Are you ready to reset your life?
Whether it’s the beginning of a new year, a new month, a new week, or even if it’s just 2:00 pm on a Thursday, you might feel the need for a refreshing new start.
The good news is, you can reset your life anytime.
In this article, we’re going to talk about a super-simple 3-step process to hitting “reset” on your life, anytime and anywhere. By the end of this article, you’ll have the tools to get you on the way to a “New You” super quickly.
Like, 15 minutes or less quickly.
A note before we begin: Remember to start small when you’re resetting your life. The biggest downfall people run into when they reset their life is trying to change too much at once.
If you try to change too much at once, you’ll get overwhelmed and give up on all of it.
The most meaningful and lasting change happens slowly and gently.
And the truth is, small changes add up to amazing results! If you can improve something by 1% every day for a year, you’ll end up 37 times better than how you started.
Pretty cool, huh?
Here are the 3 steps to starting your life reset:
1. Decide one aspect of the person you want to be.
You don’t have to do a full personality audit right now (unless you want to). Remember, we’re starting small, so just think about one aspect of the person you want to be.
We’re focusing on who you are versus what you want to do because changing your identity is more likely to lead to a change in behavior.
So, if you have something you want to do, rephrase it into a statement that describes the type of person you want to be.
Use these phrases as a guide:
- “I’m the type of person who ________.”
- “I’m someone who _________.”
Just start with one statement for now. Pick an area of your life that you want to improve in, and make sure it resonates with you. It should make you excited and give you a little spark inside.
Even the way you phrase this identity statement can help determine whether it resonates with you or not. Phrase it in a way that makes you excited.
For example, do the following statements resonate with you in different ways?
“I’m someone who eats healthy.”
vs.
“I’m someone who nourishes my body with wholesome foods that make me feel awesome.”
There’s no wrong or right way to phrase these things, just choose something that resonates with you and sparks that excitement inside!
**Pro tip: Use ChatGPT to get ideas for how you can rephrase your statements.**
(Check out the table below to see more examples of identity statements you might choose.)
2. Do something small that provides evidence of the person you are.
Once you’ve got your statement, do something small that supports your identity.
For “I’m someone who eats healthy,” your small act could be eating broccoli at lunch.
Do it as soon as possible. Like, within 15 minutes, if you can. The point of this small act is to provide evidence to yourself that you are in fact that kind of person.
It builds your self-efficacy, or belief in your ability to successfully complete a task.
In other words, it provides you with a strong start!
3. Make a plan to do something like that every day.
Be as specific as possible. Decide where and when you’ll do it and write it down.
You could write in a planner, the calendar app on your phone, or even on a piece of lined notebook paper that you tape to your fridge.
Start with the small thing you completed in the previous step and build on that.
For “I’m someone who eats healthy,” you could write down “broccoli – lunch” on each day in your planner, or choose a different vegetable for every day – whatever feels doable and inspiring to you.
For “I’m someone who practices gratitude,” you could set a reminder in your phone to write down 5 things you’re grateful for each night at 9:00 pm.
Here are some other examples of identity statements:
| Identity Statement | Action Plan |
| I’m someone who doesn’t miss a workout two days in a row (I got that one from James Clear’s Atomic Habits). | Do an at-home workout before breakfast every day. |
| I’m someone who reads before bed instead of scrolling on her phone. | Keep a book on my nightstand and read one chapter before bed. |
| I’m someone who reaches out to a friend once a week. | Call a friend every Sunday afternoon. |
| I’m someone who only uses social media for 15 minutes a day. | Set a timer for 15 minutes after dinner and get on social media then. Sign out of my social media apps until the next day. |
| I’m someone who meditates for 10 minutes every day. | Set a timer for 10 minutes and meditate before breakfast. |
| I’m someone who only watches one episode of TV a day (This is my goal lately). | Watch an episode with my partner at 8:00 pm (ish) every night. |
| I’m someone who tidies my house every night. | Spend 10 minutes after dinner tidying up the house. |
| I’m someone who works on [insert favorite hobby] every week. | Work on [insert favorite hobby] from 4:30-5:00 pm on Fridays. |
| I’m someone who reads to my kids every night. | Read a chapter of Harry Potter to my kids at 8:00-8:15 pm every night. |
Important Note
Don’t go from “Zero” to “Every Day.”
Remember what I said about starting small. If you never, ever workout, don’t expect yourself to workout every day. Start with “I’m someone who works out every week.”
After a few weeks, change your identity statement to “I’m someone who works out 3 times a week,” then eventually build up to “I’m someone who works out every day.”
Conclusion
This easy 3-step process is the perfect way to begin completely changing your life, even within 15 minutes.
Changing your life doesn’t mean changing everything at once! Remember, start small.
1. Make a change to how you view yourself. Internalize it: “I’m someone who __________.”
2. Do something to support that identity NOW.
3. Plan to do more of that and write down those plans.
Best of luck!
