Starting Over

Have you ever felt like you need to start over in life? Many people have. Maybe not a full-life reboot, but start over with some things you still don't like about yourself or with things you have struggled to control. We all have a better version of ourselves in our minds. Some of that is not realistic, but it's good to strive for the things we know will make life better for ourselves and others. Like the Apostle Paul says in Romans 7:15 "For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate." I can relate and I get tired of feeling that way. 

So how do we change? Here are a few things I would recommend. 

1. Don't let shame and guilt define you. Look forward to what you want to become not back to what you have been. 

2. Narrow your focus. Getting overwhelmed with too many changes leads to inaction. Pick one thing, one place in your life where you can start over. Fresh starts are a good thing. 

3. Put a plan together. You may not like plans or goals, but without them, you will not know where to go or how to build something new. Without some sort of plan, you will quickly fall back into old patterns. And be specific. 

4. Get help. Talk to others, educate yourself, and find a mentor or friend you can trust to listen and help you along the way. 

5. Give yourself room to fail. You will fail over and over again, but keep moving forward. Focus on what you have accomplished and what you're getting right. I like to give myself a year and I think about where I'll be in a year if I keep going, not where I am now on the days I fail. Keep moving. 

6. Enjoy the space. Find something you like about the new space in your life. Get into it. If you are walking, get some new shoes and a water bottle. Go do your thing in beautiful places. Get an app to track your progress. If you are planning to eat better, do some research, watch videos, listen to podcasts, get some recipes, and share your experience with others. 

7. Do what you said you would do then do one more. Even if you decide to do just one simple thing, once you've decided, don't go back. Do that one thing just as you planned and then go just a little further, and do one more. Always plan out what the one more thing will be for you. If you say you are going to walk one mile, then walk that one mile plus a tenth of a mile extra. If you plan to go three days without eating processed foods, then do that and then go for one more meal. If you are going to run three miles then do it, but go just a little further. Keep running while you could to ten then stop or do a 5K which is 3.11 miles instead of stopping right at 3.0 miles. That little bit extra is what makes all the difference!

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