Have you ever felt like you just wanted to wipe the slate clean, pull up stakes, hit the reset button and START OVER in life?  Of course you have–we all have.  Whether it’s a dead end job that is taking us nowhere or a relationship that has run its course; we’ve all had moments when we’ve just wanted to chuck it all and get a fresh start.

Research has shown that career stress/job dissatisfaction is one of the main reasons that people long for a fresh start. If this is you; take heart–there are psychologist recommended, concrete steps that you can take to help ensure a successful transition–no matter what change you are longing to make in your life.  Try the following strategies the next time you feel like you need a fresh start on your road to FabYOUlousness.

How to Make a FabYOUlous Fresh Start

Step 1:  Give Yourself Time

Sometimes it takes a little while for us to come to grips with our situation and to wrap our brains around what is happening.  That is perfectly fine and normal.  Allow yourself some time to assess the situation and to process your thoughts and feelings.  You don’t want to remain stagnant too long, but taking a little time to come to terms with the scenario at hand can prevent you from making a rash decision that you will later regret.

Step 2:  Approach Every Experience in Life as a Lesson

Some experiences are positive while others SUCK.  That’s just life.  Fortunately though; even the lousy experiences have lessons that can be gleaned from them and learning these lessons can help to prepare us for our next phase of FabYOUlousness.  Make an effort to ask yourself what wisdom there is to be gained from your current situation and how you might act differently if faced with a similar situation in the future.

Step 3:  Take Stock of Your FabYOUlous Self

Even when things aren’t going well, you still have plenty of things going for you.  Start by asking yourself “What positives do I have to work with right now?”  Your answers might range from “self-respect” to “my health” or “a supportive network of friends”.  Make a list of all of these positive attributes and let it serve as a springboard to buoy your spirits as well as a foundation upon which to build your fresh start.

Step 4:  Let Go of the Past

The past does have valuable lessons to teach us, however; we cannot move forward if we continue to live in the past.  There is a reason that vehicles have large front windshields and small rear view mirrors…it’s because the most important things on the road (and in life) are happening ahead of us, not behind us.  Let the lessons of the past teach you, but don’t let the past mire you in feelings of regret and negativity.

Step 5:  Release Negative Feelings

Feelings play a powerful role in our ability to move forward and experience a FabYOUlous fresh start.  If you are regularly experiencing negative feelings such as anger, sadness or fear you are unwittingly setting yourself up for more negative feelings.  It is imperative that this spiral be reversed.  Try journaling, exercising, spending time with positive friends, working on hobbies that you enjoy…anything that will help to reprogram your thoughts and feelings into a positive mode.  One of the main tenets of the Law of Attraction is the notion that “like attracts like”.  In other words, negative feelings will attract more negative feelings.  Fortunately, the opposite is also true…positive feelings will attract more positive feelings.  In order to experience a truly FabYOUlous fresh start, we must begin to focus on the positive rather than dwelling on the negative.

Step 6:  Make a Plan

Think about your end goal (new job, promotion, starting a business etc.) and start piecing together a plan to reach the goal.  One way to do this is to work backwards from the goal, determining what steps need to be accomplished and then assigning a timeline to those steps.  Nothing creates momentum like positive, forward motion so make a plan, write it down and start taking action.

Step 7:  Baby Steps Make a Big Impact

It is easy to become overwhelmed when thinking about a fresh start because it seems so impossible to accomplish.  Rather than becoming overwhelmed however; we need to focus our attention on the one small step in front of us that we can take.  If you desire a new job, work on updating your resume; if you want to write a book, start by writing a paragraph. Taking one positive action in the direction of your fresh start will lead to another which will in turn lead to another.  It might not happen overnight, but the time is going to pass regardless of whether or not you make good use of it.  How much better will your life be if you utilize the time that you have and take the small steps that will move you toward your fresh start?

By implementing these strategies today, you’ll find that it won’t be long before you’ll be experiencing your FabYOUlous fresh start rather than just dreaming about it.