I’ve written a lot about the concept of “fresh starts” because it truly is something I believe in strongly. Getting mired down in mistakes you’ve made in life and allowing yourself to get stuck in the past can complicate your future and hold you back from your full potential. Don’t be afraid to give yourself a fresh start with these ten tips on how to begin again.
- Don’t get lost in the crowd
If you’re busy trying to fit in, chances are that you aren’t focusing on yourself and the aspects of yourself that you would like to improve upon. Don’t let yourself become just one of the masses — Sally Hogshead, author of How the World Sees You, says that the individual who embraces that which sets them apart will be the one to stand out. You don’t need to change who you are; you just need to embody it and build upon it.
- Don’t let perfection take focus
Nobody is perfect. Once more: nobody is perfect, and thinking that you need to be and getting caught up in making sure that you are can drain you and take focus away from the important things. Some things in your life will require more attention than others, but if you let yourself prioritize everything as “the most important thing,” you aren’t delegating attention where it needs to be.
- Let yourself be selfish
Sometimes we get so caught up in the idea that we need to constantly be helping others that we forget that we also need to take care of ourselves. The key here is to be self-focused but not let yourself become self-involved to the point where you’re always putting yourself first and never considering others. You need to find a balance between taking care of yourself and doing what you can to take care of others, which can only happen when you actually allow yourself the time to focus on you.
- Be flexible and adaptable
If you want to keep working on a path to self-improvement and growth, you need to learn when to stand your ground and when to adapt and change. Take stock of yourself and your goals, and identify what it is about yourself that got you to where you are today and what will hold you back from getting where you want to be tomorrow, and make a change accordingly.
- Write down your goals
When you allow your goals to remain conceptual, it can be difficult to actualize and implement them; writing down your goals and crafting a mission statement can be an incredible tool to putting you on the right path and helping you put your plans into action.