You Can Start The Day Over At Any Time

I promise—this works.

I’m not sure where I was the first time I heard someone say “You can start the day over at any time”, but it instantly became one of my failsafe self-soothing tools whenever I feel out of control.

Recently, in my Into the Fridge interview,

Katie Stone

asked about my go-to mantra. When I shared that this was it, I was so moved by how much it resonated with her readers, and it made me realize that it might be useful to unpack further and share exactly how I use it in my life.

“Starting your day over at any time “ is disarmingly simple, radically permissive and designed for WTF moments.

We’ve all had days when something goes wrong early—a frustrating email, a tense conversation, a sudden surge of anxiety. When that happens, it’s easy to slip into black-and-white thinking and convince yourself that the day is ruined.

Giving yourself permission to start the day over interrupts that negative circuitry and reminds you that you don’t have to meld with whatever just pissed you off.

Whenever I need to reset my day, here are the two steps I take:

The first step is a verbal reset:

I pause and say to myself—either out loud, silently in my mind, or even recorded as a voice note:

“I acknowledge that [ add situation here ] upset me, but I’m choosing to drop it and restart my day, starting now.”

The second step is a physical reset:

After acknowledging the disruption, I use a breathing technique known as The Physiological Sigh:

1. I take a deep inhale through my nose. (Nasal breathing is ideal, but your mouth is fine if necessary.)

2. Without exhaling, I take a quick second inhale to fully expand my lungs.

3. Exhale slowly through my mouth and Repeat as needed.

Here’s why it works: When we’re stressed, our breathing becomes shallow, causing carbon dioxide to build up in our bloodstream, making us feel agitated or jittery.

The double inhale fully expands the lungs, re-inflating the small air sacs and enabling a deeper breath. The extended exhale then rapidly clears excess carbon dioxide, lowering your heart rate and quickly calming your nervous system. Just one to three cycles can significantly reduce stress—and the entire process takes only seconds.

This simple practice has saved me countless times—post a chaotic morning, whenever social media makes me spiral, or even when something as minor as stubbing my toe threatens to derail my day. I hope it helps you the next time you find yourself feeling stuck—or too flustered to function.

I’m curious, do you have reset practice that works for you?