Resume or Reset? - Three Mistakes to Avoid Heading into a Post-Covid World

As a kid, i was never great at video games. My favorite system will forever be the old school Nintendo. I knew I was old the first time I held an Xbox controller and complained about there being too many buttons. I could never keep up with the technological advancements in different systems, leading me to an uneventful early retirement from the world of gaming.

Back in my gaming prime, my brothers and I would often play RBI Baseball on Nintendo. It was a classic game with some great late 1980’s lineups.

There were consistent occurrences whenever one of us would start off the game with a home run. In dramatic fashion, the other player would aggressively dive for the reset button and we would go back to the beginning.

There were also times this would happen a few innings into the game, and for the person who was winning, this was always annoying. But for the person who was losing, it was a gift to go from being down a run or more to being able to start fresh.

Other times we would be playing, and one of us would need to push pause. It could be a bathroom break, needing to grab a snack, but most often it was mom telling us to do something we should have done before we started playing.

We’d push the pause button, and when we came back we’d resume the game and pick up where we left off.

Several days ago I was talking with our Lead Pastor and he said a phrase that has stayed with me. We were talking about his upcoming message in our church’s parenting series and he said “there’s never been a better time to reset.”

That’s a mic drop statement. There’s never been a better time to reset. How true does that feel right now?

Today many find themselves eager to move forward. COVID was a pause in the rhythms of life and there is an excitement about seeing things resume.

We want to go back to the rhythms last seen in 2019 and experience the life we once knew.

To that I say YES. I’m on board. Do this. Live your life. Make new memories.

Yet the biggest mistake we might make is resuming the game instead of hitting reset.

Along those lines, here are three mistakes to avoid heading into a post-COVID world.

Avoid Reflection

When the COVID season began, I saw the slowing down as a gift. I began to dream of all I could accomplish during these days. I would organize the garage, get in shape, establish new spiritual rhythms, and a lot more.

At one point I made a list that I’m now afraid to look at, confident it will reveal specifics on how short I fell during the past year.

As I look back, I was unprepared for how hard the season would be.

Can we talk about this more? I know some people are wired to push forward without much attention to the past. I recognize for some it feels like making excuses and rationalizing or justifying actions or lack of.

This past year was harder than most of us expected. I believe for us to move forward, we first need to go back and allow ourselves to be honest about the challenges we encountered.

For others, this might have been an incredible year. Maybe you got your family back, finally being all under the same roof instead of the usual busyness and scattering that had become the norm. Celebrate that.

Sometimes we need to go back to move forward. Make a list and reflect on the good memories and the challenges from the past year. Take time to talk through things where needed. Rejoice in the wins. Mourn the losses. Refuse to adopt the “I just want to forget about COVID” mentality.

It happened. Avoiding reflection means we miss out on the celebrations or carry the hardships in ways that could hinder us in the upcoming days.

Never Refocus

I’m going to go out on a limb and guess you’ve learned some things this past year.

Has the past year impacted your priorities? Are there realizations you had during these months? What rhythms did you adapt or get away from? Where do you need to refocus as you walk toward the end of the pandemic?

I was able to realign my spiritual rhythms a few times over this season, and have established some new elements that will help me protect them from getting stale. We refocused on family dinners, and gave everyone a day where they plan and execute dinner time, giving each of us ownership during the week.

Recently I took some time to step back and asked what a reset looks like for me. It mostly came down to refocusing my priorities and realigning my rhythms.

Don’t let the refocus become too big. Just pick one thing to contemplate and go from there.

Refuse to Re-imagine

When I would reset a video game to have a fresh start, I would often pick a different team. My brother would argue, but in my mind I was adjusting things to re-imagine a different outcome. It seldom worked, but I love the idea.

Where do you want to be three years from now? Five years from now?

Much of the pandemic season has been about pushing through whatever your circumstances were, hoping to get to the other side of this unprecedented season in history.

Right now, as you read this, you have the opportunity to re-imagine the days ahead. To resume would be a mistake. It’s time to hit reset. It’s time to reflect, refocus, and re-imagine the future.

This will be a process. Don’t rush it.

Maybe reflecting takes some time. There are probably some things worth sitting with for a while.

Refocusing might require stepping back for some solitude. There are always reasons not to. Carve out the time and step back with Jesus.

There could be someone you should re-imagine with. Invite them into the conversation. Dream big. Don’t be a victim of your circumstances, but an agent of change.

We’ve waited so long to resume the “normal” life.

Yet the biggest mistake just could be missing out on the opportunity to dive for the reset button and move forward one step at a time.