Hit The Reset Button

In my youth, when playing video games and things weren’t going well, I would hit the reset button. This button, for those that don’t play games, would allow you to start the game over entirely. As games got longer and more complicated, game developers began putting in checkpoints or save points which allowed you to start over, but not the entire game, only to your last save point or checkpoint. The good thing about the reset button was you’d start over from scratch. The bad thing about the reset button was you’d start over from scratch. With check or save points, you lost a bit of progress, but didn’t start the game over entirely.

In my career, I’ve hit the reset button several times by switching careers entirely. I chose to leave particular industries, usually haphazardly, and would start over in some entry level position in a new career. After hitting the reset button four or five times, the game isn’t as fun as it once was. That’s my feelings today and it’s more about lack of progress than anything else.

I’ve enjoyed successes but I’ve also had my fair share of failures. I’ve willingly volunteered and switched careers more than once and with that comes a short lived thrill as I learn something new. Inevitably the newness wears off and I’m doing something that wasn’t part of the plan to begin with. That’s a turn of phrase because if I’d had a plan, switching careers would probably not have been on that plan.

Life is not a video game. There is no reset button. We keep playing the game taking our success and failures along the way. We can build in save points. We can set things up in a fashion that if we suffer a setback, we can fall back to a checkpoint. We can establish these along our way and insure we never hit a bottom so low it’s discouraging. For instance, creating a second income stream will help alleviate the pressures of an unexpected job loss. A year’s worth of living expenses set aside for such occasions will prove effective as well. Each and every financial advisor will probably quote the standard three to six months worth of expenses, and I did that too when in the industry. Twelve months if your household runs on one income and six months if it’s two.

Back at the video game of life, the checkpoints allow you and I to keep some progress. Losing a job and being unable to find work could lead to filing bankruptcy, but not with a year’s worth of living expenses set aside, in most cases. A second income stream eases some of the pressure of paying rent or the mortgage every month during your job search and could help sustain you during an extended illness as well.

I’ve hit the reset button too many times. At my age, I’m starting over once again. Basically from the beginning of the game, with one major exception. I possess immense experience. So much so that I can learn from mistakes I’ve made and install safeguards or checkpoints to make sure this never happens again. You don’t have to experience all the things I have to learn from my experience. The same is true with many others. They’ve documented their experiences, some you’d want and others not, and all you have to do is a bit of reading or watching some

This is the first part of the entry.