Starting over is not the same as recouping from a failure. It is a new beginning, and you have gained experience and knowledge to help you reach your goals. Reignite your passion by imagining what it will feel like when you achieve the desired result.
Moving through life is like climbing stairs. You go up a step or two, and then you level off and you may go down a step, but you are still higher than you were. That’s the process of life (and therapy) nothing is ever a straight shot. Have some patience with yourself and with your newfound direction.
You can create a whole new life if you want it. You just have to approach it in the right way. Sometimes little ideas can turn into big things. Visualize a positive outcome for your issue. Medical doctors recommend visualization to patients with chronic and potentially fatal illnesses. If it can help them, it can do the same for you.
Endings are not necessarily bad things. Even if you lost your job, savings or home, what comes to you in the future may be better than what you had. Sometimes the phoenix has to burn, so it can rise again.
Starting over may feel scary, but it can be a cause for celebration. Think of it as exciting, and many of your anxious feelings will begin to fade. The truth is that anxiety and excitement feel exactly the same to the body. It’s our minds that make it scary versus exhilarating.
Remember that your future is not governed by your past. No matter what has happened in your life, you can find a way to make things a little better for yourself, and hopefully for those around you as well.
Having to start over is different from choosing to start over. For many whose lives are still in chaos because of the trying times we are in, starting over is not a choice. It can be hard to accept support from others. If you find it difficult to take that in, just promise yourself that you will return the favor and do something to “pay it forward” as soon as possible.
Healthy alternatives to negative lifestyle patterns abound. If you can’t stop a bad habit, start by cutting back. It’s OK to give yourself a little time to moderate or stop something that’s hurting you.
Starting over is about creating and reaching new goals. We are happiest when we’re moving toward a goal. It’s not all about the end result, in fact when you do achieve a dream you must find a new one as soon as possible in order to stay emotionally fit. Think about it this way, you can either be green and growing or ripe and rotting. Which do you prefer?
Starting over is about giving yourself a chance at real happiness. You will have to be brave and get good at learning new things, but how bad can that be? At the very worst, you will acquire the skills you need to start on the next project.
Before we start a new chapter in life, we need to close the door to the previous one. You can’t embark on a new beginning, if you’re stuck in a thought loop about revenge or getting justice. Until you can actually mentally strengthen yourself to move forward, you won’t benefit from what new beginnings can bring you. If you’ve had a horrible past and get stuck in it, you will never know how good your life can become. You need to realize that what’s done is done and can’t be changed. You can’t go back in time and undo mistakes or trauma. All you can do is learn from it, the chaos that’s been caused, and make better decisions moving forward. If you’re looking to build a brighter future for yourself, all you can take from your past are the life lessons. Don’t keep bringing the past into your future.
2. Know change can be good
When all we’ve seen in our lives is trauma, hardship, and challenges, it’s hard to imagine a world where change could lead to something good. Those with childhood trauma often imagine their adulthood as more difficult, especially if they carry that trauma into their future. An important thing to note is that bad events can lead to good events. Sometimes, all those difficulties taught you something valuable so you can make better decisions in your future. It’s normal to experience a fear of change. But it’s crucial to remember that change can be a good thing. Sometimes, you deserve something so magical that coming up with your ideal scenario isn’t good enough. Let the story unfold and see what surprises and goodness life has in store for you in these new beginnings.
3. Create new goals
As you embark on new beginnings, the best way to keep yourself on track is to create new goals. Having a process in place with well-defined ideas of what you hope to accomplish will make you more likely to achieve them. Knowing what you actually want in life is an important step to getting it. Plus, it guides you on your journey, when you set timelines to keep you accountable. So, make a list of the goals you hope to achieve for your new beginnings. You might include goals regarding your happiness, financial situation, health, and other things that help ensure you’re happy and in control of the next chapter in your life.
4. Surround yourself with good people
Having a strong sense of community will help you in your new beginnings. The people in your life will make or break you. If you’re around toxic people who fail to help you, you’ll never grow or succeed. However, if you’re around people who lift you up, cheer you on, and want to see you thrive, you’ll take more action to keep getting better with time. They say you’re most like the five people you spend most of your time with. So surround yourself with happy people, successful people, and supportive people if you hope to achieve great things in life. Cut out the people from your life who bring you down. Your job isn’t to make people better. Your job is to make you better. And by improving yourself, you’ll attract higher quality people into your life.
5. Practice meditation
Your mental health and wellbeing will play a huge role in your new beginnings. When we have poor mental health, we often get stuck in our negative thoughts. We’ll replay the same bad thoughts repeatedly, looking for an exit in our minds that we can’t find. It makes us hate our lives more and makes us more difficult to get along with. When this happens to you, find a therapist who will help you. And, and this is a big and. Do an act of kindness multiple times a day. Look to do something nice for people in every interaction. Praise people, lift them up. And as you’re doing therapy, and acts of kindness, try guided meditation. It’ll help you clear your mind, so you can bring out the best version of yourself. The best meditation app to calm the mind is Declutter The Mind. You’ll find countless meditations you can try to help you bring out the next 2.0 version of yourself that you can be proud of.
Forming good habits and eliminating bad habits can be a good practice for new beginnings. It’s all about coming in with the new and shedding the old. What happened in the past shouldn’t be repeated, so the habits that led to those events should be replaced with new habits. For example, if you got into a relationship with a toxic partner, you might make build the habit of creating a list of values you want in your next relationship. Then, you go on dates to find someone with those values. In moments of insecurity, you’ll need to build the habit of saying no to something that doesn’t feel right to prevent repeating history. You’ll reject people who showcase red flags early on, instead of questioning it. And you might listen to your friends, family, and that good old gut instinct when something seems off.
7. Tackle new opportunities
As you embark on new beginnings, it’s time to look towards new opportunities too. For example, if you realize you’re working a job in a negative environment, you might start applying to jobs with higher employee morale. You might start looking at Glassdoor reviews of companies online before applying. You might interview hiring managers about the company culture. And you might say yes to something new. New opportunities can be found all around. And they aren’t all tied to your career. You might look at opportunities to travel, to date someone new, to make a new friend, run an experiment, to start a family, to improve your home situation, learn a new skill, or to start a business.
8. Create a vision board
A fun activity to try at home when working towards new beginnings is to create a vision board. We’re talking magazine cutouts, bristol board, and glue. Like an arts and crafts session about what you want to accomplish in this next year of life. You don’t need a monumentous day like your birthday or new years to create a vision board either. Any day you feel like a new chapter is starting works. You can find countless vision board books on Amazon with pictures and quotes for fitness, home, money, fashion, and travel to help simplify your search of what to include. Then, once you’ve completed your vision board, hang it somewhere you’ll see it a lot. This could be a home office, bedroom, or study. Then, whenever something is achieved from your vision board, feel an attitude of gratitude while standing in front of it.
9. Lean on gratitude
Speaking of gratitude, new beginnings should have an emphasis on being grateful. Come up with a list of things you’re grateful for, your very own gratitude list. When you focus on gratitude instead of what you lack, your mind feels better. You won’t feel like you got the short end of the stick, you won’t be disgruntled, no more complaining about how life sucks. Instead, you’ll see all of the good things you have that keep coming your way. And you’ll continue to attract more good things because of your attitude. An optimistic view of the world helps us in numerous ways that a pessimistic view can’t. Plus, when we experience gratitude, we’re just so much happier. Make it your personal mission to express gratitude in life and to look on at the world with an optimistic lens.
10. Take a break
In some cases, new beginnings might require a quick break or pause before moving forward. It’s important to know when the past isn’t over yet or we’re still not fully healed from past hardships. You’ll take many breaks in life. You’ll take breaks from school, relationships, jobs, and more. Breaks are important part of life where we unplug momentarily. Not recharge. Sometimes, you need to turn yourself off to give yourself a break. Recharging those batteries is daily upkeep. Taking time away from work to relax on a beach and not check a single email or Slack message is life-changing. And you deserve to do that. Taking a break after a series of short relationships to re-evaluate your strategy and improve yourself, can help you find the right person faster (without going on a single date). So, hit the pause button in life when you need to. It’s normal and healthy to do this. And it could be just what makes your new beginning more spectacular.
11. Refresh your wardrobe or office
New beginnings aren’t complete without a change of scenery. You can refresh your wardrobe to improve how you present yourself to the world. Many online stores offer styling services, so you can have a professional stylist help you pick out outfits. For example, Nordstrom has stylists to help you pick work outfits or date night outfits. Whatever the wardrobe refresh calls for. You could also make changes to your home office with new decor, wallpaper, paint, or lighting. Wherever you feel like you need to make a change, add something new to your environment to bring back your spunk and edge. This new beginning is calling for you to bring your best self forward, so create an environment where you’ll thrive.
12. Find a new coach or mentor
As you embark on new beginnings, partnering with a coach or mentor can help ensure you start over on the right track. There are many coaches you can hire: mind coach (therapist), business coach, health coach, money coach, and so on. Hire the type of mentor that aligns with what you hope to accomplish. You might find that more than one coach are needed to help you jump start things, especially if it’s a big life change you’re going through. But having someone speak to you, motivate you, and then you actually go out and do the work is key. Most people will hype you up, but as soon as they’re gone, so is the motivation. Find someone who will be there to hold you accountable. Doing daily text messages asking you what your progress is. Checking in on you when you’re not pushing hard or are slipping through the cracks. It’s about finding the ultimate ally rather than just listening to a motivational speech.
13. Celebrate your progress
New beginnings are all about new wins. As you go onto your next life chapter, it’s important to track your progress, see how far you’ve come, and make tweaks. Mistakes, disappointment, and failure will still happen in your new chapter. However, how you learn, grow, and pivot despite these challenges is what will ultimately play a role in your success. Life isn’t without struggle, even when we do everything right. It’s unpredictable and there are many moving parts. But celebrate the highs as they come. And learn quick from the lows. Be a champion in your success. Many awards get given out at tournaments. Maybe spend some time giving yourself awards and praise for your accomplishments too. Pat yourself on the back for how far you’ve come. Not everyone does it. But you d
