BWW Blog: Hitting the Reset Button

Happy New Year! When I was younger I never quite understood the hype surrounding the end of a year and the start of a new one. The traditions of counting down the last minute of New Year's Eve, making loud noises and yells when the clock struck twelve, engaging in champagne toasts with my family are moments of this precious holiday that I took part in, but I never really grasped the beauty behind why we do these things, and what they really mean. It wasn't until senior year of high school, and yes, albeit a bit late, where I did discover the hidden gem of such a momentous holiday, and a moment that happened today where it all clicked together.

I was on the phone with my Aunt this morning and we discussed various things in our life that were either not what we wanted them to be, or not present when we expected them to be there -- whether it's, for example, the relationships we have with the people around us, or the lack of fruit from the labor we produce each and everyday; it seems like nothing is going right, or nothing is being received from the hard work we put in. Among the frenzy and agitation, she told me that what she believes she has to do is just "hit the reset button." What an interesting thing to say, I thought to myself. The "reset button" isn't a physical Adam Sandler "Click-like" remote that allows one to just redo anything they would like up until a certain point, it's a tool, a mindset, a vow, a challenge to oneself to take a step back, evaluate, meditate, and remove themselves from a cloudy moment to figure out how to dive back into it, and how to see the sun again.

Take for instance, weight-lifting. When lifters hit the gym, and begin to train their bodies to lift said weights by exposing themselves to repetitions of four or so sets, they take a break between each set to give the muscles time to relax, or "reset," in order to gain the strength to continue on. Not only this, but lifters, typically if not all the time, do not work the same part of their body every day of the week. Why is that? It is an invitation to injury and a welcome-mat to wasted time. They pause, they hit the reset button, work on something else that hasn't been attended to, and then when it's time to return, they'll have the strength to do so. I assure you I only know this because I myself lift weights!

This brings me back to the story of my ignorance to the power of the new year. In high school I really thought about how when one year ends we never see it again -- that's it, no more, technically. While we say goodbye to the year itself, we don't completely ignore the hardships or difficulties, the deterrents or the lows that we've faced, but we use them to inform, and inspire, the way we face those challenges in the new year. This is much how lifters use what their bodies are telling them in order to decide how to tackle the weights again, so that they may protect themselves from injury.

The New Year's celebration is a time to both understand "how" to reset yourself and an encouragement to do so. It's a summons to rise back up from where you fell, and to remind you that it is okay to step back and say "I need a break. I need to reset." We are not superhuman and the world will rarely ever present itself as we want to embark through it. Our lives will never be struggle free and easy to live through. While that may sound cynical, it is the truth. However, there is no rule in our lives that says we are required to be strong every step of the way. It's unhealthy to force yourself into believing you can handle something when your body and mind are telling you to just sit down. A reset button isn't just a luxury, it's a necessity and a tool that I hope humanity begins to use more in this new year. Who knows, maybe it'll make us all kinder towards one another. So when you celebrate the new year, and all the ones to come, think "so that's what the countdown is for, what the champagne is for, what the hollers and yells are for." Exactly. An opportunity to reset, to look at what's in front of you, to breathe, and to dive back in when your mind and soul are ready. Breathe, dive in, happy new year, reset.