Lately, I’ve been wondering how to begin again in life. I will be honest, there are many aspect of my life that I’m not happy with, and at the grand old age of 41 I sometimes feel like it’s too late to start again. But as actress Karen Wadell once said, “You are never too old to start over. Every day is a chance to start over to make the life we want.”
Today is that today. Today I am turning the page, starting a new chapter in life, and embracing a new beginning. And I’m going to share with you the process that I myself am using to create a new life for myself.
Let’s get started.
Let me show you how to get the most out of meditation.
Come meditate with me today!
How To Begin Again In Life
1: Start by acknowledging what has been good
When we are feeling down, we sometimes fall for the trap of thinking that everything is bad. In reality, life is never really entirely bad. The last thing we want to do is lose the parts of our lives that our currently good. Therefore, take a moment right now to acknowledge aspects of your life that are good. If you struggle to think of anything, use this gratitude meditation.
For me, one thing that I will acknowledge is that I’ve had the guts and determination to follow my heart in every aspect of my life, from becoming a meditation teacher to moving country to be with the woman I love. I want to keep that mentality of being true to myself while I change other things.
What aspects of your life do you actually want to keep? Acknowledge those now. (You might like to write a list).
2: What specifically do you want to change?
You need to be more specific than simply saying, “I want a new life”. If you legitimately want things to change, you have to get hyper-specific. Exactly what is it about your life that you want to be different?
For me, there is one major area of my life that I want to change. I want to stability. That is, I want a stable sense of who I am as a person and I want to focus on me. I want to feel centered.
My whole life I’ve struggled because, a) I have serious identity diffusion, and b) I have far too much empathy, which has always made me help other people to my own detriment. Therefore, I very specifically want a stable idea of myself and to focus on me.
How, specifically, do you want to change? Write it down. The more precise you are, the more you will achieve.
3: What factors have contributed to the things you want to change?
If you examine your life, you will find that there are specific factors that contributed to the things you wrote down in step 2, the things you are not happy with. What factors are contributing to the areas of your life that you’re dissatisfied with?
To show you what I mean, I will discuss my own issues. As I mentioned in step 2, I have identity diffusion and an overabundance of empathy. Because of this, it is very bad for me to be around negative people. I previously had jobs where I was with people who were selfish and highly negative, and it seriously affected me. Now that I have acknowledged this, I know that for my own good, I must be very wary of the people I associate with.
Over to you. What factors have contributed to the parts of your life that you’re not happy with, and how can you change that? Again, write this down.
4: Visualise your new self
If you truly want to change who you are, you need a vision of the person you want to be. This is where you need to start using your imagination. Literally, visualize in your mind exactly the person that you want to be. What do you look like? Where are you? Who are you with? What job do you have? What are you wearing? Go deep with this and be specific. You want to really see exactly who you want to be. If you’re artistic, you can even draw an image of yourself and put it on your bedroom wall so you see it every day and night.
For help with this step, try my meditation for motivation.
5: Change your clothes and your room(s)
- You need to encourage your mind to embrace change. One of the best ways to do that is with visuals. Go out and buy the types of clothes that the new you would buy. Put them on and look in the mirror. See your new self. Now, look at the rooms you live and work in. Are they the way that the new you would have them? Probably not right now, right? So go and change them. Make your rooms look the way that the new you would make them look. By dressing and decorating in the way the new you would, you are sending a loud signal to your brain that says, “Look! Things are different now!”
6: Go and do one thing right now that your new self would do
You want to strike while the iron is hot, as my mom would say. By reading this article and doing the exercises, you have heated up your iron. Now use it. No, not to iron a shirt. Rather, go and do one thing right now that the new you would do that the old you wouldn’t. For instance, let’s say that the way you wanted to change is that you wanted to be more confident around guys or girls you like. Go out right now, find someone you like, and initiate a conversation with them. I know this sounds hard, but I promise you that if you do this right now it will change your life. So, it is very much up to you. You can change right now. If you choose to. What are you going to do?
7: Do this Meditation For New Beginnings
- Sit comfortably with good posture. Take a moment to relax.
- Breathe in through your nose to a count of four. Hold for a count of four. Breathe out through your mouth to a count of four. Hold for a count of four. Repeat. While doing this, observe your breath moving around your body. This will help you to relax and focus ready for the next step.
- Bring to mind an image of your new self. Visualize what you would look like and what you would be wearing. Try to be as specific as possible and make your mental image vivid. While you are doing, this, from time to time your mind will flip back to an image of the old you. That’s just mental habit. When that happens, imagine pushing the old you away so that version of you floats off into the distance. Then, once again continue to visualise the new you. Do this for at least five minutes.
- Now imagine that this new you is in a place where they belong, with people they belong with. Remember, this is not the old you. It’s the new you. Where would the new you belong, and who would the new you be with? Visualize this. Once again, your mind will from time to time show you the old you. When that happens, imagine pushing that you into the distance and then continue to focus on this new vision of you.
- What one thing would the new you do? Visualize the new you doing that thing. Here, your mind might object, you might think things like, “I can’t do this” or, “This isn’t really me”. Just let these thoughts come and go s they will while you continue to visualize the new you.
- You can continue the steps above for as long as you like. Then, when you are ready, take one deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth, and open your eyes.
Work With Me
Why not embrace your new life by working with me? I’m a meditation teacher with more than twenty years of experience. I’ve helped people to embrace change and to cultivate lasting change in their lives. And I am ready to help you to begin your new life. So what are you waiting for? Book an online session with me today and let’s do this!
Paul Harrison is a passionate meditation teacher who believes in genuine, authentic meditation. He has more than 15 years experience in meditation and mindfulness. He studied meditation in beautiful Oxford, UK, and Hamilton Ontario Canada, and earned his degree at Staffordshire University.
“My goal is to provide the most authentic meditation sessions so you can harness the power of your own mind for personal transformation” – Paul Harrison