Sometimes You Just Need to Reset

The smile of someone whose cheeks had no idea what was coming. 😂

My butt cheeks hurt.

There is really no elegant way to say that.

One Sunday, my boyfriend, his dad and I went on a 10-mile bike ride. It was 91 degrees outside, but the clouds gave us some relief from the sun, the wind was blowing, and somehow, despite the heat and the fact that parts of my body were questioning this recreational decision, I could not stop smiling.

I was in pure bliss.

We rode. We talked. I took in the scenery. I felt the wind against my face. And somewhere along the way, I was reminded of something I already know about myself:

I need outside.

Not because I have somewhere to go. Not because I am trying to get my steps in or check exercise off my list. I need time outdoors because it resets me.

And after miles on a bike, we stopped for one of my favorite treats: pistachio gelato.

A sore butt, screaming thighs, a summer breeze, and gelato.

Halfway through a 10-mile bike ride deserves pistachio gelato. I don't make the rules.

It doesn't take much to make me happy.

I Don't Walk to Get Somewhere

Summertime Chi. No plane ticket required.

Every summer, no matter what I have going on, what I have committed to or how full my schedule becomes, I make time to be outside.

It is non-negotiable.

I'm a Chicagoan, and one thing about me: I don't need to leave Chicago in the summer.

While plenty of people are planning summer getaways and hopping on flights, I'm perfectly content staying right here.

Summertime Chi gives me plenty to do without packing a suitcase or heading to the airport.

Give me the Lakefront Trail. Buckingham Fountain. Prairie Avenue in the South Loop. The Chicago Botanic Garden. Brookfield Zoo. Taylor Park in Oak Park.

Give me a park bench, a walking path, some trees and enough time that I don't have to look at the clock.

That's my kind of summer.

I love to stroll.

And stroll is intentional because I am not trying to power walk my way through the experience.

I don't want to rush. I don't want to hurry. I don't need to beat yesterday's time.

I don't walk to get somewhere.

I walk to be where I am.

No destination. No rush. Just enjoying where I am.

Sometimes I go with someone else. Sometimes I go alone. I enjoy both.

But there is one requirement if you're coming with me:

You cannot be in a hurry to leave.

This is not the outing for, "Okay, are you ready?"

No. No, I am not. We just got here.

When I commit that time to being outside, I am committing it to being.

There doesn't need to be an agenda attached to it.

The World Is Talking All the Time

Sometimes the best thing to listen to is what's already around you.

Think about how much we listen to in a day.

Music while we're getting dressed. A podcast during the commute. Meetings at work. A game playing in the background. Conversations with people we love. Television. Social media. Notifications. Videos. News. Phone calls.

There is always something competing for our attention.

And none of those things are necessarily bad.

I love music.

I love conversation.

I love connecting with people.

But when everything around you is making noise, your own voice can get lost in the mix.

That's one of the reasons I love my walks.

I don't need to fill every moment with something.

This is what happens when I slow down. I notice.

I can listen to the birds. I can watch butterflies float by. I can hear children laughing in the distance. I can people-watch. I can notice the way the trees move when the wind blows or how the lake looks that day.

I can think.

I can also think about absolutely nothing.

Both are valuable.

We spend so much of our lives consuming that I think we sometimes forget what it feels like to simply observe.

Not every quiet moment needs to be filled.

Nature Gives Me Space to Reset

Sometimes resetting really is as simple as stopping to smell the flowers.

There is something about being outside that brings me back to myself.

When I slow down enough to pay attention to what's around me, I naturally begin paying attention to what's happening inside me too.

What am I thinking about lately?

What am I excited about?

What feels different?

What do I want now that I didn't want a year ago?

What have I outgrown?

What am I curious about?

Those answers can be hard to hear when every available space in your day is occupied.

We change.

Our preferences change.

Our dreams change.

Sometimes the most interesting things are the ones you weren't looking for.

Things we once loved may not fit anymore, while something we never considered before suddenly feels exciting.

But you have to spend enough time with yourself to notice.

That is part of what resetting means to me.

It isn't always about fixing something. Sometimes I am perfectly fine when I head outside. I am not escaping a bad day or recovering from some major problem.

Sometimes I just want to reconnect with myself.

No performance. No productivity. No urgency.

Just presence.

You Notice More When You Slow Down

The hummingbird that made me squeal. Yep, it really happened.

One of my favorite memories at the Chicago Botanic Garden is seeing a hummingbird.

I squealed.

I mean, genuinely squealed with joy.

Hummingbirds are my favorite birds. They are beautiful and fascinating to me, and seeing one in action made me ridiculously happy.

It was such a small moment.

But the small things mean everything to me.

A butterfly landing nearby. A beautiful flower I haven't seen before. The sound of children laughing. A bird doing something that makes me stop and watch. The perfect breeze on a hot day.

This is what being fully present looks like on me. Pure joy.

These moments aren't life changing.

But they are life.

And I wonder how many of them we miss because we're rushing, scrolling, or thinking about what comes next.

We are so accustomed to documenting our lives that sometimes we forget to experience them.

There are moments worth capturing.

There are also moments worth simply having.

Sunshine Needs Sunshine Too

I am a December baby who does not like winter weather.

At all.

I appreciate a beautiful snowfall from the comfort of somewhere warm, but give me summer.

A December baby who was clearly made for summer.

There is a reason one of my nicknames is "Sunshine."

People have told me that my smile feels like sunshine to them. I'm usually joyful, cheerful, and positive, and apparently that energy comes through to other people.

I'll take that compliment.

It feels accurate.

But I also know something about Sunshine:

Sunshine needs sunshine too.

The joy people experience from me doesn't mean I never need to replenish myself. In fact, I think part of being able to show up as myself is knowing what brings me back to myself.

This is me in my element: sunshine, flowers and nowhere to rush to.

Being outside is one of those things.

Walking is one of those things.

Quiet is one of those things.

I protect that time because I know what it gives me.

Give Yourself Time to Just Be

No agenda. No productivity. Just me, minding my business and being.

Life moves quickly.

There will always be something to do, someone to respond to, somewhere to go and something asking for your attention.

But every once in a while, I encourage you to put some of it down.

Go somewhere without needing to accomplish anything.

Take a walk without tracking how far you went.

Sit somewhere beautiful without immediately reaching for your phone.

Leave the headphones at home.

Look around.

Listen.

Let your mind wander.

My happy place. No rush. No destination. Just here.

You may discover that you have been so busy listening to everything and everyone else that you haven't heard yourself in a while.

And when you create space to just be, you get reacquainted with the person you are now.

You notice your new likes and dislikes. You think about what you want. You explore ideas.

You remember things that make you happy. You give yourself permission to exist without producing anything.

Reset with Intention

The goal isn't to escape your life. It's to make space to reconnect with yourself.

Your reset doesn't have to look like mine.

Maybe you don't care about birds. Maybe 91 degrees sounds like a personal attack. Maybe the thought of biking 10 miles makes your butt cheeks hurt just reading about it.

Fair.

But find your place.

Find the thing that slows the world down enough for you to hear yourself again.

And don't rush to leave.

Because sometimes a reset isn't a vacation, a spa day, or a dramatic change.

Sometimes it's a walk.

Sometimes it's a hummingbird.

Sometimes it's the wind against your face on a cloudy summer day.

Sometimes it's a gelato treat as you stroll.

And sometimes the reset comes with a little treat.

The small things may not look like much from the outside.

But when you're present enough to notice them, they can be everything.