What Does It Mean to R.E.S.S.E.T (reset)
Life is made of a series of cycles that have a start, a middle and an end. You can see this process throughout many different aspects of life. There is a morning, an afternoon and evening. As you grow up, you go through being a child, an adult and an elderly person. We see the same pattern in our breathing – there is an inhale, a pause and an exhale. The transition in between these cycles is the key to it all. There is a transition, a break, or a pause in between every cycle, and this transition gives us the opportunity to prepare for the next cycle. As humans, we need to download and repair our system at night during sleep so we can be ready for the next cycle. This break is also essential to the continuum of the process. Without that break, there is no cycle.
Most things in nature have a break. Even a circle, which most people think has no break, really is a sine wave where there is an up, a down and an end (you can see this in the image below). Therefore, when we are undergoing a chaotic, stressful or anxious moment, to break this cycle there must be a pause or a transition period. And that is the key to the R.E.S.S.E.T process.
The R.E.S.S.E.T process is divided into two pillars – RES and SET - R.E.S stands for Reduced Environmental Stimuli, and S.E.T, stands for Self-Evaluation Techniques.
RES is the break that is required to end that cycle, and we can only achieve this break by reducing all the stimuli around us. By doing this, we are moving towards putting an end to the cycle of stress, anxiety, overwhelm and more. For example, in order to put an end to your day, you must sleep. During sleep a greater amount of external stimuli is decreased, and with that you are able to repair, rejuvenate and revitalize so you can start a new day (i.e. a new cycle) with a fresh new perspective. This is what we aim at with our R.E.S.S.E.T pillars because once the cycle ends and a break is created then we have the ability to evaluate the situation (SET) from a different perspective.
Think about it this way: imagine that you are heated, overstimulated and being bombarded by emotions because you are in an argument. Then you realize that you can use the R.E.S.S.E.T technique to help calm yourself down. You may choose to use a breathing technique from one of our workshops or grab a R.E.S.S.E.T card with your favorite technique. Therefore, in this moment, you apply the first pillar - RES – you reduce environmental stimuli by simply becoming aware of your breath or one of your senses described on your R.E.S.S.E.T card. This creates a break between the situation, the environment and yourself. And because of this you can now apply the second pillar SET – proper self-evaluation techniques. You are able to evaluate the situation and yourself, and you realize there is no point for you to be upset or angry and it becomes easier for you to defuse the situation and help everyone involved.
We normally apply this technique effortlessly when we are no longer associated with a situation or better yet when there has been enough time between the situation and you can truly see what was going on and how you are not attached to the stimuli of the moment. This is why you always hear people say that “hindsight is 20/20.” A great example of this is looking back on any argument you had with a loved one. In the moment, you were probably heated, were not fully listening to your partner, and bombarded by tons of emotions and thoughts. In the moment, you may have thought your partner didn’t understand you or was not being fair, but looking back with hindsight and detaching yourself from the situation you are able to more accurately assess what was happening and even understand your partner’s perspective. Imagine if instead of having this clarity days after the argument, you were able to pause or take a break in the moment calm down (RES) and then properly assess yourself and the situation (SET). The outcome would most likely have been resolved much easier for both you and your partner.
The R.E.S.S.E.T technique of RES can easily be prompted or brought about by simply using your senses. By focusing in on one of your senses, you are able to reduce environmental stimuli and calm down opening up space for you to use the second pillar SET. Our R.E.S.S.E.T cards provide you with 54 research-backed and individualized techniques that teach you how to use the RES techniques anytime and anywhere simply by using your senses. Learn more about our R.E.S.S.S.ET Cards here.