10 Thoughts about Starting Fresh
I need growth, novelty, and forward movement in my life regularly or I become restless and discontent.
I hate feeling stagnant and when I am I start to rot and that rot stinks up my whole life and everyone around me. I project this rot everywhere I look.
Gross I know, but until I realized what I was constantly creating and why, it was a pretty miserable existence. The thing is, the solution is so simple.
Growth. We humans are natural beings and what does nature do? She grows, lives, dies, rests, grows, lives, dies, rests….this is totally normal, we have cycles in every moment. Each minute is a cycle, each day, each month, each season, each year. We have seasons in our lives that are totally unique to us. So instead of staying static I naturally need to be constantly cycling.
When I embraced this, I felt free. Free to start fresh as often as I felt like it and free to let things go just the same. So if you are feeling trapped or stuck maybe it’s time for you to start fresh.
1. Why not start fresh?
Sometimes we really do just need to start with a hypothetical clean slate to begin anew. When we feel discontent, stagnant, or simply bored, it’s totally normal to yearn for novelty. This is a clear sign that you could use a refresh at least somewhere in your life. In fact, I think if you don’t allow yourself the growth we humans naturally crave you can wind up in pretty bad place. Don’t get to the point where you hate everything about your life, pay attention and grow and rest with the seasons of your life.
2. You have to actually start. ACTION!
We can dream of a fresh start but it does actually require you to do something. If we constantly yearn for change but never really do anything about it, the obvious will happen - nothing! Make a plan and take the first tiny step. That’s all you have to do, the first step, then the next, and the next. Don’t make change a huge big deal, it doesn’t have to be, especially if you find yourself not doing anything. Keep it simple, but start.
3. Sometimes you need to edit.
A fresh start usually requires you to remove things from you life that are no longer working. Too much of anything needs to go and a fresh start is the perfect time to purge your life. Get rid of the excess belongings in your home, closet, car, and garage. Get rid of the time commitments that don’t light you up. Get rid of relationships that don’t nourish you. Get rid of bad habits that are dragging you down. What else in your life can you let go of? Beliefs, negativity, gossip…complaining?
4. Sometimes you need to add.
A fresh start also usually requires you to add things that are missing from your life. When was the last time you really had fun, connected with a friend, or created something you were proud of? Maybe you’d like a new blouse or haven’t updated your living space since - well, ever. Is there a new hobby you’ve been interested in starting or maybe you’d like to get in shape? What needs to be added to your life?
5. Life happens in each moment, not just at the destination.
We must remember that each moment, each day, is where we live. Our everyday life is made up of, not just the big moments, but the small ones mostly. How are you spending each moment? We share most of our time with our closest friends, family, and co-workers. How can we make these relationships more rewarding? We spend most of our time, sleeping, working, and doing the everyday tasks that make up our day to day lives. How can we upgrade these things? If we pay attention to the details of our lives and intentionally do them with care and love we can significantly improve our lives with nothing more than that simple attention.
6. But you do need a goal to get where you want to go.
We don’t want to live in the future, but if we don’t have a destination in mind, we likely aren’t starting anything fresh. If we are craving a fresh start we need to set a fresh goal or two. How will we change our journey if we don’t change our destination?
7. Self discovery is necessary or you will end up in the same place.
If we don’t take a good hard look at what we want, why we are - where we are, and get totally honest with ourselves, we won’t actually change anything. If we do the same old things, we will get the same old results. Take the time to dig in to your wants and needs by journaling or talking it out with a friend. What things are you doing just for you and what things are you doing because it’s someone's expectation? Dig deep.
8. Choose quality over quantity.
We don’t always need a complete overhaul, sometimes we need to level up specific things, actions, or areas. Maybe not more friends, maybe better ones. Maybe we don’t need a new hobby, we need to drop some and go all in on what's left. Sometimes we need less belongings while keeping only the most precious. Can you do less activities or events by saying yes only to the things you really want to do? Even in business we can choose to spend most of our time on things that really create value and let go of the things that don’t.
9. Get organized.
Nothing feels more like a fresh start to me than a clean closet, organized pantry, or anything else being tidied up. When I’m feeling totally out of sorts and wanting to escape to somewhere new, nothing soothes me like clean house or completed project.
10. Repeat as needed.
Fresh starts are available to us each and every moment.
