We’ve all got something we want to change. Is it a new life in recovery or just a new hobby? No matter the size of your fresh start, it might feel a little intimidating to begin.
Why are new beginnings so important?
Life is constantly building, doing, feeling, and being. Throughout our lifetimes, we may lead many lives. Each of them will ask us to start something new. Whether it’s a task, a role or an entirely different way of being as you begin life in recovery, new beginnings are critical to our growth. They can also be scary and feel like a difficult undertaking.
Let’s share a few tips together to prepare yourself for the first steps of your new beginning.
5 versatile tips for your new beginning
Instead of simple tips or certain help, consider the power of these five tips to create possibilities for your new beginning. Even in uncertainty for what the future holds, hope will bloom. Spend a moment absorbing these prompts and take what you need to support your next move.
1. Find words to live by.
Inspiring words take up little space yet leave a lasting imprint on your thoughts. The power of quotes is versatile. Words to live by can be a question, a challenge, or simply a reminder to yourself about the life you intend to build for yourself in recovery. You may find quotes or ideas in a beloved film or the pages of a novel. The words that put color in your world may come from inspiring figures the world over or loved ones close to your heart.
The use of quotes and inspirational words is nearly limitless, so apply them liberally to your life. Try using quotes as journal prompts, affirmations, or milestone checkpoints in your daily life.
2. Endings are always beginnings so feel both.
The bittersweet thing about beginnings is that they come from endings, and we aren’t always prepared to say goodbye. Your life will always be a complicated tapestry of the threads that end and begin anew. Make space to honor the endings that made space for your beginnings. Adventure, experience, loss, relationships, and chance will carry you through their journeys before a new one begins.
The complexity of both endings and beginnings in your life can also exist in your heart. Feeling a balance and inviting the pain alongside the excitement is not a failure or a step back. Meditation or other practices to spend time with acceptance and observation may help you move through the duality of new beginnings.
3. Celebrate the messy parts of your life.
Bob Ross’s painting show ran for more than a decade. In that time, the painter often shared the message that “mistakes are happy accidents.” While Bob was making happy little trees and cloudscapes, we’re thinking about how happy accidents can grow from things we never anticipated. Not every mess will become magic, but every difficult moment will have something to teach you- something you’ll be able to carry into your next canvas to create magic. You don’t have to sabotage a future life in recovery over a current crisis. Mistakes, messes, and setbacks don’t mean the end of a painting, and they won’t stop you from flourishing in life either.
4. Fear is a feeling.
Fear can exist in your emotional landscape without becoming the sole focus of the experience, and when trying something unfamiliar, it’s often necessary that it does. We all feel fear; it’s an unavoidable part of the human experience from which you may grow or learn.
Though it may feel like an all-consuming presence, fear is just a state of being. It is an emotional experience you have. It is not a fact or reality that is unavoidable nor a larger-than-life entity that exists beyond your ability to navigate past it. Let your fear come, and let it go. We mustn’t grow attached to or detour around the fear we feel. It’s a part of a process.
5. Make friends with mediocrity.
This may be the most difficult and important prompt on your journey. We cannot be good at everything we try, and that’s something to be grateful for. Practice sitting comfortably with the thought of being just okay at something.
Find room for the practice of accepting (and if you’re ambitious, celebrating) mediocrity in some of your skills or experiences. You do not have to be great or even good at something for it to have a worthwhile benefit in this part of your story.
When applying these prompts to your life in recovery, listen to how they resonate. Look for the echo of intentional connection in your new beginnings and the habits that support you as you move toward it. Every prompt is a suggestion.
Daily practice makes perfect
Find space in your life each day to incorporate these tips that you choose to carry with you. These building blocks will help you create habits you can use daily to make meaningful change in whatever ways you need it now. Even 5 minutes of intentional practice designed to support your success now and into the future can change your outlook- and your life.
Call Villa Kali Ma today if you or a loved one is looking for new beginnings in sober living.
