New Season, New You :: 7 Ways to Give Yourself a Fresh Start

Fall is the perfect time to celebrate a new year. Especially for us moms. It’s our chance to embrace the change of seasons and reset or, in some cases, renew, our intentions and goals. Let’s not wait until the official new year to make a fresh start and accomplish what we’ve set out to do.

As a therapist and a life coach, I’m the first person to say that if we want to make changes in our lives, it starts with internal (versus external) shifts. That said, though, getting my hair chopped off this fall felt symbolically and physically freeing for me. It’s lighter. It’s minimal. And it goes with my mantra this fall of letting go.

Here are some other tips (beyond setting intentions) to give yourself a fresh new start.

Adopt a mantra that will bring you back to center.

This can be a few sentences, even, that you can recite as needed, and regularly, to remind you that you’re right where you need to be. That you’re engaged in and focused on what’s important in your life.

Plan and take a retreat, no matter how mini.

This can be as involved or as basic as you want and need for it to be. I’ve done one-night getaways that included driving an hour north to my parents’ house, grabbing coffee with a friend, doing some journaling, and maybe hitting the beach. Very low cost but a HUGE boost in my energy and in my return to self.

Plan something to look forward to.

Currently, I’m planning to attend a retreat in November. I also have a dancing night out with girlfriends planned for my birthday weekend. Studies show we cultivate many positive feelings when we have something to look forward to, no matter how small.

Declutter.

Your thoughts. Your closet. Your relationships. Anything that doesn’t serve you. Whatever it is, let it go. It will bring you clarity and it may open up the door for something else, be it a new emotion, person, or comfortable and cute pair of shoes to rock this fall.

Make INTERNAL shifts, versus external shifts.

So no judgment here if you want to buy that new pair of shoes this fall (see above), but if you want to really make changes, take a look at your mindset. Are your thoughts serving you, or is it time to replace them with new ones? Our thoughts lead to our feelings which lead to our actions which lead to the results we create in our lives. Make them count.

Follow the stars.

My personal favorite for astrology is Chani Nicholas. Whether you believe it or not, it can be a great way to see which nudges you’re feeling that may lead you to more motivation for that next goal. Which leads me to my last tip…

Initiate and/or complete a goal.

Maybe you’ve been wanting to run that 5K. I did an October half marathon with some friends in a beautiful town, and it had me upping my running game!

We still have a couple of months before the new calendar year, so let’s crush it with a fresh start! Above all else, remember that you’re already more than enough: Embrace your gifts, and just be you.

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