Sunday afternoon and we decided to re-arrange our two daughters rooms.
After significant discussion, the odd altercation and the frenzied moving of things around, then the clean up - the girls were over the moon. They were happy. In fact they were focused and motivated and keen to start new projects and fun stuff. It was a fresh start!
This little "spring clean" got me thinking about how positive fresh starts can be.
As adults we can sometimes we can feel trapped in a situation, a predicament. We feel that we have gone so far down a specific track that it is difficult to recover or start down a fresh route. This often makes life more difficult for us and definitely makes it less fun. This pattern of thinking can affect personal relationships and even effect how whole companies operate in a negative way. When everybody is "reacting" and "going with the flow" and going about life in a way that is fatalistic and already determined – quality of life and business suffers.
Interrupt your thinking.
Consciously evaluate your "groove" and assess whether there would be any merit in throwing in a different strategy. Drive to work a different way. Wear something you would not normally wear. Buy a book on creative thinking or Google your problem? Your life can take on a whole different trajectory, by introducing a tiny change of direction in thinking on your part. Ask yourself questions such as How can I make this better for me?
A leading change thinker once described a neat way to "interrupt" or stop an argument that you might have with your partner. Sort of -make a fresh start in the middle of a building potential negative situation. Yes-you know those conversations you can have multiple times over the course of a successful marriage? Have you ever had a repeat conversation over a non-issue that develops into something totally unnecessary and boring? Well, his suggestion was to : make a "positive comment" –in the middle of the negative conversation –on how beautiful your spouse looks – or how you admire their courage or feel thankful that we actually are together to have this conversation, or simply apologize and start again. I’ve used this technique before and we both ended up in explosive fits of laughter – as this was so out of character. We realized this was just that- a non issue. We realized that we could be having much more fun starting fresh with the new conversation.
Most of us know what it is like to make a fresh start. Sometimes, though we need a little reminder that you can continue to change your life for the better, without losing anything that you have built up over the period of your own "fresh start."
Tomorrow. Tonight. In the next 10 minutes. Make a fresh start.
Fresh starts can be big, they can be small, but be sure to have at least a few per week.
Build on the steady progress that you are making with people and tasks around you. A fresh start will enrich your life and make you happier.