Your New Beginnings and How to Take That First Step

The seasons of a year. The return of spring.
The heart grows glad when it can leaf out,
when light and shadow are known to belong to
one another.

– Gunilla Norris

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We are constantly in a state of reinvention, which is never more apparent than at the onset of spring. Every day, as we look out our window and step out our front door, we are reminded that a new beginning is already underfoot.

I was talking to a friend recently who mentioned how much she loves waking up early in the morning so she can stand in front of her window to watch the sunrise. Each morning, the sun rises, marking a new beginning, but the sky never looks the same, and neither does the day ahead.

The conversation got me thinking of my garden, of course. I have worked in this garden for the last 26 years. When we first moved into our house, there was nothing but weeds and bramble. Over the years, the garden grew, expanded, and transformed.

Three years ago, I decided the time had come to downsize and simplify. The garden is almost where I want it to be, and I am looking forward to seeing how it grows this year.

I more or less know which plants will grow and bloom since I am the one who planted them, but the garden will not look the way it looked last year or any other year. It never does. There are many reasons why. Wintering, the age of the plants, my actions, and factors I cannot predict or know will affect how the garden will look this year.

Our new beginnings tend to unfold the same way. There is a certain level of unpredictability involved.

A chapter in our lives comes to a close and invariably leads to a new beginning. We do not always know how this new beginning will unfold. We have to accept that and do our best to prepare.

When we want to make changes, we are not always clear on how to go about it or where to begin. This lack of clarity can delay our progress, cause us to become overwhelmed, and cause us to lose our momentum.

Becoming clear about what we want, why, and how to go about it can ease the transition. Clarity will propel us forward and motivate us to take meaningful action.

How do we go about gaining clarity?

In Consolations, David Whyte writes, “Beginning well means seating ourselves in the body again, catching up with ourselves and the person we have become since we last tried to begin.”

What an inspiring way of describing how to begin … we sit in the body to catch up with the person we have become.

We tend to take ourselves for granted. We forget to look back and recognize how far we have come and the many ways in which we have changed.

Begin by taking the time to meet yourself as you are today.

Pay attention to what keeps you up at night. Your anxieties and fears indicate what needs to change and what is holding you back. Question the truth of your fears. Are they real, and if they are, what can you do about it?

Engage in constructive conversation with yourself. Make time to be alone, in silence, so you can reflect and let the answers to your questions bubble up.

Research has shown that even a brief walk outside can improve our mood, increase our energy, and help us reframe our thinking. Go for a walk or a hike and see what comes up. Or, sit in your safe space, light a candle, open your journal, and ask yourself:

• What do I want, and why?
• What has changed since last time?
• What is important to me?
• What behaviors and habits are not working for me anymore?
• What changes do I want to make?
• What new possibilities are opening up for me?
• Am I ready to begin?

When you are ready, put pen to paper, let your thoughts flow, and write down whatever comes to mind.

Prepare to acknowledge the parts of you that do not serve you anymore.

You are not who you were twenty, ten, five, or even two years ago. What worked in the past may or may not work for you now. There are parts of yourself that you need to let go of. That includes behaviors, beliefs, outdated dreams, goals, expectations, and how you relate to your environment and the people around you.

You wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down.

Toni Morrison

Talk to someone you trust and ask for help.

When you are working towards becoming clear, it helps to talk to someone you can trust, who can serve as your sounding board and brainstorm with you. Sometimes, just hearing yourself think out loud can help you become clearer and more deliberate. There is no shame in being unclear. You are not alone in this process. Remember, we are always in a state of reinvention, in a state of becoming.

Make room for new possibilities and eliminate distractions.

My experience has been that our physical space reflects our inner state. Take a look around the room you are in. How do you feel about the space? As you look around, what do you see? Do you need and like everything you are surrounded by? If not, maybe it is time to do something about it.

Beginning anything well involves a clearing away of the confusing, the cluttered and the complicated.

David Whyte

What feels cluttered and complicated? Think of your space, schedule, mind, and activities. What prevents you from focusing and getting started on changes you want to make?

Clear the space and make room for new possibilities.

Eliminate distractions. Put your phone away and turn the volume off. You do not have to be available at all times. Organize your time and give yourself the space you need.

Make it a habit to unplug for short periods every single day. Use that time to exercise, go outside, journal, breathe, close your eyes and rest your mind, check in with yourself, and eat a nutritious meal. Cultivate a beginner’s mind. Practice looking at everything through the lens of open curiosity. Discover new possibilities.

Take the first step and let yourself feel the joy of doing that.

You may think that a well-fleshed-out plan, resources, and time are necessary to take meaningful action and accomplish your objectives.

This may be true, but there is also a caveat to spending too much time thinking of what we want to do instead of doing it.

There has to be a balance between planning a project and taking the necessary steps to realize it.

Overthinking our course of action can often lead to procrastination and inaction.

Go ahead and take that first step. Then take another one. As you move ahead, you can pause, review, evaluate, make corrections, and begin again. The important thing is to start.

Change is an internal as well as an external process. We live our lives weaving in and out of the seasons, meeting ourselves where we are, trying new things, and answering the call of change and renewal. Sometimes, the year’s season reflects where we are in our lives. It makes sense that spring would make us feel hopeful and renewed.