How to Reset Your Brain
By: Sinem Günel
Tags: Self Improvement, Mental Health, Personal Development, Brain, Personal Growth

With everything that’s been going on in 2020, I know I’m not the only one who asked herself if there’s a way to refresh my mind and be more focused. As someone who barely watches the news, I still found myself worrying and feeling anxious way more often than I prefer.

That’s why I spent the past weeks asking myself how to reset my brain to let go of the negative emotions tied to 2020. My goal was to find a process that would help me end this year with more positive than negative feelings.

During my research, I came across brilliant minds such as Jim Kwik, who’ve been studying the brain for decades.

According to Kwik, the key to reset your mind is taking small steps to feel safe in the present moment. That’s because it’s impossible to feel well and perform at our best if we don’t feel safe.

Here are some more of these small steps that might help you untangle your mind and feel more relaxed, even during difficult times:

Honor Your Habits

The easiest yet most underrated way to feel safer and have a sense of control is by sticking to a daily routine.

The pandemic forced many of us to change our daily schedules and adapt to a new reality during our work and private lives.

Yet, what most people underrate is that we can still follow certain routines that make us feel safe and give us a sense of stability, no matter how noisy the world seems to be.

Even though you might have to work from home, take care of the kids, and follow other duties, creating routines will help you feel more relaxed.

For me, the cornerstone is to take care of what I do first thing in the morning.

My morning routine helps me start each day with a positive intention and take time for my personal and spiritual growth, no matter how busy the rest of the day will be.

I’ve already been working from home before the pandemic, yet, I’ve been spending lots of time outside. I’ve been eating out almost daily, joining events, and going to the gym. Now that I’m spending 99% of my time at home (mostly in front of my computer), I find it even more important to take care of myself.

Otherwise, I quickly find myself feeling overwhelmed.

When I wake up late or have a busy schedule, I’m often tempted to skip my morning routine and dive straight into work, but whenever I did that, I regretted it.

During the past months, I learned how hard it is to perform at my best if I try to force myself to do certain things instead of taking care of my wellbeing.

How you can do it:

Take a few minutes to remind yourself of all the routines that helped you feel happier, healthier, and more relaxed in the past.

Once you have a few ideas, ask yourself how you could incorporate some of them into your current daily life despite everything that’s going on.

Coming up with these solutions might not be easy, but it will be worth it.

You can think of routines to practice before and after work, exercise habits, eating habits, routines with your kids or partner, and rituals that might help you feel more relaxed.

Quite often, we tend to overcomplicate life. To give your brain a mental restart, allow yourself to honor the simple things such as a few calm minutes during breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Your daily routines can be anything: a daily green smoothie that helps you feel more energized, a warm bath, a 30-minute walk, or anything else that enables you to regain mental clarity.

The most important rule when creating those new routines is to start small.

Aiming for five new habits all at once will likely end up in frustration. Instead, begin with one or two small steps and make sure you stick to them, no matter how busy life gets.