Press Restart

Regardless what we’re recovering from, the journey we have embarked on is often a tediously long one. It’s not a straight line, it’s not a quick fix and this can be a severe headache to anyone on it. Sometimes the finish line seems to be nowhere in sight and when the process isn’t exactly progressing smoothly; we can wonder are we even still on the right track.

However, as the saying goes, ‘what’s worth having doesn’t come easy’ and with so much to learn throughout this journey, it’s incredibly rewarding to do whatever you can to stick with it. It will get better and the entire trip will help to shape the recovered person you’re en route to being.

As with any journey requiring this level of dedication, we need to accumulate a pretty hefty box of tools to assist with maintenance along the way.

One such tool is to: Press Restart

One of the things I’ve found helpful throughout my own journey, is just restarting.

At any moment, we can simply start again.

I know from my own experience that during difficult days, it's so easy to make sweeping statements that make restarting the furthest idea from mind:

‘I’ve ruined the day/week/recovery’

‘It’s just a bad day.’

‘The whole week was a write off’.

‘I can’t do it today/this week/at all’.

These kinda leave little wiggle room for improvement don’t they?

Don't commit to such big statements. I’ve been there, I would have the entire week (and subsequently, myself) marked down as a failure due to a few bad ‘days’ which in reality were really only a few hours in the day and these days could have been improved with a quick restart.

Through doing this, we can inject a bit more hope, we can stop the negative thoughts, and we can remember why we even want change. It doesn’t matter the time of day, week or whatever reason we’re using to keep stuck, always take a minute to restart.

Restarting can just mean: 

-         Regaining focus: Take a moment to recall why you are recovering. Consider what’s not helpful right now- what can you do to change it?

-         Retraining our thinking. How is your self talk? From now on how would you like it to be? Which thoughts could you do without and which would you like to add more of?

-         Rebuilding our strength: Put energy into supporting yourself, going easier on yourself, improving your self care.

-         Resuming our fight: we might have gotten disheartened or de-motivated but it’s always a good time to resume the fight.

Aim to see the full picture and let go of slip ups, don't allow them to keep overflowing into the next hour or day, end their reign with your new start.

Remember it's up to you; do you want it to be an entirely bad week or would it be preferable to start again whenever you feel the need?

If you press restart at any time of the day you encouraging a new lease of strength into your day and trust me, this journey needs to see as much of your strength as possible.