It’s the start of a New Year, and it’s all about resolutions. But why do we wait until the New Year to think about change? Because it has that “new car “smell, and everyone’s excited at the idea of being able to start fresh. When else will we be granted a clean slate?
The thing is, we don’t need a ball to drop to be granted a do-over in life. Anytime things aren’t going according to plan, you have a choice: sit idly by waiting another year for a chance to start over, or go back to the drawing board as many times as needed to get the life you’re wishing for every December 31st. Here are three steps to guide you every day of the year.
Step 1: Hey, Life? You Could Use A Facelift.
The first step in starting anew is pinpointing our problems and that’s going to take some honesty. If you’d like to fix something, the first task is taking ownership of it.
It’s easy to feel like Life is beyond our control, your problems are beyond you and there’s nothing you can do about them. But be honest: although the randomness of life catches up to us all, yours is not out of your hands. All it takes is finding out what’s wrong and coming up with a way to fix it.
Do you find yourself stuck in endless loops of failed attempts at: being happy, being content, or achieving success? If so, it may be time to give that life of yours some renovating.
This could look like:
- Starting over at a new job.
- Finding a better house in a new neighborhood.
- (Finally) Leaving a failed relationship.
- Ridding your home (and life) of unnecessary junk/clutter
Just to name a few.
Our well-being often suffers from being too comfortable. We can ignore signs that something isn’t working just because the idea of changing makes us uncomfortable. Here are some telltale signs that things aren’t working.
- You constantly complain about the same problems
- You keep having to convince yourself to settle for something even though you know it’s not working
- You feel bored, underwhelmed, understimulated
- You keep repeating the same bad patterns and habits
- Your attempts don’t produce any new results
You could keep reattempting to salvage a failed relationship that has clearly exceeded their expiration date or convince yourself to stay another year at the job you hate, or you could figure out why things aren’t working.
They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. If these signs keep coming up, try approaching your problems differently. To the drawing board!
Step 2: Introspection: Let’s Take A Step Back
Now that you’ve pinpointed exactly what you want to change in your life, allow yourself to view things unbiasedly. That’s going to take the tag-team of honesty and introspection.
Reflecting on your problems may stir up reactions. However, to inspire change, we have to be able to approach our problems logically and realistically. OK, so you’re unhappy with something, but why? What’s happening that’s making you unhappy?
Mental clarity will help this step along. When formulating new plans, it helps to clear your mind of fear, stress, or worry. Try incorporating exercises like journaling, exercising, hiking, and meditating. They’ll help you dive inward and get to the core of the problems that need to be fixed.
Step 3: Bravery: Now It’s Time To Take Action
This last step is the cherry on your cocktail of honesty and introspection. Now that you’ve pinpointed what’s wrong and figured out how to fix it, it’s time to get to work. As much as we’d love to wait for our fairy tale ending, you have to be your own hero.
If the problem you have is big, break your seemingly overwhelming task into smaller ones to make it easier to achieve. Changing our lives for the better is a journey. We can’t expect results overnight. But if you’re patient, persistent, honest, and brave, you can get there.
Be patient with yourself. Understand that you’re only human and can only take on so much. Approach your problems realistically and consistently, and you’ll never need to wait for the clock to wind down on New Year’s Eve to experience new beginnings. Every day is an opportunity to start over.
The journey to starting over may look overwhelming, but you’re not stuck. If your life needs saving, revamping, or repair, hit the drawing board as much as you need to. It’s never too late to start over.
-Kaillaby
Photo: Breakingpic @Pexels.com
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