By Douglas Hardman
Life is constantly shifting, through the good and the bad, always. It’s up to us to be prepared to handle the punches. At times, we are going to have to start over and move on. It can be something drastic or something harmless, but I have come up with some steps to help you on your journey to starting over.
Step 1
In order to do something, you must first start. Once you’ve gotten blindsided with the hardships of reality, you have to pick yourself up and see where you are going from there. You have to start looking for new options, new ideas, etc. If you just let life knock you down, you’ll never go anywhere.
Step 2
Once you start on your new path, you need to utilize your skills. Everyone at least has the basics, but if you’re reading this, then you have at least required academic and possibly career skills. Communication, teamwork, flexibility, and leadership are some skills that can be utilized in your attempt to start a new. Whatever you’ve got, use it to your advantage.
Step 3
As mentioned previously, communication is a very useful skill when getting your (new) life on track. Make sure you are communicating your ideas, concerns, and worries effectively and efficiently with those around. You want intentions to be clear, you want false promises to be avoided, and you want to be precise and honest.
Step 4
Now that you’ve started, began utilizing, and are communicating, you need to kick it up. All of this is just talk at this point. Make commitments, make solid plans. Sure, they can change, but you have to kick yourself into high gear at this point. The ball is rolling, but you want to make sure it continues to roll and not come to a complete stop.
Step 5
This goes along with “kick.” You need to keep yourself motivated and on course. If you get lazy, you may keep yourself in that rut you were thrown into. Keep motivating yourself to strive for a better you. When [insert life changing event] happened, it happened because it was meant to keep you down. You’ve gotten up and you need to stay up.
Step 6
The path to a new and better you is you. You may have gone through life up until this point knowing who you were and what you were doing. But, again, this can all change. You’ll find yourself adapting and changing. You should embrace yourself as a human being capable of change and knowing that not everything is going to be the same.
Step 7
Life-changes can be exhausting. Make sure you are taking care yourself, mentally and physically, while you are going through all of this. Sleep well, stay hydrated, keep eating, and remain calm. Stress is not good and can drain you, so make sure you stay on top of your game and know that taking a break does not mean giving up.
Step 8
You are in this for the long run now. You’re changing, you’re making new plans for yourself. Keep yourself invested in your future and yourself. Invest your time in the things that matter, the people that matter, and, of course, invest your money. As much as we hate it, money runs the world and you better have some stored away. Never hurts to have a cash safety net.
Step 9
While you’re focusing on yourself and starting over, never forget that others may need you as well. You are allowed to be selfish, but it’s important to remain compassionate towards loved ones, friends, or even global events. Being a better you is what’s important, and everyone is aware of that. Just don’t forget that we’re all human and we need to support each other.
Step 10
They say the key to living a good life is finding happiness, and I believe this to be true. No matter what you’re doing, what you’re aiming for when starting over, make sure it’s something that makes you happy. If it’s not something you want to do, it’s not worth doing. Again, only you can make yourself truly happy. Seek happiness with passion and with a smile.
Step 11
At this point, you should know about the curveballs life throws at you. As bad as it may sound, you should anticipate things to take a turn for the worse. You should always be prepared for shit to hit the fan. That way, you’re always prepared to start over or to start anew. If you anticipate the worse, but are prepared for the best, you will always succeed.
Step 12
It’s all about being dedicated to change. You know you have to change, you know there’s no avoiding it, so you might as well dedicate yourself to it. It will be just like any task, job, or class you take now and in the future. If you give yourself 110% always, you can succeed. So make sure that when you start over, you give all you can to it.
Starting over with anything can be scary and challenging, but it’s life. You will find yourself, at one point or at many, where that’s all you can do. Just follow this 12-step program and you’ll find that starting over isn’t as hard as you may think. You may even find a new passion, a new goal, a new path in life. Life is a risk, always, and it isn’t worth it if you aren’t ready to plunge into the unknown.