How and When to Begin Again

Dear ones, a new year traditionally signifies an opportunity for new beginnings. However, if the past year has been difficult or painful, you may balk at the idea of beginning something new or trying again. If your only motivation is the date on the calendar or the newest trend, a past failure may be preventing your future success or stopping you from achieving your goals. Being pushed to do it now when you're not ready to begin again will only increase your reluctance, decrease your productivity, and push you closer to failure.

Goals don't give meaning to your life, they're the natural outgrowth that occurs when you're in alignment with your purpose.

Therefore, instead of cranking up the new beginnings because it's a new year and you're supposed to, try asking yourself, "Am I ready?" If you answer, yes, now ask yourself what you're ready for. If you don't feel enthusiastic about a life overhaul, keep dialing back your expectations until you find your comfort zone. Search for the place that says, "If I tried to do this and succeeded, I'd gain my desire without pushing myself so hard and so fast that I've come unmoored," instead of "I have to meet this goal for my life to have meaning." Goals don't give meaning to your life, they're the natural outgrowth that occurs when you're in alignment with your purpose.

Setting goals that meet someone else's expectations won't prevent you from experiencing the pain you're holding within

It's important to remember that life can never be lived from the outside-in. That which fills the inside whether it be joy and laughter or sadness and pain will always find its way to the outside where you'll have no choice but to deal with what is. This means that setting goals that meet someone else's expectations won't prevent you from experiencing the pain you're holding within. That which is buried isn't gone forever, it's just waiting for a moment of weakness or frustration to set it free. When you try to run away by chasing someone else's ideal, you weaken your commitment, open to frustration, and soon find yourself dealing with all you were running from.

Waiting doesn't mean making excuses, moping around, and crying over last week's mistakes, it means being honest about what you can accomplish, what you're ready to commit to, and what will give you a sense of satisfaction

When you follow the "Do it now of the calendar" instead of the "I'm ready to do it now of your heart" you're ensuring you'll have another painful ending to feel bad about instead of a glorious new beginning to celebrate. Instead of beginning again or beginning something new because you're supposed to, do it because you want to. Do it because you're ready. Waiting doesn't mean making excuses, moping around, and crying over last week's mistakes, it means being honest about what you can accomplish, what you're ready to commit to, and what will give you a sense of satisfaction. It's important to note that most people don't put off things because they'd rather not push themselves to greater heights but because they've become convinced their dreams are dust, nothing more than unobtainable fantasies that should not be pursued. The lack of persistence and progress, then, is not laziness but protection from the pain of failure. It's the attitude, "Why begin, when I know I'm going to fail."

You must be committed and in heart agreement with your goal if you're to succeed. Doing something for revenge, out of anger, or to prove something are not heart motivations and will not sustain you on your journey

If this is happening in your life, it's because you're not living with authenticity. You're chasing a dream but not your dream. Now is the time to pursue your dreams. Begin by asking yourself these questions: "What do I want to accomplish? What skills, natural ability, and desire do I have to put toward this goal? What resources (time, talent, money) do I have available and finally, yet most importantly, why do I want to accomplish this?" You must be committed and in heart agreement with your goal if you're to succeed. Doing something for revenge, out of anger, or to prove something are not heart motivations and will not sustain you on your journey. Before you begin you must go within and let go of petty thinking. Don't allow past pain to be your guide. Honor yourself by choosing to be motivated by what feels good instead of who has done you wrong. When you start living your life from a place of what do I want, what feels good to my heart, and what aligns with where I am right now, beginnings will happen when they are meant to and not when the calendar indicates they should.

Someone, who’s stopped hiding from their pain, is using their natural abilities and interests, and is honoring themselves by pursuing the desires of their heart, won't need a calendar to tell them it's time for something new, they'll begin anytime they're ready

If you take yourself out of the pressure cooker created by an outside-in life and relax into the rightness of an inside-out life, several things will happen. First, you'll begin addressing the painful incidents in your past that you've been hiding from. Second, you'll begin identifying and engaging with those things that encourage personal growth and expression, and third, you'll make significant progress in all areas of your life because of the freedom you've gifted yourself by following your heart's desires. It's not that you're a failure, it's that you've never given yourself a chance to succeed by expressing your authenticity. Someone, who’s stopped hiding from their pain, is using their natural abilities and interests, and is honoring themselves by pursuing the desires of their heart, won't need a calendar to tell them it's time for something new, they'll begin anytime they're ready.

Instead of allowing the outside to determine your life, align with your desires, step into your heart, and live your life from the inside-out

If you've been dreading the new year because you feel pressured to begin something new, you can relax. Beginnings cannot be assigned a start date based on the calendar. Instead of allowing the outside to determine your life, align with your desires, step into your heart, and live your life from the inside-out. You'll begin when the time is right for you and succeed with ease.