Defeat. Sadness. Boredom. Uninspired. Lack of purpose in your life. All these symptoms, and many more, are signs that you need to start fresh. They signal to you that life is calling you to wake up, dust off the past, and refocus for your future. These symptoms are actually an invitation, to leave the old behind and embrace the new by starting fresh.
At some point in our life, everyone has wished for the option to start fresh and begin again. This is a natural and normal feeling. It’s part of the human experience. In the same way the seasons cycle through year after year, it’s common to find ourselves in need of the same fresh starts too. Maybe you’re feeling inadequate, confused, overwhelmed, lost, scared to change course or start on a new path right now. Sometimes having one or many of these emotions can cause you to wind up hesitating and doing nothing.
Understand, it’s OK to start fresh and change. It’s a natural part of evolving into a smarter, better and stronger version of yourself. You do not need to make any announcements, nor do you require anyone’s permission to start fresh.
The reality is that life is anything but a straight line, and even with all its ups and downs you always have the ability to start fresh. There’s ALWAYS a way forward. You just have to look for it. You have options, you can let the circumstances you’re in defeat you, or you can allow it to improve you. Here are 7 ways to start fresh.
1. Clean your space. Your home is the space you spend majority of your time, make sure it’s clean and in order. Purge, sage, do whatever please, just declutter your space. Throw out anything that does not bring you joy. You need to set your environment up for success. The result of a cleaner space is a calmer, clearer, and focused mind that’ll help you move forward.
2. Meditate. Before you roll your eyes, there’s a reason meditation is always a recommendation to a better life. It’s because meditation allows you to simply just be and breathe. While the act of breathing can seem soo simple, it’s actually something most don’t do enough. Meditation helps to calm your mind. Take deep breathes to breathe out the old and inhale the new.
3. Learn from your past, and let it go. In order to move forward it’s going to require you to let go something first. Everyone has a past, but you cannot let the past dictate your future. You have to accept what has happened, and find ways to manage your emotions. Let go of that which you cannot change. Doing this will allow you to have the capacity to go after and accept the new and wonderful things coming towards you.
4. Manage your regrets. It’s inevitable that you will experience regret in life, it’s just part of being human. Regret appears at different times for everyone. For some it appears when you’re stressed, others when your sad. Whenever it comes try to examine your regret. Doing so can actually help you. Regret can help you make sense of where you’ve been, inform the decisions you’re going to make, inform your future actions and, of course, help ensure you don’t make the same mistakes again.
5. Freshen up your food choices. It’s not about following a new or trendy diet. It’s about eating foods that bring you to life. Fresh vegetables, fruit, water, and non-processed foods all give you energy and allow your body to perform at its best. What you eat impacts how you feel, and when you feel good you’ll have more motivation to move towards your goals.
6. Get moving. You were given one body, get moving and see how much better you begin to feel. Start or end your day with a walk or run outside. If able, go to the gym and activate yourself. Moving your body releases endorphins and endorphins have been shown to help improve your mood. A great way to start fresh is to get moving.
7. Be kind to yourself and give yourself grace. When starting fresh some may feel pressure to keep up new habits forever. This is impossible because you are not a robot. No one can do something forever. Know that it’s ok to not keep up all your new habits, and when this happens give yourself grace. Be kind to yourself and give yourself time to get back on track. Remember you don’t have to wait till the beginning of a new year to start fresh. You have the ability to start fresh anytime, all year round.