It‘s something we all think about from time to time. When we hit a certain point in our lives, thoughts turn to making changes. But as these changes are so seismic that we never bother following through with them. Whenever we want to start again we try to do things that we can manage. But when it comes to starting all over again, there are little changes that we can make. These little changes can help us to make slight alterations to our lives without having to start completely all over again. With this in mind, what are the things that can help us to start again but aren’t necessarily massive changes?
A New Purchase for a New Identity
Something you might not have really considered would be to make small changes that can help you to gradually alter the perception of yourself. People do it all the time by purchasing new clothes. And with something like material goods, such as a car, it can help us to shift our mindset.
It can be a little bit of a cliche, especially those people that buy speedsters as part of a midlife crisis. But if you are trying to put forward a new version of yourself, purchases like a car can help you to start changing the little thought processes in your mind. Because you may think that a certain type of car signifies a certain type of person, this can be a little purchase that helps get the wheels in motion (pardon the pun).
And while you may not really understand anything about coilovers or the mechanics associated with a car, you can use the opportunity to slowly create a new character for yourself. It’s important to remember that when you make these purchases that show a different exterior it can take time for the rest of you to catch up. If you really want to make changes to your thought processes and your psyche, you’ve got to drill deep.
Getting to Know Yourself Properly
We all think that we have an understanding of who we are. But when we’re faced with stressful situations we can surprise ourselves in a positive or negative way. You may be the person that, when everything hits the fan, you muster up the energy and an attitude that you didn’t know you had, or conversely you cower in the corner. When we start to realize that we know how to react in a certain situation, but we’ve been treated as someone who may be considered a weakling or a person that is low down in the social pecking order, it’s these moments that can reinvigorate us. But if we don’t have those situations that force us to confront ourselves, we have to find other methods.
Getting to know yourself properly is not always easy. You may discover things about yourself that you don’t like, but in order to get to this point, you’ve got to have the right tools. Many people would go down the route of counseling or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). But as many don’t have the finances, there are approaches that you can take online. You can find online CBT courses to slowly turn around to a different way of thinking so you can make a break with the past and the old version of yourself.
On the other hand, you may want to try an approach like meditation. Meditation is not for everyone but it is more about learning to be quiet amid the chaos in your mind. We have to remember that if we take the opportunity to sit in silence and to drown out all the external noise, we might find a few home truths. Many people talk about meditating on a specific issue and before you know it the answer flips on like a light switch. If you start to take the opportunities to meditate quietly, you might uncover quite a few answers.
Start to Visit New Places
Many people like the idea of traveling to broaden their minds and understand who they are but it’s not always feasible in this busy world. This is one way to embrace your braveness. By taking the opportunities to visit new places, even in your hometown, you slowly start to come out of your comfort zone. When we start to rewire our brain so we can embrace things like change this is when we start to become a better version of ourselves.
It’s important to remember that it’s not about completely jumping out of your comfort zone. When it comes to making these subtle changes in our lives it’s about learning to understand that things can surprise us and it’s not necessarily about being ready like a solider pouncing into action, but it’s about being able to embrace those changes and roll with the punches. You can start small when it comes to visiting new places. Take a different route to work or do something differently. Even something as simple as brushing your teeth with your other hand can slowly begin to rewire your brain.
Because we feel that starting again is such a massive change, the small changes we make can better prepare us for something more seismic. Because when we feel ready for a big change, it won’t be a shock to the system. And this is why we start to do smaller things.
Embracing Study
Studying is a double-edged sword when it comes to starting your life all over again. Many people can “over research,” thinking that they are going to prepare themselves better. And while this is a very safe approach, it’s about taking the opportunity to research a new way of life; if it feels good, you should try it.
Studying is a fantastic way to embrace other cultures but it also gives you the opportunity to figure out if you want to do something that gives you more meaning to life. Many people feel that they want to start all over again because they don’t have everything they want where they are. But it’s not necessarily about moving somewhere else. Although many people feel that going to a different country is the perfect way to escape their old life, embracing new skills can help you find a new side of yourself. If you then feel that there is a different calling in life and you are able to go for it, such as a new job, this can give you a whole new approach.
Because studying is a fantastic way to learn about other cultures and approaches it can be a worthwhile hobby to pick up. Many people go through life without doing enough to challenge or stimulate themselves. If you are bored, learning a new language is a great gateway to a whole new way of being.
Leaving Your Old Life Behind (for a Little While)
Learning to start over again isn’t just about the changes to you and everybody around you, but it can be a financial gamble or a professional one. For this reason alone, many people won’t make massive changes. But there is a compromise. You can learn to leave your old life behind for a short period of time. You can call it a staycation from yourself. Taking the opportunity to go and stay with a friend in another town or having a long weekend somewhere else can give you that distance to think about what you want to achieve. When you find yourself stressed by everything in life, taking a physical break to not be “you” can be all it takes.
Having that opportunity to go away and not think about the usual things that play on your mind gives you that feeling of freedom. When you start to think about a different routine or having that distance away from everything to focus on what you want, while also asking the advice of a friend, you may start to dream up new approaches to life. The important thing to remember at this point is that you may feel tempted to do something on a whim. But it’s about having a pragmatic approach at this point. Taking that time away is incredibly helpful as you are leaving your old life behind for a week or so but as the big changes in life are financial headaches, taking the opportunity to get away from yourself could be all you need to realize what needs to change in your current situation.
Starting Again Slowly
Everybody wants to embrace some form of change and fantasize about starting again. But we have to remember that whether we’re looking to become a new version of ourselves or we don’t like where we are if we want to make massive changes in our lives it’s about taking those baby steps. By changing your personality through aesthetic choices, embracing some form of counseling, or by starting to visit new places and situations, this will slowly change your way of thinking. And before you know it you’ve made massive changes in your life by doing little things. You can only look at who you are now in comparison to who you were a few months ago and you may come to the conclusion that you have made significant alterations and have started all over again without realizing.
