How do you start again? This post gives five steps to help you find a way to start again and rediscover new possibilities for your life – no matter your circumstances.
5 Steps That Can Help You Start Again
Every sunrise is an opportunity to start again.
Wouldn’t it be lovely if we could get to where we want to go without any breakdowns? But unfortunately, that is not the way, and our journey is more about redirecting, adjusting, accepting, but we always have the opportunity to start again.
It doesn’t matter who you are; our lives will turn out to be a succession of beginnings, endings, detours and meandering roads that have as many hills as valleys.
No matter the how, when or why, it’s never too late to start again; in fact, every day we wake up, we’re embarking on a new beginning.
Start Again
It’s not always easy to start again; it can be scary, but it’s always possible no matter what happens to cross your path. You can conquer every new challenge, shift an existing direction, and return to a passion buried like treasure just below the surface along the way.
What if weekends have become yours again because the kids have grown and are more interested in activities outside the home. What will you do?
Rediscover what brings you joy and start again.
What if the footing of life has been rattled by illness or death; a loved one passes, there’s been a divorce or you’ve got family in distress and leaves you questioning the meaning of life.
Have kindness for yourself and start again.
What if you’ve noticed you have been living on auto-pilot. Feeling accomplished, yet, feeling like you’ve lost your way.
Redesign how you want your life to be like and start again.
What if you realize life isn’t like you thought it would be at this stage. Plans haven’t worked out; your business failed; you’ve made pretty big mistakes and bad decisions; your money, time, energy and inspiration all depleted.
All is well. Acknowledge the lesson, forgive yourself and start again.
What if you’ve been using food as a comfort mechanism and have accumulated some extra weight. Perhaps you’re feeling unmotivated and feeling tired. You dislike how you look and feel and know ignoring your health isn’t the way to live.
Take a deep breath, then one tiny step and start again.
Evaluate Your Here and Now
The first step before starting again is to stop and be still, acknowledging and accepting where you are now.
It could mean going for a walk in nature, listening to your favorite music or reading a meaningful quote. For me, it means spending time in nature, listening for direction from my higher self.
The essential part is to start in any way that comforts your being and allows you to connect with your spirit.
Then, make a list of what is and isn’t working in your current circumstance. Putting thoughts on paper releases emotional control and gives a more accurate perspective.
Consider Choices
The next step is to review your list, crossing off what isn’t working as a symbol of your new start.
Now, mentally visualize every possible option without thinking, building another list of potential solutions. By opening your mind to every possibility, no matter how wild they may be, you may even find some humor – and we all know that’s always the best therapy.
Next, narrow down your possibilities to a few viable choices by asking yourself these questions, writing out your answers.
- Is this option reasonable for my life right now?
- What is involved in completing this new reality?
- Who else in my tribe would need to join for me to make this happen (family, friends, coworkers)?
Never be afraid to stretch outside of your comfort zone a bit, but be sure to design the next possible step.
Determine Your Course
You’re ready now and know where you want to go. Step three determines how you will get there. The best way is to choose the path that feels the most natural and then commit – it’s going to be the way you are intuitively drawn to go.
This step gathers the data you’ll need to pick the best way of travel for your life based on your personality and desires. Asking yourself questions like, “Do I need more training?”, “Is this something I can do by myself?” and “Will I need more equipment to do this?”
Remember, this does not have to be your forever plan, and there is always more than one way to get to your destination. This exercise shows you the next best step in your course of action.
Prepare The Roadmap
You are all set. The destination and path determined, now it’s time to decide what to bring on your journey? Based on how you answered the questions in step three above, what resources and expertise are available to you already, and what will you need to add?
Is there a support system or group of people to encourage and help you as you complete your transformation? If not, who can you ask for help?
Determining what you have or need and then putting them in place before you start will make this journey more manageable – setting you up for success.
Continue Forward
You know where you want to go, how to get there and carry everything you need for your travel. The last step in this exercise is action.
It might be incredible if your journey is quick and straightforward – but what if it’s not? What if that something you want to achieve will take months or years to complete?
What if you become weary of the long, sometimes bumpy road or experience a big detour along the way? How will you remain focused and able to continue forward?
Something that helps me stay on course is to break the overall expedition into smaller action steps that are more manageable each day.
Creating small daily, attainable action steps makes me feel more empowered to keep moving forward. I’ve completed the more significant change by focusing on the day-to-day tasks and arriving at my destination before I know it.
For example, ignoring my health isn’t a practical way to live. If I dislike how I look and feel because I have lost my yoga practice, my next course of action is to change how I live and start again.
I would make a list of two or three things each morning that would allow me time to start my journey to better health, adding time for yoga and other healthy – repeating each day for a week (it’s just one week).
Then, at the end of each week, I check in to see how I feel, compliment myself for a job well done, decide what action steps need to be adjusted, and potentially add something new to the mix?
As you move along the path of transition and beginning again, celebrate every positive action step along the way. Regard your approach as an adventure and have fun with it!
Remember, it takes belief and confidence to step out into the unknown. Acknowledge the courage it takes to recreate your life, recognizing the fearlessness needed to walk a new path. Accept where you are today and be proud of what you are accomplishing!
Once you’ve reached your destination — the new dream, home, job, partner, adventure — you’ll undergo a feeling of freedom and empowerment that will remain with you forever.
It’s in this space you will comprehend that life is full of possibilities, and you are capable of recreating, pivoting and reinventing anything in life that you choose.
Before You Go
Celebrate your success! Please share your experience you had doing this exercise in the comments below.
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Remember, you are here to enjoy life!
Kirsti
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Kirsti Out Wandering aspires to illustrate well-being in mind, body & spirit, giving unconditional love to self and others, and pursuing all of the wild possibilities life serves up while living full-time from a sprinter van.
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