Hit the RESET Button for 2022

Today you have a great opportunity for a RESET. Actually that’s not entirely true – every day you have an opportunity for a RESET, but today is a bit different. New Year’s Eve somehow makes it a bit easier to consider a reset. It’s a time when many of us contemplate life in 2022 and how we want things to be different.

The definition of a RESET is to switch something off, then switch it back on in order to get it working better. It works beautifully in the ICT space (anyone ever called the IT help desk with a problem???). It can also work wonders for us as people. You see, as human beings we are really good at carrying things around with us and not letting go. This can be beliefs, attitudes, self-doubt, emotional baggage and even just unhelpful thoughts. If we carry them around long enough they become facts. These ‘facts’ then become the reasons why we can’t or won’t take the steps we need to take.

A RESET can be a simple but effective way to change these unhelpful patterns.  As you reflect on 2021 and contemplate 2022, try the following to make it more likely your RESET will work:

Believe that it is possible to RESET – Sometimes we find ourselves thinking things like “that’s just how I am”, or “I’ve always been like that”.  Try instead connecting with this – just because something has been like it is in the past (even if it has been that way for the last 40 years), it doesn’t automatically follow that this is how it will be in the future.  You actually have some say in this. Give yourself permission to RESET.

Swap your “I hope 2022 will be better/different” thinking to “what will I do to make 2022 better”.  These don’t have to be massive, transformational shifts; rather simple steps you can take that will make a difference.  Think setting the alarm 15 minutes earlier to avoid the stress of a last minute rush, daily walks, gratitude activities, etc.

Compile your “leverage and let go lists” – create a list of your strengths, values and helpful beliefs; the things that really worked for you in 2021.  These will be the things you focus on doing more of (leverage) in 2022.  Now write a list of the unhelpful, self-critical, self-limiting beliefs that prevented you from being who you wanted to be in 2021.  These will be the things you consciously choose to let go of in 2022.

Write down what you will do differently – keeping your RESET plans in your head makes it likely they will stay forever in the realm of good intentions. Make it more likely that it will happen by writing it down and putting that note someone you cant ignore it. Want to make it even more likely – tell someone about it.

I encourage you to use this opportunity to try out something different for 2022. Each year, in January and February, I typically run a series of sessions (live and virtual) to help teams RESET and RE-ENERGISE for the new year. Reach out to discuss what I can do for your team.