“I’m going to start from scratch” is a phrase that you’ve probably heard someone close to you say, or that you’ve said to yourself at some point. Many people believe that starting from scratch means resetting and forgetting the information and everything they have experienced. Obviously, this is impossible and, believe it or not, our experiences can be a strength. We carry with us experiences and lessons learned and, if we become aware of them, they can be of great help for the future.
To start from scratch is to move towards a change, a new stage. It is not only the desire to leave everything behind, it can occur in many contexts: starting over in a new city, implementing a life plan, adopting healthy habits, overcoming a loss, or a personal or work change. Whatever the reason, managing this new stage can be easier if you consider some aspects.
8 TIPS TO START FROM SCRATCH
Say goodbye to the previous stage
To start from scratch is to leave behind a previous phase and it is necessary to say goodbye to it in a conscious way, accepting and gathering what we have learned and what is useful to us. Closing stages consciously is a way to avoid that something can harm us in the new path we are starting. Moving to a new stage involves overcoming a grieving process in some situations. In these cases, it is recommended to take the time needed to assimilate and integrate the loss in a balanced way.
Set objectives and priorities
Having a purpose helps point us in a direction that fulfills us and keeps us motivated. Although it may be difficult at first, one of the most essencial steps that will make the difference when undertaking a new stage or making an important change is to find the reason or reasons why you want to do it. To find our purpose, we must first sort out our priorities until we find what is most important to us and what makes us make the first decisions to get moving.
Open your mind
Starting from scratch is synonymous with seeking new opportunities, and opening new doors along the way. If you intend to start a new stage and you are not aware that you will have to leave your comfort zone, that new experiences and situations will appear and that you will have to face and dare to live, you will not really be making a new beginning. We will be pretending to do the same thing we already knew. Initiating the necessary actions to reach our purpose, even if they are different from what we have done so far, is vital to prosper in this new journey. Opening the mind in order to adapt to new opportunities means living new experiences that can be very positive and rewarding.
Desires and needs
Another important point to start from scratch is to make an exercise of self-knowledge, to make a deep analysis of our needs and everything we long for in our life. Once you have a list created, differentiate between those desires that are achievable and those that are not dependent on us and identify whether we can achieve them in the short, medium, or long term. It is important to establish this differentiation because if we know how long it is going to take to achieve it, if we are aware of it, we will make the interest last over time and we will not get frustrated if we do not achieve it immediately.
Have a realistic plan
Once you have the list of needs and have done some introspection, establish a plan that makes it possible. What tasks or what specific actions do you need to carry out to start the fulfillment of that list of objectives? It is very useful to write it down and detail what you need, what obstacles you may encounter, and what possible solutions you could opt for if that were to happen so that you can be forewarned. Although the future is uncertain, planning helps you stay committed to your goal and have a broad vision of what you can do to achieve it.
Motivation
Starting from scratch requires a lot of commitment and courage, but motivation is also a key element in this process. Looking for sources of motivation and reinforcement helps us not to lose heart and to continue advancing in all those steps we have planned to achieve our goals. At the moment of seeking motivation, it is important to carry out the physical and emotional self-care that you need, that you have sources of support in your closest network, and that they help you in the moments of greatest difficulty, crisis or emotional falls.
Resilience
When you start on a new path, there are bound to be obstacles that get in the way. They can be both external, such as conflicts, economic or administrative difficulties, and internal, such as fear, lack of confidence or lack of motivation. For this reason, resilience training is a way to successfully cope with adversity. Keeping in mind all the factors or situations that may hinder your plan to start from scratch is a way to be forewarned and have positive strategies in mind to combat possible blows.
Start
Finally, when we have gone through the previous phases, we will have enough strategies and tools to start and try to keep them going on a daily basis, in order to be able to live that new life we need or want. It is important that your purpose is sustained over time. It is essential to allow yourself the necessary time to assimilate the new sensations that may arise in the first weeks and to comply with all the elements of the previous phases. If you keep in mind all the points we have discussed in this article, you will have enough resources to start from scratch and implement a new life plan.
