Tuesday, December 5, 2017

12 Steps To Starting Fresh In 2018


Photo by Dexter Fernandes from Pexels


It’s December and it means that another year nearly bites the dust. Doesn’t it feel as if the years just keep getting shorter and shorter? Maybe it’s just because we are getting older and older. Anyway, what we are going to discuss today is perhaps the first ‘New Years resolution’ style post. It might be a little bit premature, but consider how quickly time passes, it will probably come at the perfect moment for many of you out there.


Changing our lifestyle is something which can be incredibly stressful and it forces us to shift our perspective onto something new. If you’ve had a pretty rubbish year, don’t worry about it. It happens to everyone at some point in their lives and you can take steps to make sure that the next year is better for you and everyone else you surround yourself with in life.
1. Accept Change

the first step to moving on in your life to accept that you are no longer the person you used to be. At the beginning of the year you may have been excited to start your job and driven by the idea of going up in that career, but by the end of the year you might ate waking up early every morning to travel to a job you can’t progress with. Things change and over time your perspective will too. The biggest step is to be able to say that you have changed and you can no longer live the way you have been doing. As humans we like routine and safety, and pulling ourselves away from what we know can be incredibly scary. If you get to a point in your life where the things that used to make you happy no longer do: don’t feel like you need to resist. It could be your career, a relationship or another aspect of your life. If you're not totally happy there’s no point in forcing it.

2. Get Out

The moment you feel as if you are staying in the same life at the expense of your happiness, you need to think about leaving. It is not right that you should feel as if you have to stay where you are for the rest of time if you hate waking up every morning. Your happiness is the most important thing in the world and if you aren’t happy; there’s no point in anything else. If you don’t leave you will stay unhappy for your whole life, and we do not live long enough on this earth to live unsatisfactory lives.

3. Be Open

When we look at our lives and the way we live: it might be the case that we only ever socialise with a small handful of people. However, there are billions of amazing, unique people on this earth that you could find you get on with well. We often keep ourselves very guarded while out and about but the truth is we need to open ourselves up to people and let them talk to us. We may make new friends, find business opportunities or even fall in love. People are an essential part of life, so take the steps today to open yourself up to new people and let in some conversation.Today might be the day you meet your new best friend!

4.Know that things won’t always go your way

The hardest thing to admit is defeat. It will happen many times in your life and it can be really hard to stay motivated when you have faced a rejection. It may happen in a relationship or a job, and it will hurt, but if you want to get on with your life and make new memories you need to make sure you accept the decision and move on. Remember that everything happens for a reason, and the bad luck you receive today may be paving the way for the good luck you’ll have in the future. Stay as strong as you can and let your family and friends support you through it and bring you out of the other side.

5. Talk

If life has gotten to a stressful point in the last year, you may need to let your troubles out and talk to someone about it. It is understandable that you may not want to talk to a family member or friend because you feel as if it makes you weak, so instead go and see a doctor or a therapist and voice your problems out loud. A lot of the time simply saying what we feel can help lift the weight off our shoulders and help us see the problem for what it really is. To may even see that the issues you had were just notions in your head which spiralled out of control.

6. Escape your bubble

Do something which scares you in 2018. Go skydiving, swimming with sharks, sing in front of a crowd… whatever it is that you have never done because you think you can’t: do it. It is only by pulling ourselves away from the comfort zone we have lived in for so long that we will find who we really are. It can take something extreme to really see what it is we can do and how brave we are. It can put life into perspective and show you what really matters.

7.Be part of the crowd

One way to help you see your life and troubles from a new perspective is to take yourself into a crowded place. Go somewhere like a concert where there are thousands of other people and it will help you see that your problems aren’t the only ones in the world. It can give you that final kick of confidence you need to finally break away and start your life elsewhere.


8.Write a plan

Sometimes the best way to hold yourself accountable for your actions and choices is to write them down. Write down what it is that you wish to achieve from your life and how you want to do it. Having a written record of your plans and aspirations will make it easier for you to clearly see what you need to do and take action in your life for the better. Use a template like this: https://www.pinterest.com/explore/life-plan-template/?lp=true to get your started.

9.Stick to your plan

Once you've made your plan you need to make sure you stick to it. Give yourself small tasks and milestones, and every time you pass a milestone give yourself a small reward. This way you will feel productive and be able to do everything you have always wanted to do.

10. Move on from a win

Facing defeat and coming to terms with it is not the only way you can work towards changing your lifestyle. You can also use a big victory to change your perspective and move in with life. For example, you may have just lost a huge amount of weight and took part in a marathon or a different sporting event. The sense of achievement will make you feel strong and allow you to realise that you are capable of much more than you ever thought. It can give you the motivation you need to chase your dreams and change the way you live your life for good.

11.Clear out your life

Once you have decided to make major changes to the way you live your life, you need to make changes to your home too. If you have just come out of a relationship you need to get rid of any possessions which remind you of that person in order to move on with your life. You can get rid of clutter to clear your space and redecorate to let go of the past for good. Possessions are hard to get rid of, but they are only things. We need to learn to let go of possessions and remove them from our lives if they become toxic. Clear out everything you don’t need at home and get it removed at www.samedayrubbishremoval.com.au. Your home will be cleansed and so will you. You could also check out Rubbish Taxi for friendly and affordable waste removal services.


12.Prepare for the worst

One of the main factors which always stops us from pursuing a new way of life is fear that we will fail. The thing is, many of us never take that risk and therefore we never know if we would have succeeded. To convince yourself to at least try; think of the worst case scenario. If you go for a different job you might get rejected. If you do it's fine, and you can just try somewhere else or take a few courses to widen your knowledge. Unless the worst case scenario is that your whole life will fall apart or you will be eaten by lions; you don’t need to worry too much. Learn to take that risk and see what awaits you on the other side. You may find that it is the best decision you have made in your entire life.

On a personal note, here's my walking story for National Walking Day a couple of years ago with an update.