Jabbing the Reset Button

Hello, friends!

I love the commercials for a certain big business corporation in which smiling "Every People" have only to click a big red button to suddenly, and magically, transform impossible situations into easy-breezy-and-beautiful and manageable.  If only *my* reset button were as simple to both find, press, and release!

Today's post is a first -- an bit of grading-fogged musing inspired by a fellow blogger.  Cori, aka Olive, at Olive to Run recently posted what she does to reset, or what I call "find your center," when her day gets started on the wrong foot.  In her case, as a runner, the wrong foot is probably quite literal...! At the end of her post, she poses two questions to get the brain churning. Hopefully, by allowing myself a little "bloggy break," I can return re-energized (and perhaps a little less caffeinated) to my Purple Pen of Justice and role as The Grading Fiend.  Only 3 more stacks to go...

Want More?

1. What do you do to hit the “reset button”?

> Purge: sleep, cry with purpose, vent, and get it all out!

When I get myself so worked up (by work and other things) that I can't even see straight, my first step is to remember to breathe.  I've learned that taking a "sick day" when I'm needing a mental health day wards off truly debilitating sickness that'll force me into bed for a week or more -- right when I can least afford to be beneath the covers!  Getting rid of my angst/negativity/dark emotions/stress in the deepest and most effective ways possible is NOT a pretty process, but it's necessary so as to confront it and avoid avoiding it.  Burying it down deep and just "working through it" leads to sleepless nights, overreactions to little things (like a student being late to turn in work or a jacked up pick up truck cutting me off on the highway), and illnesses such as mono or brochitis or strep for the upteenth time.

> Pamper: mani-pedi, shop, frozen yogurt, sushi, chocolate, etc.

Anything to go somewhere pretty to reward myself for what I have worked hard on and accomplished, rather than punish myself for what I have yet to do.  Why?  Because I deserve it, darn it!  And while it may seen counterproductive to laud my everyday tasks that I should/need to do, much like a helicoptor parent crowing over a toddler's "productivity" on the potty each time she ascends the porcelain throne, I *need* to hit pause every now and then and -- humbly, of course -- remind myself that, hell, I'm pretty darn awesome at my job, my domesticity, my hobbies, and my life!  Doing so rejuvenates my love for what I do and kickstarts a new little spark in my step.

> Exercise: yoga, run, walk, hike, zumba, etc.

Something physical, as Olivia Newton-John would sing (minus the leg warmers).  Exercise, especially running on a crisp fall evening, is truly nature's best medicine.  And free to boot!  Finding elusive time and energy (and money, if at the gym) is a challenge in itself, but towards the end and right after it concludes, I always feel... free... and ready to take on the world.  Annnnnd sexier/healthier/skinnier to boot!  ;-)

> Rock: clean, bake, shower, write, read/surf the net, chat, get lost, or go somewhere pretty!

As an Italian Goddess, again humble as well, I am well aware that my interior state is reflected in my exterior surroundings.  The more I need to reset, the messier my house becomes and the less I am in my kitchen.  Nothing helps me to reboot quite like taking some timet to straighten/clean up at least one room or area in my abode.  Preferably my bedroom (with laundry time) or the kitchen (with baking time).  I bake out my stress -- but, fun fact, I can't eat what I make when I do so.  My students/roomies/colleagues love it, but I still need to mull over why that is what it is...

If my abode is just too overwhelming and I just do *NOT* have the time or mental energy to deal with it, I leave.  Simple, no?  It isn't escapism as much as it is "I need pretty things now!"  The coffee shop, library, friend's living room, nature park, or museum work wonders to get me out of my PJs (or less, ooh la la!) and into work-or-life mode.  PS: Do not underestimate the power of a shower.  'Nuff said!  Out of yoga pants and into something that makes me feel, again, both pretty and pretty nifty.

If I can't take off the yoga pants quite quite quite yet, then I go out into nature and turn off all technology/ties to responsibilities and NEED-TO-DOs for an hour or so.  After I finish hyperventilating, I start to appreciate the changing leaves, rustles of wind and squirrel, and lazy clouds waving back at me from the sky.  After 31 years on this planet, I am constantly amazed by how soothing and just plain amazing Mother Nature is -- and how "tomorrow IS another day," and life won't implode is I need to miss or adjust one of my many self-imposed (and ultimately unrealistic) deadlines.

What is one way you love to “give back”?

While the first question was undoubtedly easier to generate answer(s) to, for I tackle "resets" on a regular basis, this second query forced my thought train to a screeching halt.  One way.  I.  Love.  Give back.  Working in public relations (isn't that what education is, truly, at times?), I feel the vampiric drain of "giving" and "giving back" on a regular basis.  Obviously, I enjoy what I do, or else I wouldn't continue to do it (and volunteer far more than my paycheck warrants).

With that said, I am thoughtful when I think about "loving" to "give back" in ways that don't involve education.  As a teenager, I maxed out on volunteer opportunities (THANK you, 4-H!), to the point where I still get a metallic taste of bitterness whenever I hear the words "community service."  You name it, I did it -- soup kitchens, building houses, roadside clean up, shelters of all types, animal rescue, city gardens, etc.  I loved certain moments, to be sure, but the pretentiousness of it all... hence the metal bitter blech curling my upper lip!

How to "give back"?  Something to continue to ponder -- but, for now, it's grading time!

Any answers, friends?   Or thoughts?  Heck, a joke would be nice right about now too!  Bonus if it involves the Despicable Me minions... ;-)

Onwards!

~Dirty Diva