Life, as we know, can be messy, complex, and uncertain. Disruption and change are two constants in life. Have you ever asked why this happened? I think many of us have one point or another.

What can be effective to manage change that we face in life? Our mindsets are especially important. Recently, I have written about fixed mindset and growth mindset. This week, I delve into Reset Mindset. This theory takes growth mindset to the next level.

Penny Zenker wrote The Reset Mindset. It was published in 2024. According to Zenker, the Reset Mindset is a way of thinking that focuses on dynamic reassessment and the willingness to reinvent. Zenker has focused on the psychology of productivity and personal performance as a speaker and business strategy coach.

The growth mindset focuses on learning and persistence; the reset mindset emphasizes value creation and adaptability with real time feedback, wrote Zenker, adding, once change has happened, there is no going back to what was.

It starts with our ability to assign meaning to the experiences that we have had in life, stated Zenker. The meaning we give to our life experiences can and does impact our perspectives. Therefore, the perspective we take influences our attitudes, expectations, and priorities.

Nine years ago, I could have really benefitted from the Reset Mindset. A few weeks after I celebrated my 50th birthday, I landed in the hospital. During my stay, I had a CAT scan that found a neuroendocrine tumor in my colon. It was partially blocking my colon and turned out to be the reason for my abdominal pain. Soon after, I had one third of my colon removed. Surgery was successful, and I was referred to the local cancer care facility.

The neuroendocrine tumor evaluated positively for cancer, not exactly what one wants for a belated birthday gift. Fortunately, the tumor was not the “garden variety” of colon cancer. My oncologist informed me that it was a slow-growing cancer that might have taken years to be noticed on the cat scan. As for risk, on a scale of one to ten, ten being high risk, mine was 1.5 at most. I needed no radiation nor chemotherapy.

Over a period of 5.5 years from April 2017 to November 2022, I was a “cancer patient.” I was so happy when I got it all clear. In my mind, I did not consider myself a “cancer survivor,” as I did not have radiation and chemotherapy.

As I faced the diagnosis of cancer, I could have taken a “woe is me” perspective. I did not. I perceived that I was lucky and the cancer was minor.  Right or wrong as my thoughts were, I thought other people with cancer faced more hardships than I.  I did not have the right to call myself a cancer survivor. I realized I was wrong, and my cancer journey was just different than others.

I have faced hardships, e.g., like losing a job. When I look back at that experience, I realized that I had a very negative, fixed mindset compared to my cancer journey.

What is perspective? Two Guys Who Blog define perspective as the way we see something, our point of view. It gives us a whole picture in relation to everything else. Our perspectives come from our perceptions. Changing our perceptions of a situation can change your perspective.

What is perception and how does it differ from perspective? Perception is the immediate sensory input: it is subjective, often personal and limited to our immediate senses. Perception’s focus is to interpret information. Perspective, on the other hand, is the filter we have. Perspective is the context through which we see information. It is long term, broader and more detached from the immediate experience. Think of perspective as our mental framework. Perception and perspective work together.

According to Two Guys Who Blog, our self-perception becomes an important tool in self-improvement.

The Reset Mindset can be done as daily practice. Here are the three steps:

• Step back: Take ownership and accountability to what has happened. Create distance between yourself and your biases, and old ways of looking at things.
• Get Perspective: This step will help you broaden your perspectives and build new connections. As you evaluate the different perspectives you can more effectively break through any existing resistance to change.
• Realign: Your broader viewpoint provides clarity and helps you reprioritize what matters most. This third step helps you to block out the noise. From this point you can realign your actions and decisions with your values, goals, and new insights.

Zenker wrote about the reset moments that are conscious choice points – a structured space to rethink, reconnect, and realign with what matters most.

“The Reset Mindset makes you more conscious of your choices, purposeful in your actions, and targeted toward your results,” wrote Zenker.

When we look at what is happening in our lives we can turn moments of change and disruption into reset moments. We can go from asking “why this happening?” to “what does it mean?”

It is not about finding fault but adding value, seeing new options to move forward.

The Reset Mindset is based on reassessing, probing, and challenging noted Zenker.

Benefits of a Reset Mindset:

• Crucial in navigating changes, especially in the workplace, where there are competing priorities, uncertainty, and disruption.
• Shifts your focus from what you fear to what you can gain. Shifting from seeing change as a threat to an opportunity for learning, growth, and innovation.
• Resetting Mindset and practice can help us detach from taking situations personally, then unpack what we are feeling.
• We can make better decisions during emotionally charged moments.
• This fresh mindset empowers you to take control, take initiative-taking and find ways to add value to your environment.

I fell in love with Penny Zenker’s book, The Reset Mindset. It is simple and direct. I plan to adapt and apply the practice that she lays out in the book to my life.

Resources:

Image by Vectorarte on Freepik Retrieved on 3/31/2026 from https://www.freepik.com/free-vector/man-repairing-head-design_1086963.htm

Cherry, MSED, Kendra. “What is Perception? Recognizing Environmental Stimuli Through the Five Senses.” 11/9/2025. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/perception-and-the-perceptual-process-2795839

Dweck, Ph.D., Carol S. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success: How We Can Learn to Fulfill Our Potential. Ballentine Books, NY. ©2006.

Dweck, Ph.D. Carol S. “Developing a Growth Mindset with Carol Dweck.” Video. Retrieved on 3/7/2026 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiiEeMN7vbQ

Fain, Lisa Z. “A Tale of Three Mindsets.” 5/11/2021. Retrieved on 3/7/2026 from https://www.centerformentoring.com/a-tale-of-the-three-mindsets#:~

Huberman, Andrew. “How Feedback Affects Performance-Andrew Huberman-Growth Mindset.”  After Skool. 5/28/2024. Retrieved on 3/7/2026 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9ewjjzAlRs

Khan Academy. “LearnStorm Growth Mindset: The Truth About Your Brain.” Video. 8/10/2018. Retrieved on 3/7/2026 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rf8FX2sI3gU

TechTello. “Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset.” Video. 8/5/2022. Retrieved on 3/7/2026 from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rNTu_To-Xc&t=4s

Two Guys Who Blog. “The Difference Between Perception and Perspective.” 1/8/2019. Retrieved on 3/28/2026 from https://medium.com/@twoguyswhoblog/the-difference-between-perception-and-perspective-c9d5feea7e6b

Zenker, Penny. The Reset Mindset: How to Get Unstuck, Focus on What Matters Most and Reach Your Goals Faster. Amplify Publishing, VA. ©2024.