In May 1985, Steve Jobs, the man who started Apple got fired from the very company he started. He was publicly out. And he felt devastated. But he didn’t stop.
Jobs then took 3 months off, doing the things he loved, visiting places, and spending time with his family. And that was the time when he discovered he still loved what he did.
What happened next was amazing.
Steve Jobs restarted his life. He acquired Pixar, which went on to produce the first-ever computer-animated film that became ultra-successful. And during that time, he also started another company called NeXT Computer.
Eventually, Apple bought NeXT and Jobs returned to Apple. And the rest, they say, was history. (Steve Jobs’ biography is one of the most inspiring books I’ve read. And I recommend you get the book and read it as well.)
You see, it doesn’t matter who you are, there will be times we all face challenges and tough times in life, and we wanted to restart our life and start anew.
- If you’re looking for a big change,
- If you’re not happy with your life right now,
- If you’re living in mediocrity,
- If you’re in debt or have a broken relationship, or
- You’ve had enough and you wanted to make a change…
Then this article is meant for you.
Now, restarting your life doesn’t mean you need to move to a new country or reboot every part of your life. It can be as simple as a change in your perspective or the way you do things.
It doesn’t need to be difficult. And the best part?
Anyone can do it.
So, here are the 7 steps on how you can restart your life and give yourself a fresh new beginning…
1. Reflect and accept your current situation
Self-awareness is important. Recognizing that you need to make a change is the first step to making it happen.
And that’s why the first thing you should do to reset your life is to do a reflection on your life. You want to evaluate the current situation.
You can ask yourself questions such as…
- How do you get in the mess in the first place?
- Why do you want to restart and change your life?
- What is working in your life right now?
- What is not working in your life right now?
- Which part of your life did you want to change most?
Just think about your job, career, relationships, finance, health, etc. You may be going through hardships right now, but I believe that not everything in your life needed to change.
There will be areas of your life that are going well, and you don’t need to reboot and start everything from scratch.
After that, you want to accept what has happened and embrace the change that you’re about to make.
The key is to learn to take 100% responsibility for everything that has happened in your life. You don’t want to blame or make lousy excuses. Instead, you want to accept where you are, and then begin making positive changes to your life.
2. Identify the roadblocks that are stopping you
Next, you want to identify the roadblocks or the things that are not working or are stopping you from living your perfect life.
You see, if you don’t identify the things that are weighing you down, even after you restart your life, things will remain the same.
For example, if you have a bad drinking habit that has caused your life in a big mess right now, as long as you don’t get rid of the habit, you will get back to square one no matter how hard you try.
Here’s another example. You thought that your colleagues and your company are the problems. You decided to quit your job and look for a new one. And after you started at the new company, you found that you have the same old problem.
Sometimes, the problem is YOU.
This is why you want to identify what is stopping you and what is getting you into where you are right now.
And once you get rid of the root causes, you can restart your life and begin living with passion without stress.
Read: 10 Ways How to Stop Living a Mediocre Life
3. Gain a fresh perspective
The next thing you want to do is to gain a new and fresh perspective on the new life you want.
At this stage, you want to understand that it is NOT the end. No matter how bad the situation is, there’s always something you can do to turn it around.
If you’re deeply in debt, understand that you’re the one who made the decisions that got you where you are. And that means you can get yourself out of the situation as well. You just need to learn how by gaining a new perspective.
Study people who have faced similar situations just like you and learn how they overcome their circumstances and bounce back.
Jack Canfield once said these wise words…
“For every reason it’s not possible, there are hundreds of people who have faced the same circumstances and succeeded.”
So, the answer is out there. You just need to find it.
Read: 3 Fundamental Principles How to Turn Failure Into Success
4. Change your environment
Our environment and surroundings play an important role in shaping who we are. We often downplay the power of our environment.
If you want to restart your life, one of the most vital things you want to change is your environment.
And that includes your physical environment and the people you mix with.
If you want to succeed and live a better life, you must set up a supportive environment that will help you get the results you want.
Imagine you want to become a writer. Can you write in a noisy wet market where everyone is shouting? Well, maybe you can, but why make it harder to succeed when you can just change your environment, go to a quiet place, and write without being disturbed?
One reason Bill Gates was able to learn about programming and start Microsoft is that he went to one of the ONLY high schools in the world that had a computer at that time. You can read more about it here.
Besides your physical environment, the people you spend time with can greatly influence you too.
In 1955, Saint Laurent met Dior, who was also impressed by his talent and immediately hired him as his assistant. Since then, Saint Laurent learned the secrets of haute couture from Dior, including how to run the business.
This is why your environment and surroundings are important.
If you want to restart your life and make a change, you must consider how your environment can shape you. And you want to build a surrounding that will make you successful.
Read: 10 Tips How to Change Your Environment for Greater Motivation
5. Create the vision of the new life you want
The next step you want to take is to envision and create the ideal life you want. In other words, you want to either start to set a new goal or re-engage with the goals you already have.
You see, you want to restart your life, but what will the new life look like?
I bet you don’t want to re-create the same old life that you want to get rid of. Hence, spend time envisioning the perfect life you want.
Before you can embark on a new journey, you must know where you’re going. You need to identify your destination.
Too bad most people don’t know exactly what they want out of life. And that’s why so many people are living in mediocrity.
They wanted to make a change, but they can’t because they have no idea what kind of change they are looking for.
Thus, if you want to restart your life, you must first know what kind of new life you want to pursue.
Read: How to Set Goals and Achieve Them
6. Make a plan and develop new habits
And the next step you should do is to make a plan and start developing new habits to get there.
Knowing what you want is just the first step, taking action and getting there is the next.
And you cannot let life happens as it is. You want to take control of your life and that is why you want to create a plan.
You want to find out what you need to do to create the results you want. You want to find out what habits and routines you have to develop to help you create the life you desire.
John Maxwell has a great saying…
“You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.”
The same goes for restarting your life. You can’t just sit there and daydream about how great your life is going to be. That is not how change happens.
Change can only happen when you decide and take solid action.
If you don’t do anything and just sit there and pray for a new life, guess what, you will never get it.
And a large part of new behavioral change is through forming new habits.
If you’re someone who procrastinates all the time, you need to stop it. I strongly recommend you take this free training from John Assaraf to get rid of procrastination once and for all.
7. Be grateful and give yourself a chance to be happy
It depends on how drastic you want your life to change, restarting your life is never a walk in the park.
But that doesn’t mean it can’t be done. You can restart your life change for the better as long as you are determined to do so.
And you must have the patience and be willing to put in the effort.
Of course, there will be highs and lows. There will be great days and there will be bad days.
And that is why you want to learn to be grateful and give yourself a chance to be happy.
After all, the reason we want to restart our life and make a change is so that we can live a better, and more fulfilling life. And what does that mean? It means you want to make yourself happy by living a better life according to your definition.
Takeaway
If you’re not happy with where you are right now in your life, move, you’re not a tree!
That’s right, you can restart your life and make positive changes so that you won’t live life with regrets.
Become a sponge. Absorb everything you can. Learn as much as possible. And of course, apply what you have learned. And that’s how you can make changes to your life.
If you have fears and you have no idea where to begin, attend this free web class. You’ll learn how to manage fear and uncertainty in tough times, and gain confidence and trust in yourself that will make it easy to take meaningful action toward your biggest goals and dreams.
Before you leave, I’d love to share with you one of my favorite quotes from Mark Twain…
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, and sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”