Catherine Adams

When an electronic device stalls or otherwise fails to work properly, we all know to unplug the device and wait a few minutes before reconnecting it. I was incredulous when I first heard about this “fix” from a trusted repair person. He strongly recommended I try it before calling him in a state of panic or before dialing a 1-800 number and becoming increasingly irritated when I was put on terminal hold.

It was hard for me to accept that the simple act of resetting could be a solution. Eventually I did take his advice. But old habits die hard. Even now, when one of my devices quits working properly my heart stops, I will call out to a colleague or even a casual passerby while automatically reaching for my list of people to call when things go wrong. Then I remember, “Joy, unplug or disconnect, take deep breaths and wait for a few minutes while everything resets. “The very act of being able to make an inanimate object reset is empowering."