How to Start Fresh

FRC Blog / By Caroline G

Goals

Did you make goals? Did you have some resolutions for the new year? Are you reaching your potential yet?

If the answer is no or you’re frustrated with yourself, your job, someone else, or some other circumstance, then read on. The solution is closer than you think.

Our goals come from an inner desire to find happiness, contentment in ourselves and our lives. If you have any level of value for your own enjoyment in life, you have goals. If you’ve been trying to reach them without success, it’s time to start fresh.

New Perspective

The first step to start fresh is to find a new perspective. Have you been trying to make a new hobby work but you simply can’t find the time? Is your relationship falling apart despite your best efforts? Even your job could be a challenge even though you really thought it’s something you wanted to do. So, what’s really eating you?

Talking your way through the issue with a coach will lead to questions like:

• What are your top values in yourself, your relationships, your job, and your life?
• What drives you to pursue something?
• What motivates you to like or enjoy something or someone?
• When was the last time you were happy and what made you feel that way?

Diving into these questions makes you think more deeply, turning thoughts around in your head until your perspective starts to see from a new angle. Before you know it, you’re realizing things anew, things you overlook until that deep dive.

Clean Slate

You can do one of two things: you can bash yourself for missing the (previously not-so) obvious, or you can find a new way to start fresh in tackling your goals. Life coaches will encourage the latter of course! To start fresh, we need a clean slate.

If a chef is working on a recipe, he knows he will have more than a few attempts before getting it just right. In doing so, he will need to clean his area a few times before attempting again. He can’t leave previous flavors on the cutting board or in the pot if starting over, so he clears the area and starts on a clean slate, or cutting board, etc.

Just the same, you need to think anew as to how you would start fresh when attempting to achieve your goals. Re-ask yourself these questions:

• What is my goal?
• Are there any short-term goals to lead me there? (Think of steps or breaking your goal into parts.)
• What are my obstacles?
• How can I overcome my obstacles or will I need to find another way around?
• What’s my first step and when can I achieve it?

One Step at a Time

While some goals could be small – such as a daily walk – others may take more steps. If your goal is a marathon, start with a smaller goal of a 5K. Is schedule a problem? Consider what time you do have to work with, no matter how seemingly insignificant.

These small steps grow into larger steps. Before you know it, you’ve made progress in a goal which you previously felt frustrated and stalled. Don’t stop now – except to pat yourself on the back! Small steps grow quickly, even when you’re taking your time.

Reassess

Every good goal-getter knows this one secret to achieving maximum success. It’s not money, intelligence, or an innate ability to never give up. It’s simply the ability to reassess. When you’re working on a project, you need to step back every so often and look it over to assess the progress.

If things look good, it’s a boost of confidence and you carry on as planned. If things are slightly off, you reassess and make adjustments, knowing that your corrections are going to lead you to that goal. Should things be completely off, you may need to go back to square one and start fresh. That’s okay! Starting fresh means you’re starting anew with more experience than before, and that’s encouraging!

The most important point to reassessing is that you don’t want to continue down a false road. This leads you away from your goals. When you reassess, you assure that you’re continuously moving forward to your goals, even if it means starting fresh.

Have No Fear

Don’t be afraid of failure. Failure is life’s lesson in the moment and, while some of those lessons can be harsh, those lessons give us the experience we need to go further. Working with someone like a life coach can help us stay on track, but even if you’re working alone on a goal, asking yourself the right questions will guide you to success.

So, have no fear, plunge forward, start fresh if you need to. Those goals aren’t going to get themselves. You can do this. You are worth the fight. If you need us, we’re here to help.