “life reset”, within hours more than 170,000 people had signed up. Via her Facebook page, Robbins shared with her followers that over the past year she had been feeling “stuck”, but she’d given her life and career a hard reset and was “blown away” by the results.
The post attracted emotional and heartfelt responses. “Loving the reset! I wasn’t aware of certain aspects that were holding me back,” commented one. “The question: how am I doing? So powerful … I just sat and sobbed,” commented another.
Psychologist, Mechelen echelen D’souza, agrees that at postpandemic, people are re feeling stuck for a variety reasons, from their social lives to exercise habits.
“During the pandemic, the pace of a person’s life either sped up or slowed down, depending nding on what was going on for them,” she says. “Adjusting dj ti to t a different pace can be difficult and lead to this feeling of ‘stuck-ness’.”
Eugenie Pepper, a psychotherapist and hypnotherapist, says that ongoing, prolonged stress, uncertainty, and feeling stuck can even lead to depression.
“The stressors are different depending on your stage of life,” she says. “It ranges from singles having difficulties dating, to people balancing young children, work, and ageing parents.”
Some experts claim that the struggles and duration of the pandemic have caused a loss of “resilience muscle” in some people.
“The term ‘resilience’ has been thrown around an awful lot since the pandemic,” says D’souza. “People are tired, yes, and perhaps their resilience muscle is fatigued, but certainly not lost. Australia has shown a hell of a lot of mental flexibility over the last two years. Individuals just need some time to reset, realign with what’s important, and jump back in.”
Pepper agrees. “I believe that many people have, and are, exercising their ‘resilience muscle’, and they are discovering they are stronger and more capable than they ever realised,” she says.
Mel Robbins Robb says that feeling stuck s is a sign that you need n to do something. som It’s also pe perfectly normal, and not n a problem. “When you’re thirsty, you don’t have a panic attack, you y get a glass of wa water,” says Robbins. “Bu But everyone makes the same sam mistake when they feel ‘ stuck’. They automatically t ti ll assume it means you need to completely uproot your life, but the truth is you don’t.”
Winter is the perfect time for a reset.
“The plus side of the cooler weather means less distractions that can elicit that t dreaded ‘fear r of missing out’ feeling,” says D’souza.
“Also understanding that winter months can lead to lower motivation, lower mood, and lower productivity means that you need to actively plan for a possible dip. Set aside some ‘life admin’ time with clear goals of what you would like to see your next few months look like, then set some goals.”
Robbins says that simple changes count. “Listen to a podcast, read a great book, sign up for a class, call up
an old friend, draw boundaries, or learn a new skill,” she says. “All you have to do is commit to trying something new every single day, no matter how small.”
Emma Walkinshaw is a personal development coach and yoga teacher from the Gold Coast who has benefited from winter resets over the years, including during the pandemic.
“It was a very challenging time having a bricks and mortar yoga studio in 2020,” she says. “I had to take a step back and re-evaluate everything.”
Walkinshaw, who’s a 46-year-old mum of two, says an effective “reset” can be achieved by yourself with a well-thoughtthought-out plan or with a group of like-minded l people. She’s d developed a daily practice prac called “21 Minutes Mi of Morning Magic” M especially for winter w months.
“I have run this in a group on Facebook,” she says. “We meet daily from Monday to Friday at six for 21 minutes.
“O Our time together consists consist of seven minutes of light yoga, yo seven minutes of meditation, and seven minutes of journaling.
“What this does is set up your day, or week, with focus.”
Another simple daily ritual is taking time out of the day for yourself alone. “Take a walk in nature without earphones, or have a cup of tea alone without distractions,” she says.
“In my experience, a commitment to 15 minutes a day for yourself is the gift that keeps on giving.”
Mel Robbins’ Reset Course: melrobbins.com/springreset/