My wife and I were trying to watch one of the last episodes of Ted Lasso, a show we enjoy. We have an internet TV and the streaming network it’s on kept stalling and freezing. I restarted it maybe 20 times, which usually fixes the problem, but this time nothing worked.
Frustrated, we gave up and decided to watch another show on another network. This worked fine for maybe 5 minutes until the entire TV froze up. We both threw up our hands.
What to do now? I decided as a last resort to completely unplug the TV from the power source – which I had only done once before – and then plug it back in. Voila! It worked. We watched the Ted Lasso episode without a problem.
Sometimes we all have to completely unplug from everything to reset.
There is a part of our brain called the default network which is basically running all the time. It’s also the part of our brain that ruminates. It’s where we reflect on ourselves, others, and our emotions are formed.
But sometimes the default mode can become like our TV, it can develop an unproductive loop and even freeze up. That’s when we need to completely unplug. Exercise can help us do that. Studies show meditation can as well because steady, slow breathing can quiet the default mode.
If you are in a bad loop, or if feels like you’re completely frozen up, try unplugging completely from everything and resetting. TVs need it, and so do we.
On Emotions 