Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Sometimes you just have to Reboot!



(Image from pixabay.com)

Have you been in situations when your computer system or smartphone simply will not respond and you have no option but to reboot/restart it? While technology obviously is getting more stable and powerful, reboot is still an option we have to exercise at times. Once you find the current state of the device unacceptable - you pause, think, and find that you have no choice but to reboot…..

This post is not about technology though!

What if you are trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle and find that you have gone haywire?
What if you are going somewhere and feel you have gone off track?
What if a conversation has gone off course and you find yourself in a conflict with the other person?
Most importantly, what if you find yourself in an unacceptable mental state (possibly of anger, despondancy, hopelessness or fear)?

In all the above situations, you need to pause, think and see if you retrace some of the steps. But there will be situations when you simply need to start over and give up all that has happened recently.

Of the examples above, I consider the last one the most interesting. As we go through the events of the day, they leave their impressions – about people, places, things. We view the world in future with the past impressions clouding our vision.

You shop at a store and did not quite like the attitude of one of the employees. You think about whether you should go there again. Well, it was just a single employee and possibly at a store you have been going to for years. Why not view this in perspective, if it is an isolated incident?

You had a bad argument on a topic with someone – you are wary the next time you discuss anything. The likelihood of disagreeing again may in fact be quite low, and there may be more mature ways to conduct the conversation this time even if it so happens.

In my post Addition and Subtraction, over and above our natural tendency to add to what we have (skills, money, connections….) I had written about the need to also develop a habit of subtracting regrets, fears, attitudes, opinions, biases, pride, and develop an attitude of oneness with others.

Children have this remarkable ability to reboot – they have this amazing quality of viewing everything with a sense of adventure and newness.

At times, you need to introspect and just reboot, to get away from your current state of mind so that you may view everything as if it were fresh and new…..

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