Fresh starts. Some people just don’t believe in them. They think we are too rigid to change and start all over again, but to those people’s surprise, and thanks to the calendar, fresh starts happen every year. In fact, fresh starts happen every day, every second. We’re just too lazy or too caught up in our life to seize these opportunities, but when we do, or to be more accurate when life forces us to do so, we tend to get scared witless. And that’s alright.
You’re not going to start a new page, or even a new chapter; you’re going to start a whole new book of your life. That old book with all its old habits, old memories, old wounds and bad experiences, is about to be thrown in the deep sea, so you’re allowed to be shaking in your own shoes for this adjustment. But remember, with change comes hope, and with hope comes a new opportunity for you to craft your life on a stronger and healthier foundation. So roll up your sleeves, rub your hands together and take a deep breath, it is going to be a wild ride.
Here are some tips from someone who had been there, and knows a thing or two about how to start all over and rebuild your life from scratch:
Your Worst Enemy Is You
In this battle of building a new life, you will face many enemies; those who don’t believe in what you’re doing, those who dread change and want you to stay in the damn line and follow the crowd, those who benefited from your old self, and many others. However, you should keep a wide eye open for the worst among these enemies, you. The old you would want to drag you back to what’s familiar, what you used to consider safe. The new you is not here yet, we are trying to reach him or her, so the load is thrown on the present you who is stuck in between. You have to fight off the urge to work yourself to death, or to put off your exercise, or to neglect calling your friends, or any bad habit that you used to practice. You have to remind yourself that dropping those habits was the main reason you decided to put your past to bed.
Put Your Past Behind You
The thing about new beginnings is that they don’t like company; they don’t like it when you invite ghosts from your past over. You’re not going to erase your memory and forget all about who you used to be and how you were running your life, because guess what, if you did so, you’re going to make the very same mistakes all over again. Your past with all its errors is a learning experience for you, so in order to grow into a better person in your new life, you must make peace with your mistakes, learn from them, honour them, and then let go. Don’t look back, you’ve learned your lesson, let’s move on now to a new stage.
Start At The End
Ever heard Avicii’s song called ‘The Nights’? Other than the fact that it was a big hit at the time, you should pay attention to its lyrics, they are fabulous. I always stop at one line, ‘He said: One day you’ll leave this world behind; so live a life you will remember.’ You want to leave a memorable life, right? So go on and ask yourself how you can have one, and then, with the power of this vision, travel in time and see in your mind’s eye how you would want the end result to look like, to feel like. Yes, start at the end and build your life with that beautiful image in mind, only then you can sing along with Frank Sinatra ‘I did it my way.’
Learn to Be Patient & Gentle With Yourself
Let’s be honest here, the reason why we were dragging our feet into starting a new life is that it is an intimidating step. It requires fuelling your inner strength, your courage, your self-love, your resilience, your faith and your confidence. And most of these things are short in supplies, and take the time to be developed; so you need to learn to be patient and gentle with yourself. Change demands time, and if you’re not willing to be forbearing, you might throw the towel already. Have faith that everything happens in its own time, so be your own advocate, and treat yourself with love, compassion and understanding.
Pick Your Favourite Characters In Your New Book
You are on the edge of a brand new life, which means everyone around you is new to this life too, so who should you introduce to your new book? We are presented with all kinds of people in our lives. Some people make us feel good about ourselves, and I don’t mean that they shower you with compliments, but simply because they feel good about themselves, they radiate with positive energy that infects you. Others bring out the worst in you; you sometime feel like you’re suffocating around them, you shouldn’t give a pass to these people to your life. I know it doesn’t sound practical, some people can’t get kicked out for many reasons, but let me tell you the good news, you’re starting over, which puts you are on a high frequency of self love. Only the people who are on the same feeling frequency as you are would come into your life, the rest would get filtered.
