Before COVID began, way back in 2019, I was getting so excited about the thought of preparing myself for a fresh start. I had set some new goals for myself and was looking forward to accomplishing them all in the year 2020.
Then COVID hit and that put an abrupt stop to my fresh start. Like everyone else, I have spent the last two years dragging myself through the muck and mire of a pandemic.
Well, I have finally had enough! Isn’t it about time to revisit that idea of a fresh start? Let’s pick up where we left off in 2019. People begin and end things all the time. Students leave for college. Employees take new jobs. Couples get married. Families move. Women become pregnant. Workers retire.
As I lift my head up and out of this two-year-long fog, I’m starting to realize it’s my turn now. It’s your turn now too. Now is the time to make a fresh start.
Stop feeling bored. Stop feeling defeated. Stop feeling exhausted and overwhelmed. Put some real meaning back into your life. Learn to laugh, to run, and to be happy all over again. Leave the old and the past behind. Embrace the new and exciting. Ignite a spark that will bring new life to your life. Experience something big this time. Search for a deeper meaning. Do something that brings you much more fulfillment.
There are many starts and stops in life. The pandemic has slowed us down a bit. It has gotten in the way. Not anymore! We have learned how to be safe and how to stay as healthy as possible. We have learned how to take better care of ourselves and of each other. We are turning a corner. We are leaving that sluggish feeling behind. We are done with the doldrums. We are shedding everything that is stale. It’s time for a change. It’s time to focus on new and exciting opportunities that lie ahead.
Here are a few ideas to get you thinking about your own future; your own “fresh start”.
• Accept change. You are no longer the person you used to be.
• Embrace the unknown. Make the first step.
• Accept defeat. Heal. Close the battle. Move on.
• Tell your story. Transform and transcend with your words.
• Get out of your comfort zone. Stretch your limits. Try.
• Break up with your past once and for all.
• Declutter and make room for the future.
• Move somewhere else. Get out of town. Redesign your life.
• Take a chance. Roll the dice. See what happens.
• Don’t believe everything you think. Your mind is not perfect.
Isn’t it about time we all laugh more? Teach others. Write a book. Say “yes” to something that is good for you. Say “no” to whatever makes you unhappy. Stop trying to solve the wrong problems in life. Instead, shift your focus. Look at other things; things that you haven’t seen before.
Fall is upon us. The trees are shedding their leaves. They are getting ready for renewal in the spring. Let’s take a lesson from the trees. Let’s shed the old self. Let’s do some pruning. Let’s go ahead and plant the seeds for a new life. It’s time to look forward; to experience a rebirth; and to focus on a fresh start.
Some information in this column was taken from “50 Ways to Start Fresh,” by Dragos Roua.
