A lot can be said about fresh starts and clean slates, and you’ll typically feel some sort of emotional reaction when you hear the terms. For some people a fresh start may cause feelings of stress, anxiety and even fear. For others a fresh start may cause feelings of hope and wide-open potential. Which you feel may depend on how you view the flip-side of a fresh start.

To make a fresh start, or a new beginning, also means there is a letting-go and a leaving-behind of something else. Taking a new road means leaving the road you’ve been on before. Moving to a new place means leaving behind the place you’ve been calling home. Starting a new relationship, or ending one and starting out on your own, means letting go of what was previously your relationship status and probably also how you spent a lot of your time and focus.

Fresh starts are full of hope and potential for what may be, and that’s a very exciting thing. But as humans we also have a fear of the unknown. I’ve known many people who stay in less-than-great relationships just because it’s familiar and known to them. The unknown is frightening and causes a feeling of insecurity. Think back, though, to a time in your life where you made a significant change and it turned out to be a really great decision. What if you had let fear stand in your way and you had stayed in whatever the previous situation was, not stepping out and making that fresh start? What all would you have missed out on?

Is it time to make a change in your life? Do you need to make a significant change or just a small change? Any time you’re making changes it’s going to cause some stress, even if the change is positive. If you’re struggling in one area of your life, would a fresh start change your life in a positive way? What does that change look like – at the beginning, during the process, and then after the change is complete? Do you feel hopeful optimism about what could be after the change process, or do you feel it may be too great of a risk to attempt?

A great way to go about making decisions when it comes to starting fresh or making big changes is to outline, in writing, the pros and cons of the change. Think through everything ahead of time – what will it require of you to make this change, and how long do you plan on the process taking? What do you hope things will look like for you once you’ve made the change? Will the change be a true fresh start, with a clean slate, or are you trying to integrate a change into a situation that needs to also remain somewhat stable and consistent as it is? Thinking through all of things ahead of time will alleviate some of the stress of the process but will also help line out clear goals for you as to why you’re making the change and what you want to really achieve, in the end, by making that change.
A well-laid plan needs to be flexible and adaptable, of course, but it’s going to also be a very helpful roadmap for where you’re going when making changes. Think about the obstacles you may encounter and how you’ll manage those. Think about the positives that may happen along the way, as well as the positive outcome you’re hoping for at the end of the change process. If you’re really looking for a true fresh start and a clean slate, what is that going to mean you are leaving behind, and how will you handle that? Sometimes making changes also means grieving what’s being left behind us, so plan ahead for that being part of your emotional journey.

Do you need to make a fresh start? Grab some paper and a pen and draw out that roadmap, marking your final destination as your goal and then outlining the process that will get you there. You may learn something about yourself just from the process of planning the change you want to make.