Make the most of a new start – 5 tips to kick off 2020!
Here’s a not so fun fact about life: It doesn’t come with a “start over” button.
Now, before you let this realisation sink in and make you miserable, let me ease your worries.
This fact doesn’t mean you can’t have fresh starts in life. You may not be able to start at zero and erase your mistakes, but you don’t need to be stuck with your reality as it is now.
There is room for growth and development as long as you’re willing to make simple changes.
Also, contrary to what some people think, you can make a fresh start even if you have no money. When we think of starting over, we picture making a drastic change. Selling our houses and booking a one-way flight to Bali.
Most of us can’t do this.
Instead, we can make little differences to our everyday routines to help us start afresh.
To help you out, I have five simple pieces of advice that you can start doing today. These tips will help you make the most out of a fresh start.
Write a list of goals
There are two types of people on earth. Those who like writing goals, and those who don’t. Those who do usually achieve their objectives and research proves this.
So the first step to making a fresh start is to set goals for yourself. Here are some questions to consider as you’re writing your goals:
- How do you want your life to look like?
- How do you want to feel?
- What are you doing that makes you excited to wake up in the morning?
- Does your job make you feel fulfilled? What job is it?
- How much time do you have for yourself?
- What kinds of people are in your life?
- What is making you happy?
- Are you in control of your life?
Once you’ve decided on answers to these questions, you can use the acronym SMART to help you reach them.
SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely. You can use it as a guideline to achieve your objectives and help you on your first step to making a fresh start.
Create a mindset shift
“A fresh start is not a new place it’s a new mindset”
I cannot stress the importance of changing your mindset enough. If you want a fresh start in your life, but you’re repeating the same patterns of negative thinking, it’ll be challenging for you to make a difference.
Change starts on the inside first and then on the outside. So you might be wondering, what are ways you can create a shift in mindset?
Here are some ideas you can try out:
- Recite positive affirmations daily.
- Start gratitude journaling.
- Silence the negative voice in your mind.
- For every negative thought you have, switch it to a positive one.
- Make the intention to stop complaining.
- Start focusing on everything you have as opposed to everything you don’t.
Build good habits
There is a fresh start quote on building habits which I love. It goes, “the secret of change is to focus all of your attention not on fighting the old but on building the new”. The stoic philosopher Socrates said this.
This quote highlights an important principle. Sometimes, the best way to let go of a bad habit is to focus on replacing it with a good one. Instead of using all your energy to cut out the negative habit. Why? Because it’s harder to cut out a habit ingrained in us than it is to start a new one.
So what kinds of habits could you start doing that would help you make the most out of a fresh start? Here are some ideas:
- Reading personal development books.
- Journaling for clarity.
- Exercising.
- Doing breathing exercises to release stress.
- Meditation.
- Recite positive affirmations.
Let go of toxicity
This word toxicity is broad. It can apply to many things such as toxic people, relationships environment and so on.
One of the best ways to make the most out of a fresh start is let go of the toxicity in our lives. How do you know what is toxic? It doesn’t make you feel good at all. It damages your mental health and affects your well being.
For some of us, letting go of toxicity can be disconnecting from social media. For others, it’s breaking certain relationships. The list is different and unique to all of us.
Whatever it is you can identify is toxic in your life, get rid of it today. It might be difficult but think of the benefits in the long term. You’ll thank yourself later.
And remember, there will be no fresh start if you’re clinging onto toxic things of the past.
Be patient with yourself
Many of us, on our journey towards personal development, are impatient with ourselves. We set high standards and feel disappointed when we don’t meet them.
Patience is an important quality to have in whatever we do in life, including making the most of a fresh start.
You might be excited about the changes you’re about to make and have a long list of goals. That’s great. But remember that things won’t get different overnight, so be patient with your growth.
Make room for mistakes, and always remember that it’s through failure that we learn life-changing lessons.
Final thoughts
There you have it. Five easy tips you can start doing today if you’re longing for a fresh start.
There are many other ways you can make the most out of this special time. But sometimes, doing this alone can seem a little daunting and some guidance is useful. This is why I offer coaching services to women like you looking to evolve into the wonderful person you can become this year.
If you’re looking for guidance on how you can create internal changes to radically alter your reality, I’d like to guide you towards my coaching programs: https://lifecoachingwithnarriman.co.za/love-and-relationships/
There is no better time to start with change than now. So make it count.
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