When you feel like your life is falling apart and nothing goes right, you might benefit from a proper life reset.
You are never too old to twist your life around when you need it to, try to remain positive that you can and will enjoy your life one day. Whether you don’t like your life because every area of it doesn’t seem like you expected it to be, or maybe just one or two areas don’t go as planned, you need to start doing something differently to make a change. If you aren’t feeling good about your life, make a change sooner rather than later.
It’s also possible that you like your life, but that you’ve been living like a teenager when you are already an adult and want to make a positive change to make yourself and your family proud of you. As life goes by, we all grow and change, and sometimes it can be good to hit the brakes and look at where you are at and where you want to be in the future.
A life reset is a way to go if you want a new start in life. Where you are living more according to your values and setting up life goals for yourself. Let’s get started!
This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase through these links, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure for more info.
5 steps towards your life reset
I will start by discussing the steps you need to take to start changing your life and have a proper life reset.
You can apply these steps to every area of your life so make sure to read and give them all a go.
1. Start with reflection and introspection
Some people jump into things without thinking, and some other people keep overthinking everything and never take any action. Both aren’t that great. Ideally, you start with thinking about things and take action after you think about them and consider the pros, cons, and alternatives long enough.
Reflecting on your past is a good start to your life reset. You should spend some time thinking about the things you don’t like about your life and figure out why you don’t like them or how you would like them to be different in the future. Look for answers within yourself by doing introspection.
Before making decisions about your future, it would be helpful to know who you are, what you stand for, and what you want out of life. Maybe you wanted different things 5 years ago than now and that’s okay and very normal.
Spend some time alone or maybe with a therapist or trusted relative or friend to figure out what your wants and needs are in life. Learn your values and goals to work towards them in the future and to make your life reset happen.
Make lists of all the things you want differently and when you have any idea of how to change them, write it down. Listen to yourself and don’t let others make these decisions for you because it is your life. You are the designer of your life.
2. Do some research
When you have done all the thinking and reflecting you possibly can, you might find yourself getting stuck, this is when it is time to do some research!
Doing research doesn’t have to be difficult, you are doing this to learn more about yourself and what you want in your different areas of life. You know more about yourself than the internet does obviously, but it can give you some guidance during your exploration.
Personality Type
I would recommend taking some personality tests first, they are all over the internet and a lot of them are free. The MBTI personality types or the Enneagram types are great for giving you more direction in your life and ideas to explore. You take a test online and then you will get your results and know which type of person you are (according to the test). You could get some great insights this way as the tests are often very extensive and dig deep into your preferences. You could take it multiple times to see if you end up with the same type every time (that’s what I did).
When you know your personality type, you can do some research about the life areas that you are curious about for that type. For example, I am an ISFJ according to the MBTI test and now I can look for things like ISFJ jobs or ISFJ and relationships, etc.
You can Google this or do some research on Pinterest or Reddit for example to find out more about the preferences of your personality type. If the specifics of the ISFJ type don’t speak to me, I could also check ISTJ as for me, the F and T were almost the same percentage. Maybe this goes for you as well.
Research different areas for your life reset
When you have figured yourself out or you’ve gotten a little closer to knowing yourself, it’s time to do some research about the things you are interested in to change.
Before you make a career change for example, you might want to search the internet for jobs that might fit your personality and then dig a little deeper into those jobs, to figure out the details and what they are all about. You could also go old-school on this one and ask family members or friends if they are hiring or know a job that might be a good fit for you.
This goes for every area of your life. If you want to find love, research some of the best dating apps or places where you can meet people. Look up great first-date ideas or maybe topics to discuss when you are on a first date.
If you want to figure out your financial situation, start learning more about personal finance by lending out books from the local library, looking online for information, or asking a relative who would like to share their tips and tricks with you.
A life reset needs research to create a well-thought-out change. You could just jump into things, but when you think about it in advance and rule out certain things you don’t want to try, you will most likely make progress a lot faster.
3. Take action!
After all the thinking, reflecting, researching, etc. it’s time to take action! This step might throw some people off, as a lot of people overanalyze and overthink and don’t actually make a change happen.
Before you can take action, you should create a plan for how you are going to do things. Create a doable plan that is divided into different subactions so that you will stay motivated during your actions toward change.
It’s so important to start acting after a good consideration of all your options. When you don’t do or change anything, you are choosing to stay stuck.
Start small, if you want to change multiple areas in your life, it might be too overwhelming to try and change them all at once. Go after one area first and when you see some progress, you could add another one to it.
You will feel great when you start to see some progress towards the situation you want. Celebrate all the tiny milestones you are reaching. Be proud!
4. Embrace being uncomfortable for a while
Humans in general don’t always love change. Some people even hate change as it makes them very uncomfortable. We often prefer to stay miserable in a relationship or job we don’t like, than to go into the unknown and face a lot of uncertainty.
You should embrace the uncomfortable feeling of not knowing for a while. When you are trying one thing after another, focus on feeling what feels right for you and what doesn’t. Give every opportunity enough time, even if it feels wrong at first as this could be because of the nerves that you are having of embarking on something new.
If the change stays uncomfortable, this could be a sign that something is still missing or is not right just yet. Try something else and move on. But remember to have patience and stick with something until you are sure that it is not for you.
Also, know yourself in this case. Some people have great gut feelings about situations that aren’t right for them, whereas others might get paralyzed by their anxiety and don’t know if they do not like the new thing or if they are just anxious about the change. Only you know your truth.
A life reset might be uncomfortable for a while, but it is worth it in the end!
5. Reflect again
After tipping your foot into the water and trying something new, take some time to reflect on your new experiences.
When you take time to pause and reflect on what’s been going on, you can find out what is working for you and what isn’t. And when you find out what is not working for you, you can let it go.
It would be helpful to set goals for yourself at the beginning of this journey of change, so you can see after some time if you’ve reached them or where you are at.
Reflection will allow you to change course if something is not working out and create a new game plan. Life reset, here we come!
Now let’s talk about the different areas of your life where you could use a reset, so skip to the ones you need or read them all if you need a whole life reset!
The different areas of your life reset
Career
Your career makes up a big part of your life, as you are likely to spend many hours at work to bring home enough money to pay the bills and live your life. And it is because you spend that many hours working, you should be able to find a career you love, like, or at least don’t hate!
When you loathe every hour you spend at work, and experience the Sunday night blues your entire Sunday, it might be time for a career change. Think long and hard about this one, as it isn’t always that easy to find another job. Start looking and exploring other interests that might become a stream of income while you are still working your current job to be financially secure.
If you have the money to stop working for a while and can not spend another day at your current job, it might be good for you to take a sabbatical to think your life through. Self-care is so important and staying in a toxic job can screw with your mental health, weigh out your options and find out which job you would like to try next!
Relationships
One reason why people stay in toxic jobs and toxic relationships is the ‘sunk cost fallacy‘. This ‘sunk cost fallacy’ means that because of all the time you have already invested in the job or relationship, you shouldn’t just quit and throw all the time and effort out of the window. Because of what you’ve put into it in the past, you don’t want to end it today because you see it as a waste. This isn’t a good way of thinking at all, as it keeps you stuck for a whole lot longer than desirable.
When you have a toxic relationship or just aren’t happy anymore in your relationship, it is time to move on. Of course, you should try and fix your problems first, but if the same things keep happening and there is no progress for the better, it might be good to stop it altogether.
In your life reset, you can deal with different relationships you want to change or end. Relationships like friendships, relationships with relatives, romantic relationships, etc. Whenever a relationship is not working out for you, when you are not gaining anything from it and it only depletes you, then you should reevaluate it to decide whether or not to continue the relationship.
You could also look actively to find and build new relationships if you want to find a partner or new friend. Surround yourself with people that make you feel happy and fulfilled in life.
Health
You can also choose to do a life reset to improve your health. Health is very broad and covers your physical, emotional, and mental health as well.
As a child, everything in your body seems to function well without giving it much of a thought. You don’t have the pains in your back, neck, shoulder, knees, etc. that might come up as you age. Your physical health could use an upgrade if you have neglected your body by not working out or not eating healthy. Try to find a way to move your body that you enjoy and can sustain to empower your physique. Focus on eating healthy foods every day.
When you find yourself with poor mental health, maybe give therapy a go. You can read many things on the internet to improve your mental health, but working together with a therapist might improve your mental well-being even more.
If you don’t like the idea of speaking to a therapist, you might want to open up about your problems to a friend or relative who is willing to listen. Another perspective on your outlook on life can be really beneficial at times. Feeling connected to others is very important for your overall health.
Financial situation
When your finances are all over the place or you find yourself going into debt every single month, consider doing a financial life reset. If you are not already having a budget in place, it might be time to start budgeting so you can gain control over your financial situation.
You can improve your financial situation in many different ways such as by raising your income, lowering your expenses, setting up financial goals and saving money for them, etc. Check out the personal finance section in my blog.
Getting more financial knowledge is empowering and will help you to do better in the future. Learn as much as you can to improve your situation and start acting to improve your life!
Hobbies and fun
When you are done working, you hopefully have some free time to spend however you would like. Hobbies and fun times can make us feel happy and alive.
What is enjoyable to you might differ from the things that others like to do. Don’t think about social norms and try to do things that you truly enjoy.
As a kid, some people are forced to have certain hobbies because it is good for their development or because their parents think it is a fun way to spend their free time. This might be good for the development of the child, but how are they supposed to know what they like to do when everything gets chosen for them?
Choose your hobbies based on whether you like them or not. If you are looking for a new hobby, try some things out to see which hobby you like and if you don’t like them, that’s all good, try another one! Focus on the fun and not the achievements you may or may not have with them.
Living situation
If you hate your living situation, it’s time to do something about this in your life reset. This can be easier said than done because to change your living situation you might need a lot of money.
You could still be living at your parents’ house and desperately want to start living alone, or you could live in a way too small apartment with your boyfriend where you drive each other crazy. Many other scenarios would drive a person crazy if they had to keep living like this.
Start saving to change your living situation for the better and if that takes you too long, consider other options like looking for a roommate to finally leave your parents’ house for example.
You could also negotiate with your parents or roommates to create some changes within your current living environment to make it more pleasant for you.
Personal development
Last but not least, adding some personal development into your life reset. Remember I mentioned taking personality tests to help you with your research? This can help you take a deep dive into growing as a person.
In what areas do you want to grow? Do you want to get better at organization or time management? Or would you like to explore your spiritual side you didn’t know you had?
There are countless things you can do to keep growing and developing yourself into the person you want to be. Find out who you want to be and how to get there by following the 5-steps listed above.