Shed the weight of the past and unlock your potential for a brighter future! Explore tips for starting a new chapter in life.
Change is the only constant in our lives. And in this highly dynamic life, we get multiple chances to start over. 16, 26, 46 or 86- no matter what’s our age, it is never too late to start afresh. That’s the beauty of human life.
But while starting a whole new chapter in your life, you may go through an emotional rollercoaster ride. Depending on the situation you are in, you will feel excited, gutted, nervous, terrified, or motivated. The catch is to stay focused, determined, and calm; and go with the flow.
New chapters in life are just like a box full of pizza- you know what you can expect but are unsure of the taste! Beginning a new chapter, too, feels dicey. You are definitely aware of what you are in for, but the mere thought of moving into uncharted territory sends shivers down your spine.
If you are currently going through this phase, and are feeling lonely, fret not. Your girl is here to guide you through this new chapter of your life. Without much ado, let’s begin!
So, What Does a New Chapter in Life Look Like?
I have the best example for you!
Consider your life as a HUGE novel. And this novel carries multiple chapters. You don’t know how many chapters there are in total. To move ahead, you will have to complete each chapter one by one. Every time you start a new chapter, you feel intrigued, anxious and curious to know what’s coming your way. You get to know this new chapter well only after you start reading between the lines.
Today, I will help you exactly with this!
I will prepare you to embrace the new chapter of your life with utmost grace, patience, and dedication.
But before that, let’s explore the various situations in your life that give rise to one chapter or another.
- Shifting to a new place
- New job
- Sudden breakup
- College farewell
- Unfortunate health conditions
- Marrying your soulmate
- Putting an end to your marriage
- Having babies
- Mental health conditions
- Getting sacked at a job
- Huge loss in business
- The untimely demise of a loved one
Well, now, these situations are quite common in our lives. But the difficulty lies in accepting the sudden change. Let’s find out how you can commence the next phase of your life with a content heart and bid adieu to your past forever.
15 Steps that will Take You Closer to the Next Chapter of Life!
1. Acknowledge your feelings
It is extremely important to accept what you are feeling right now. Maybe you are devastated because of a bad heartbreak. Maybe you are flying on cloud 9 because of your new job selection. Maybe you are anxious about taking your relationship to the next level.
Whatever emotions you are going through, just make sure you acknowledge them. Denying your feelings will prevent you from accepting this new phase of life.
Try talking to a close person about how you feel. Or, pour your heart out in your journal. You will feel much better after that!
2. Remember only the good things as you let go of your past
To move ahead in life, you must always bid adieu to your past. Dwelling on your past will never take you anywhere in life. However, I would never ask you to forget your past altogether. No, you should not do that!
I would suggest you cling to your fondest memories of your past. And let go of anything that hurts you. Otherwise, the baggage of your past will block your way ahead to the future.
3. Create a crystal clear vision of your new life
Whether it is a new job, a new relationship, or new responsibilities, it is always important to have a clear vision of the same. You cannot start anything new without visualizing what you want it to be like. Right planning brings that much-needed structure to this new phase of your life.
Ask yourself a few questions. The answers will help you visualize your new chapter in life in a better way.
Here are a couple of questions that you might find useful!
- How can I make the most out of this situation?
- What are my life and work goals in this new phase?
- Am I happy with this situation, or do I need to create a better life for myself?
- Am I looking forward to any particular set of experiences?
You can even create a vision board to manifest things into your life!
4. Embrace positive habits that will keep you going in this new phase
Habits can either make or break you. So, as you enter the new phase of your life, make sure you incorporate a couple of positive habits as well.
Positive habits always fill your mind with positivity. Also, they keep you healthy and fit. So, why not!
Now, say you have just shifted to a new city for higher studies, away from your parents. And now you are busy managing your academics, household chores, regular errands, and social life. Meanwhile, you have started ignoring your diet. You have been eating junk food and ready-to-eat meals all the time. Over time, you will get fed up with this diet. It will irritate you and affect your health, both physically and mentally.
So, the positive habit that you can try adopting here is to cook your own meal. Now I know this may sound hard with that hectic schedule of yours. But trust me, all you need to do is to create a routine and adhere to it.
You may also want to develop the habit of working out regularly for around half an hour. Similarly, you can start listening to motivating podcasts, consume more water, cut down on binge-watching and so on.
5. Create a new routine that suits your new life
As I mentioned above, having a well-laid-out routine in place keeps your life sorted. So, the first thing you should do is create a realistic daily routine.
Maybe you already had a routine. But that won’t solve your purpose in this new phase of life. So, chart out a routine that suits your new life situations.
While creating the routine, don’t go overboard with disciplinary activities. Make sure it has room for your entertainment and breaks as well.
You will have to adhere to your routine, and that’s why try coming up with one that you fall in love with.
In short, your routine should not be all work and no play. Rather, shape it in a way that strike the right balance between your work, studies, responsibilities, and your me time.
6. Learn to prioritize things
It is impossible to manage everything all at once. That’s why you must learn to prioritize things.
Understand that you are not a multitasker robot.
Choose your priorities and work towards them. The rest of the work or people can wait. When you prioritize certain people or work over others, you actually establish your control over your life. Prioritizing helps you stay sane and composed. Also, when you divide your responsibilities based on your priorities, your productivity will go up manifold.
7. Set aside some time for yourself
Whether life has taken a good turn or a bad one, know that it’s just a phase. So, in this new chapter of life, don’t forget to love yourself.
Take some time out every day and spend it with just yourself. Yes, babe, I am quite possessive about my “me-time,” and I want you to do the same, too.
Spend your me-time doing whatever you feel like.
Read your favorite books. Watch that new web series. Dance around. Sing along. Cook your favorite meal. Take a nap. Or simply sit idle.
Yes, sometimes sitting all by yourself and observing your surroundings can heal you in ways more than you can imagine.
Shower yourself with this kind of slow, peaceful love every day, even if for just 30 minutes.
8. Remove toxic people from your life
There should not be any place for toxic people at any stage of your life. Throughout your life, you will come across many scumbags. But if you are prudent enough, you will easily get rid of these morons. And what’s better than this time when you are starting a whole new chapter in your life?
Make sure that your life has no room for any person who does not want the best for you. Otherwise, these toxic people will squeeze warmth, joy, and peace of mind from your life. They keep interfering with your life and force you to take actions that you may repent of later.
So, this time, make sure you eliminate each and every toxic character from the story of your life. Only then will you be able to proceed with a free mind in this new phase of your life.
9. Stop being hard on yourself
The world out there has already set lots of expectations for you. The least you can do is have zero expectations from yourself, babe!
No expectations, nothing to feel guilty about! That’s my life mantra.
No matter how hard you try, things will go wrong at times. This does not mean that you start torturing yourself.
Consider yourself as a work in progress. Be kind to yourself and give yourself some time to heal or relax.
Keep trying, but in the process, do not lose yourself.
10. Stay patient when things don’t turn out in your favor
Make patient your bestie in this whole new journey!
If, currently, things are bad, simply remind yourself that this, too, shall pass. Stay hopeful and wait for better days.
Stick to your plan and keep working hard to come out of the tricky situation. Don’t give up even when there seems to be no hope at all. Just keep moving and look out for the light at the end of the tunnel.
You will reach there soon, babe, trust me!
11. Stop comparing your life with that of others
Darling! Comparison is a slow poison that will eat you up from within gradually!
Our brains are wired from childhood to compare our lives with others. But hey, that’s a trap! Beware of falling deep into it.
Social media platforms like Instagram portrays the glitzy, shiny, happy life of people. No one posts about their physical, mental and financial issues. And we start comparing our lives with these fake life stories that people weave on these platforms.
If you are unhappy at this moment and are comparing yourself with others, stop it right now!
You do not know their complete story. You do not know about their share of struggles. You are unaware of what price they have paid to reach here today. You don’t have the slightest idea that behind these smiling faces, there can be thousands of sleepless nights.
Babe, it is useless to compare your level 5 with someone’s level 50. Know that you are exactly where you are meant to be. Trust the process, and have faith in the Almighty.
12. Don’t be afraid to seek help
Babe, asking for help does NOT make you weak.
If you are at your lowest right now and are lucky enough to have a loving family or even a caring friend, seek their help.
Call them straight away. Share your vulnerabilities with them. Open up about your struggles.
Seek their emotional support. Ask for a warm hug.
Spending time with your loved ones can be highly therapeutic. You can thank me later!
13. Plan your future
Without an elaborate plan, you can never accomplish your personal or professional goals.
As soon as you make the transition to a new chapter in life, sit down and plan your immediate future.
Ask where you want to see yourself in the next 5 years. Set your personal and professional goals. Divide your goals into small achievable tasks. Incorporate these tasks into your everyday routine.
14. Seek inspiration from someone you admire
We all need motivation at different stages of life, especially when we are to start something new.
If you are beginning a new chapter in life, then chances are that you may need a dose of motivation. You can get that from anyone whom you have been admiring. Maybe she is your mother. Maybe she is your boss. Maybe she is an actress. Just look at her life, and observe the struggles that she had been through. Notice their small and big victories.
Their inspirational life stories and achievements will keep you boosted for sure.
15. Do something that you love at least once a week
Do you love the cool breeze brushing across your cheeks as you skate across the roads? Are you fond of baking delicious cakes? Is painting stuff your biggest stress-buster? Do you find gardening to be therapeutic?
Whatever your soul craves, do it at least twice every week. This will keep you composed, satisfied, and calm.
No matter how hectic your life has got, there should always be something that you look forward to every week.
Remember that you are not here to spend your life. Rather, you are here to LIVE your life.
Parting Thoughts on how to start a new chapter in my life
Starting a new chapter in life will always be overwhelming, if not difficult.
Start slow. Embrace the new life one day at a time.
Stay positive despite hardships and struggles. Work your a$$ off to write your own story. Don’t let others control the reign of your life, and have that burning desire to make it big in life.
And most importantly, fall in love with yourself passionately.
A whole new chapter awaits you, girl!
Bring it on!
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