NEW BEGINNINGS

Whether it is a new year or simply a new quarter or any new cycle in your life, any new beginning is generally exciting and there is a high sense of commitment and hope. Just like a newborn baby or a new career or a new fitness program – whatever you may be embarking upon – there is always that honeymoon period at the starting line that gets the juices flowing and gets you going.

With January typically being new year's resolutions time, I wanted to check in with you to see how your new year’s resolutions are coming along. Are you still committed? Are you still moving forward with excitement? Or have you fallen to the statistics of the other 80% or more that have given up already? Those mighty and brave souls that have thrown in the towel and reverted back to the normal routine of days gone by?

No worries. You are not alone. This is the tenuous time. This is where the rubber meets the road and I wanted to support you with my own four-part formula that I focus on every day. This formula serves as a daily reminder to keep going in my commitment of staying connected to what I want to accomplish in my life.

Did you know that it takes more courage to start something and move forward with it than the actual finishing of something? Think about that for a minute and apply it to your own life – to actually take action and move on an idea takes more energy, more time and more commitment than just the thought itself. Just like a car – it takes more gas to start the car than to stop it – that is why you generally get more gas mileage when you are on the freeways or going long distances without stopping versus when you stop and start, stop and start, stop and start your car over and over again running errands. Same goes for you, same goes for me, in our own lives and our own new beginnings, new goals, new resolutions.

Here is step #1 in keeping moving forward with this new year, or whatever new beginning you might be facing right now in your life.

1.   Let go of THE PAST – 
   

I encourage you to not live in the past for your past does not equal your present. Yet, I have found that the past (everything from childhood experiences and memories to recent tragic events and daily challenges) is the number one thing that holds you back. I have seen even in myself and my coaching clients the fear of starting something is always coupled with having that elusive possibility of not finishing it, exhibiting some residue from a past storm that just passed through your life, seemingly coming from nowhere. Even though that thought can loom before a start of something, the reality is you can’t finish something you haven’t started. One of my favorite quotes is, "You don’t have to be great to start, you do, however, have to start to be great" is applicable here. A new cycle or beginning is often a very exciting time filled with new beginnings, new ideas, a new semester usually at school, new hopes and dreams for the future. Don’t live in the future. Live in the now. It will be less scary and intimidating to start. Remember that today truly is the first day of the rest of your life. You are like a newborn baby with a clean slate. Once you surrender to that thought daily, for the next 30 days at least, you will habitually awaken with a much fresher look and keep moving forward.

2.   Adjust your THINKING  - 
   

Your thoughts are what guide your direction and are what guides your expectations. Sometimes I’ve heard people say, "Well, I’m hoping for the best, expecting and preparing for the worst" – Is that effective? I don’t think so, I say expect the best, trust and be flexible in the process, focus on the greatest outcome possible for you and you will get what you focus on.

3.   Take a step of FAITH 
   

Action – the actual physical motion of forward movement specifically for what you want in life – is what follows your thinking. I once heard it said that God does not help parked cars, He works best with moving objects. So move forward with your options you see before you and if you don’t like them, move anyway. Do something different. Even if it may not make sense to others, keep that focus on what you feel in your heart is the best direction for you. Faith is following your heart. And relinquishing those fears of making mistakes will allow you to move forward and not stay paralyzed. "Analysis paralysis" won’t help either.

4.   Hold on to HOPE 
   

Having an open perspective every day and using hope as your anchor of your faithful movements forward is what is going to get you to crossing that finish line a lot sooner than without hope. In fact, I believe for me and also for you, that without hope, everything fails.

I wish for you the best in what is left in your new beginning – may your finish line experience be as memorable as your start. May you continue to find all your new beginnings to be exciting and scary, becoming an even happier and stronger you in the process.

Yours in Transformational Success,

Lois Tiedemann