5 Ways to Reset When You Have Too Much on Your Mind
For the one who makes sure everyone is okay—but no one ever knows when you’re not. 5 ways to release what you’re carrying, find your center, and keep moving without missing a beat.
I don’t like to talk about stress. I like to relieve it.
Most of the time, expressing what I’m carrying is the last thing I want to do. I’d rather find my way through the turbulence—quietly, privately, in whatever way brings me back to myself. Give me a problem to solve and I can do it.
And walking around with a frown is not my cup of tea either. I don’t like taking what I’m feeling out on other people, so a lot of the time, I’ll stay to myself until the wave passes—or hide in plain sight, with pleasantries, making it about the other person while I find my own way back.
Does that sound familiar?
As of late, I’ve found that certain rituals have helped me do exactly that: release without unraveling, process without performing, and come back to myself without making what I’m carrying everybody else’s responsibility.
And that made me think about something bigger: What do you do when you’re the person who usually knows what to do—but this time, you’re the one carrying too much?
When Talking About It Becomes a Hamster Wheel
Who can you talk to? Who can you trust?
Sometimes letting it out with a trusted friend is exactly what you need. But sometimes venting—or telling the same story over and over—becomes its own hamster wheel.
You talk about it. Revisit the details. Replay the conversations. Circle back to what happened, what was said, what you wish had been different—and somewhere along the way, instead of releasing it, you begin to harbor it.
For me, I’ve discovered there’s another way. Sometimes I need to get outside and let the world become bigger than whatever is occupying my mind.
Fresh air. Quietness. Music with soothing frequencies. Watching the butterflies flutter around my butterfly bush. Admiring the sparrows. Hearing the unmistakable call of the red cardinals before I even see them. Feeling the wind change. Looking up at the sky.
There’s something about watching nature carry on that reminds me that life does, too.
Think about it. They’re not overthinking. They’re not replaying yesterday. They’re not waiting to be chosen. They’re not wondering whether somebody misunderstood them. They’re not hoping someone comes along and saves them.
Nature just keeps moving.
And that’s not a knock on wanting to be rescued. We all want to feel rescued at some point. We all have those moments when we think, This cannot be happening. When we want something—anything—to shift. When life simply isn’t getting better as quickly as we hoped, or in the timely way we thought it would.
But sometimes, while we’re waiting for the bigger thing to change, we can change what we do with the moment we’re standing in.
So what do you do while you’re in it?
Finding Your Own Way to Let It Out
Sometimes you simply want to keep something to yourself. Not because you don’t trust the people around you, and not because they wouldn’t want to help. Sometimes people simply don’t know how to help—and that’s okay.
You don’t need 10 different opinions to confuse you when you can trust your own judgment.
Sometimes what you need isn’t another answer. You just need enough quiet to hear your own.
And if you need a way to reset, here are 5 things you might try.
1. Take Off Your Shoes and Touch the Grass
Take off your shoes and touch the grass. Touch the earth. Connect.
Forget about what has to be done right then and there and just be with nature. Look up at the sky. Pray. Stretch your hands. Do whatever comes naturally, but whatever you do, let this be your moment to simply be present.
Notice your surroundings. Does the wind pick up? Does a plane fly overhead? Do you hear a lawn mower go off? What are your thoughts? What are you releasing?
You don’t have to make anything happen. For that moment, just let yourself be there.
2. Touch a Tree—or Something Growing From the Earth
Maybe you don’t have an open patch of grass nearby. Maybe you’re in a more urban area and what you do have is a tree, a rose bush, a plant, or something else growing from the dirt.
Touch it. Feel it. If something is heavy on you, simply let it out.
And don’t worry about what you look like leaning against a tree. This is your life. Your healing. Your journey. Heal how you please.
3. Breathe—and Don’t Rush Yourself Back Into the World
Take a slow breath in. Hold it for a moment. Then breathe out slowly. Do it again, letting each breath take its time. There’s no race here. Let your breathing find its own pace.
And when you’re ready to move, get up slowly.
Sometimes we hear the doorbell. Our phone is sitting on the kitchen counter. Something rings. Something buzzes. And instantly, we snap right back into alert mode.
It’s almost like hearing the starting gun at a horse race—and we’re off.
But everything doesn’t require that kind of urgency. Your life and your body deserve pacing, too.
Don’t give yourself shock value. Give yourself pacing.
4. Don’t Take On What Isn’t Yours
This is a big one, especially if you’re a problem solver. A leader. The person people trust for advice. Maybe even strangers come up to you, tell you things, and whatever you say is golden.
You have to savor that part of yourself, but don’t spread yourself thin. You don’t have to be on all the time.
Sometimes a smile, eye contact, and a nod are enough. Not everything requires your advice, your energy, your solution, or a piece of you.
Keep your happiness warm.
5. Protect Your Peace at All Costs
Sometimes you may find yourself giving more than you receive—more thought, more consideration, more grace, more attention. Or maybe you realize that the way someone sees you simply doesn’t match the way you know yourself.
Let that belong to them.
You don’t have to chase somebody else’s perception of you, rearrange yourself to become a priority, or allow positive—or negative—attention to determine your value.
You get to define who you are, every single day.
So prep—and center—yourself. Protect the happiness you’ve created, the peace you’ve found, and the person you know yourself to be—or are still becoming.
Because life is worth living—as long as you go live it.
If This Spoke to You
If you enjoyed this piece, you may also enjoy God Is Working on a Bigger Yes—for those seasons when where you are isn’t where you thought you’d be, but the story is still moving.
