Starting a new chapter in your life is one of the most daunting and life-refreshing steps that you can ever take. Your new life’s chapter will be filled with excitement, restlessness (as there are so many things you got to do), hopefulness, challenges, and a never-ending passion for life, “knowing you just can’t let go of this life—just like that.
You will have an urge to smell the aroma of flowers while walking freely wherever you want without any limitations. But a new beginning isn’t always as easy as it might appear to be, as a new life or a new day comes with a cost—a cost of leaving the past behind.
But nobody has experienced or achieved something new without leaving the old. Right? So, what’s the way? If that’s the question that’s boggling your mind, then you better go through the steps specifically designed to help you start a new chapter in your life.
1) Understand Yourself And The Values You Hold Within
The first step towards embracing a new beginning is knowing your inner values and the things that fulfil you and give meaning to your life. If you’re not sure how to go about it, then you better read a book called “Ikigai.”
As per Ikigai principles, we all have some sort of purpose in our lives and reason to do something. In the book “Ikigai,” the authors “Hector Garcia”, and “Francesc Miralles” has talked about 4 pillars of Ikigai which hold a key towards fulfilment.
- First one is passion (What you love): Explore and experience the things that ignite your soul and help you live freely in the moment. It could be anything, like you may be interested in signing, public speaking, acting, painting, writing, or helping others in need—whatever it may be—if it fulfils your soul and helps you remain awake in the chaotic world, then you should embrace it wholeheartedly, as it is what that will save you when you’re going through some rough phases of your life. In short, it will keep you alive.
- Vocation: (What you genuinely good at): This pillar revolves around finding what you practically good at. You can be good at something that naturally flows through you or something you’ve learned with practice. For ex: whenever a new project comes in, you show childlike enthusiasm, show initiative, and naturally come ahead to share your ideas for growing the business, so here you most probably good at taking initiatives. Similarly, you can be good at other things that you enjoy in your free time, like, painting, dancing, singing, helping others, etc, and can later use these talents or skills to improve your professional or personal life.
- Profession (To attain financial freedom): The third pillar is to have a profession that can fulfil the basic desires of life, like food, cloth, shelter, and can help you provide enough financial freedom, so you can focus on other important aspects of your life.
Even you can turn your passion into a profession while ensuring it puts enough money on the table, and is a good source of survival in the long term. Or you can choose a profession that fits with your education, and be so good at it, you will never have to think of cash inflow again.
- Mission (What the world or society needs): The fourth pillar is to bring something valuable to society. You would need to find out how you can contribute to the world with your skills or talents. You can start your own business, join an NGO, or become a life coach with the aim of empowering others’ lives and helping them grow professionally and spiritually.
2) Let Go Of The Past
You may wish to start a new chapter in your life, but if you’re not strong enough to deal with your past traumas or painful events, then you most probably end up falling into a swamp with no escape. So, what’s the way? If that’s what’s bothering you, then I’ve got something for you.
- Acknowledge what is holding you back: What’s stopping you? What’s stifling you? Is it a failed relationship? A lover who you just can’t get over? Life’s insecurities? What is it? Find the reasons for your suffering and what’s stopping you to be at present. And once you identify the reasons, then find the solutions by asking yourself questions like, “What are the reasons that I must move on beyond this?, “How will my life change once I take this decision?, “How will I feel after moving into a new chapter of life?, etc. These questions may give you a reason to move on and reshape your life.
- Don’t act on emotional habits: We are all emotional beings, and most of our daily choices are somewhere linked to our emotional decisions rather than rational ones. Even most of our past events that occur frequently are a result of our emotional ride—that we fear letting go.
Instead of maintaining peace and joy in the relationship, we bring the past into the present and end up in a never-ending loop of negative emotions. Therefore, it is crucial for us to train ourselves to overpower our emotions instead of letting them overpower us. And fortunately, we can do it by practicing emotional intelligence.
3) Your Intentions Should Be Clear
Before starting a new chapter in life, you must know why it is necessary and what could happen if you don’t make this decision. Ask multiple questions, so you will have a clear idea of whether you’re on the right path or not. If you want to move on from a relationship, then ask yourself why you want to move on or what will happen if you don’t.
If you no longer feel satisfied in your profession, then ask yourself, Why do you want to leave this profession? What will happen if you don’t? Would you be happy after leaving it or not? Having clear intentions and deep introspection will help you find a reasonable answer to start a new chapter in your life.
4) Take Action (No Matter If You Like It or Not)
If you’re stuck somewhere (in a relationship or a carrier) and want to break free from that loop, then you probably need something that can save a hell lot of time and help you build unbreakable resilience. You may hate it in the first place, but once you get addicted to it and the results it showers upon you, you will never dare to leave it.
It is none other than taking massive action on a daily basis. It is the key to getting over fear of failure, crippling negative thoughts, and people’s better-than-me mentality. It gives you the momentum to put your subconscious desires into action and gives you “a reason to live.”
5) Embrace Change Like Seasons
Embracing change isn’t easy. It comes with a cost. The cost of leaving the past behind and embracing the gift called “present.”
We humans have a tendency to stick to the traditional ways of doing things instead of breaking the norms or choosing a different path. Truth be told, we all can do wonders for mankind, but all that dopamine or excitement goes to waste when we become a slave to our insecurities, fears, and what-if phobias. Remember that life’s best moments can only be felt. Similarly, happiness on the other side of fear can only be felt by embracing the change. Change comes with the realization that your time is limited, and you just can’t let your negative emotions stop you from getting the most out of your life.