Start Fresh When You Need a Fresh Start

Fresh Start. We’ve all been there, when we just simply need to start fresh. Life is overwhelming, work is chaos, things are out of control. Maybe, things aren’t out of control – maybe life has just…changed. You need a fresh start.

The easiest way to make a fresh start is to start fresh. It doesn’t happen overnight, but with these tools you’ll have exactly what you need to create the fresh start you’re craving.

1. Know yourself – reflect on the person you are.
2. Act like the person you want to become – image the person you want to be.
3. Set goals and create a plan – a goal without a plan is just a wish
4. Build good habits and break bad ones
5. Create routines that support a new you – routines are everything when you need a fresh start
6. Consider downsizing or rightsizing – clear the clutter of the old, and savor the room you create for the new
7. Make healthy choices – none of this matters without your health
8. Make yourself a priority – let’s get started.

Starting fresh doesn’t have to wait until New Years! You can start reframing your life today. You can experience a fresh start when you decide to start fresh.

Know the Person you Are

Sometimes it’s hard to look in the mirror and really know the person looking back at you. I think it’s a little like moving house. You don’t see all the bumps and scratches until you empty the contents and really take a look at the empty shell. Suddenly you see the dust bunnies, the cobwebs, and the dingy walls.

Knowing yourself can be challenging at best. But the rewards of taking a good long hard look can lead to a beautiful fresh start. Here are some prompts that may help you determine who you really are.

1. What are your likes and dislikes?
2. What are your values? Your moral code?
3. What are your skills?
4. What are your hobbies?
5. What do you want from life? In 5 years? In 10 years?
6. If you weren’t afraid of failure, what would you do?
7. Why do I do the things I do?
8. What drives me? What are my passions?
9. How do my choices impact my life?
10. What is my ideal self? Who is my ideal self?

Here are some good questions to ask in your pursuit of self-discovery.

Act Like the Person You Want to Be

Once you understand the person you are, you can begin to define the person you want to be. To become a new version of yourself and create a fresh start, you must act like the person you want to be. You cannot act like the person you want to be, until you’ve defined who that person is. Here are some good places to start.

1. Who is the person you want to be?
2. What do they do?
3. What do they not do?
4. What are this person’s habits?
5. What does this person think about?
6. What does this person have to say?
7. What does the future hold for this person?

Set Goals to Create a Fresh Start

I am a firm believer in the power of a fresh start, a do-over, a mulligan. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve had to pick myself up by my boot straps and try again. It isn’t always easy to find the will power to do it. But fresh starts are always worth the effort.

You cannot expect a fresh start to be effective unless you have a goal in mind. With that, goals cannot be expected to succeed without a plan to support them. I like to say it like this: You won’t lose weight sitting on the sofa watching exercise programs or videos. You have to put in the effort to make change happen.

They say a goal is just a wish unless it’s written down. Create a goal, break it down into measurable points, and get started. You can use S.M.A.R.T. goals, written goals, post it notes, or graphs and charts. The method is up to you.

Personally, I like to create New Month Resolutions. Each month I write a new resolution or two for the month. By the end of the year, I’ve made anywhere from twelve to twenty-four changes, and given myself a dozen fresh starts.

Fresh Starts Happen When You Build Good Habits

Fresh starts happen when you build good habits. It’s often more difficult to break bad habits, but when you combine habit upon habit you start moving in the right direction. The book Atomic Habits, by James Clear is an excellent resource that goes into depth about how to break a bad habit and replace it with a good one.

Most people have trouble sticking to new habits. But scientific research shows that after 28 days, a habit sticks. You just get through the first 7 days of excitement, the second week where you want to give in, the third week where you might want to let yourself slide…and then, suddenly, around day 28, your new habit has taken hold to the point where you will miss it if you skip it.

I highly recommend reading the book to get a good start. If nothing else, it will inspire and encourage you.

Create a Fresh Start by Creating New Routines

There is a phenomenon that happens when we move to a new location, travel for vacation, or even rearrange our furniture. The change itself prompts us to create new routines. Dr Mindy Pell talked to Hal Elrod, the author of The Miracle Morning, and in this podcast, she discusses how fresh starts are often begun by creating new routines.

We have also found this to be true. We find that travel helps us to break free of the old routines and adopt new ones, even if only for a week or weekend. When we moved, we also realized that our morning, afternoon and evening routines all changed. The change of routines created a fresh start that would have been difficult without the new environment. Not impossible….but difficult. Even if it’s as simple as re-arranging your furniture, it’s certainly worth a try.

Consider Downsizing

There is something to be said for starting fresh with a move. Even if you aren’t planning to relocate to a new home, a new city or a new state, you can start fresh by decluttering and downsizing. There is so much to say about the benefits of downsizing and getting rid of anything not serving you or your family. Folks like The Minimalists, Joshua Becker, and The Minimal Mom, and Shannon Torrens can inspire you to breathe life back into your spaces.

The goal is to make your environment work for you and not against you. Improving your environment also helps you to break those bad habits, and helps good ones to stick. It also inspires you to stick with healthy choices.

If you are someone who struggles with anxiety or depression, there is a world of information that suggests how clutter is connected to these challenges. If you struggle with anxiety or depression, please seek help. There is a world of hope for you – and you can start fresh with a fresh start just by speaking with a professional.

Create a Fresh Start with Healthy Choices

I think we all know what healthy choices are. Although, we may not all make them. We know we’re supposed to drink more water and less [coffee, soda, wine, tea]. We are supposed to exercise consistently, but we may let ourselves off the hook every now and again. Fruits and veggies are the better healthier choice, but chips and salsa taste soooo gooood.

I have found it easier to make easier choices when I come at them at a slower pace. What I mean is that I find it really hard to quit things cold-turkey. Diet soda for example: I used to reach for diet soda every time I wanted one. I knew I needed to drink more water, but what my body craved was the diet soda. For me, I started out with an easy swap. I determined I would choose water at least once a day over diet soda. Once that swap was easy, I moved to two a day, then three, etcetera, until I had given up the diet soda.

When I started walking for my health again, I started out slowly as well. I determined that 10 minutes of brisk walking was enough until I built up to fifteen, twenty, thirty, and sometimes forty-five minutes.

I used to love intermittent fasting, but as I aged, I found I wasn’t experiencing the results I once did. As I researched other approaches, I came upon the whole 30 method. I realized that for my lifestyle, my activity level, and how I choose to live, I could see results if I approached the whole 30 method with an 80/20 approach. I aim for Whole Foods 80% of the time, and I don’t beat myself up over the 20% when I decide to splurge. For reference, my method of whole 30 includes meat, fruits, veggies, eggs, and both white and sweet potatoes. I try to limit dairy and grains.

Make Yourself a Priority

The best way I found to create a fresh start by starting fresh was to make myself a priority. Because we are empty-nesters, I think this may be easier for me than for some. I realize every one has a different life circumstance. Even if you can only spare thirty to sixty minutes a day to prioritize yourself, I encourage you to do it. Start small if you have to; start with 10 minutes, 15 minutes, whatever you can manage. If you need inspiration, I recommend The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod.

Start slow, pick your biggest priority and begin there. I know you can do this and I know your life will be better for it.