A Fresh Start (and a time-sensitive offer)
A Fresh Start is an opportunity to reinvent yourself, experiment with a new side of you, test out a version of you that you haven’t explored yet, try on a version of your life that you believe will make you feel more joyful.
Children get many Fresh Starts: a new beginning each school year, joining new clubs, trying new sports, playing new instruments, and frequently meeting new potential friends. Kids are expected to have many Fresh Starts to help shape their voices and establish their comfort zones.
While kids often seem to be open to Fresh Starts without baggage like “I was terrible at piano, so I should not even try saxophone”, adults seem more cautious: “My last relationship was a mess, so I should be extra guarded in the next one”.
So, then, can adults really ever get a fresh start, since we’ve “lived a life”, acquired some wisdom and quite a bit of baggage?
Well…
As adults, many of our Fresh Starts can feel forced: figuring out new relationships after a breakup, looking for a new job after a pink slip, eating healthier because your life literally depends on it post-diagnosis, or moving into a new home when having to downsize.
These instances are not the same as intentionally creating and allowing yourself to have a new beginning. I am talking about a Fresh Start that you’re looking forward to, the kind in which you let go of your previous narratives, and truly start anew.
Although you don’t walk into a Fresh Start as a ‘blank slate’, don’t feel obliged to bring all of your baggage.
How do we put down our baggage and drop the narrative that does not serve us anymore?
Self-reflection.
Without it, you risk ending up in “wherever you go, there you are”. Lack of self-reflection is the reason why “starting on Monday”, “starting in the Fall”, “starting after the New Year” often fails: because in addition to self-permission and a starting date, true Fresh Starts necessitate introspection and mental/emotional (and often physical) decluttering.
So, let’s set up a workable Fresh Start that gives you energy.
Pick an area in your life in which a Fresh Start would be great for you.
Allow yourself to take this Fresh Start. You don’t need to deserve it, you are already worth it, just because you are alive and here.
Do Some introspection, by yourself or with a coach, but limit it in scope and time to avoid overthinking; do just enough to allow yourself to enter a Fresh Start with less baggage and fewer disparaging narratives
Get help if you need it: recruit one ally who can help you stay on track or share your vision (if possible).
Claim your Fresh Start and … walk it.
Others may try to get you back to the way you used to do things, but over time, they will adjust (or not, but this is a different conversation that goes under the rubric of “not my circus, not my monkeys”). I would love to hear in what are of your life you could use a Fresh Start.
P.S.: I’m working toward an ICF coaching certification, and have created a special limited-time coaching offer to meet the certification requirements and make some magic happen quickly. PLEASE SEE THE DESCRIPTION BELOW and feel free to share with close friends (until all the spots are filled). Thank you!
With gratitude,
Alina
Dr Alina Bas, Strategy Consultant & Executive Coach
https://AlinaBas.com/schedule
NEWS AND UPDATES
CLARITY AMIDST UNCERTAINTY COACHING PACKAGE (3 sessions)
I hope you can help me while I help you (a time-sensitive offer)! I am pursuing International Coaching Federation (ICF) certification; it's not a necessary credential post-PhD and with another coach certification in 2004, but the opportunity felt right. I'm offering a small block of Coaching Sessions at a LOWER RATE, for a LIMITED TIME, to be used between now and Christmas. Shall we make some magic happen together? (Until sold out; reserve your spot)
Description:
Do you want to make better decisions and feel good about the decisions you make during shake-ups in your life - be it a corporate merger, a pink slip, an addition to your family, a new position, or a separation? Let's assess your changing context and your available resources. The goal: figure out how to achieve what feels like success to you, on your own terms.
Each package includes:
- 3 one-hour sessions over 3 weeks via Zoom/Skype/Phone
- Clear reflection, new ideas, plan of action, clarification of vision
- Email support between sessions
- Bonus: brief email notes from the sessions
- Sessions must be used 9/5/2023 - 12/22/2023.
- Reserve your package, $659 (available until sold out) https://tinyurl.com/bd3pc5w6
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