New Beginnings
Christians around the world are focused this Easter week-end on celebrating an event that has great meaning for everyone of us, regardless of our faith… The Resurrection… Resurrection is one of those archetypal events that appears in one form or another in each of our lives…. it is that moment when we surrender to transformation, when we muster the courage to rise again.
I don’t know about you, but change doesn’t come easily for me… perhaps it’s my Taurean nature, but I get comfortable with my routines… Change is unsettling. Fortunately, there is also an adventurer in me who sees change as a great opportunity to learn and grow. Although it always feels like a lot of work, risky if I don’t like the results, change is a chance to be better, to clean the slate and start fresh. To keep my resistance in check, I have learned a few tricks to help me embrace new beginnings.
And, since this is a time to celebrate transformation, to rise again, I thought I would share the three steps that have helped me embrace change and successfully initiate a new beginning.
1. Get Real! It is important to recognize where you are right now, to accept whatever defeats or losses may have been holding you back, to notice and clear the debris of the past. Then you are ready to set some new goals that are practical and realistic, given your present circumstances.
2. Do Your Research! Before you get into action around any new beginning, you want to do a little investigation, check out your options, the benefits and consequences of the choices that may be possible. For example, if you want to start a new business or develop a new product, you want begin by letting your fingers do the walking… browse the web and the yellow pages, see what your potential competitors are doing and how your idea fits, where there might be a good niche market for you. If it’s a change of residence or job, or even a new love that you want to attract, you need to make a list of your requirements and then check out the marketplace, see what options are available to you, and what it might cost you to get what you want, where you might find it… Now you are ready to make a plan, to list the activities required to achieve your goals, set some priorities, and decide on the steps you will need to take.
3. Get Started! Take that first step, even if it’s a baby step, get moving in the direction you want to go. Review your plan regularly and committ to giving it some dedicated focus every week… then at the end of each week, check yourself, check off the items on your list that you have completed, and decide what you need to do next… keep your eye on the prize. Remind yourself often of how you will benefit from the work you are doing to change… If you will consistently press forward, a step at a time, before you know it, you discover that your goals have been realized.
The Secret to a Successful New Beginning
You can make almost guarantee the success of your new beginning when your plan includes some attitude shifting…
Decide to love this new beginning, regardless of what pushed you into it, whatever issues you have had in the past… and be grateful for the work involved in making it happen, including dealing with the challenges… It took us two years to manage a small renovation to our “one bum” kitchen, two years of clutter and avoiding visitors… but from the beginning of the project, I could see my vision coming to life. I can’t tell you how many times I exclaimed: “I love my new kitchen. I am so grateful for this change.” And in the end I do indeed LOVE my new kitchen… the hard work was well worth it.
Decide that there is no timetable for this new beginning to produce results. Let the “deadline” come naturally… trust that perfect timing will prevail. This is about taking the pressure off, relaxing and enjoying your new adventure – and giving yourself time to think, plan and organize as you go along. For example, once we completed the reconstruction part of the reno, we had to wait a year to be able to afford the redecorating… this gave us time to research paint colors, shelving and storage possibilites so that by the time we were ready to complete the project, it could be finished quickly. Not only did we use that year of waiting for some useful research, but we also cleared a lot of clutter from our cupboards and figured out what we wanted to move where so the kitchen would be more efficient. When you learn to move with the flow of the project, you can take advantage of the downtime, so you make the most of your uptime. And choosing to be relaxed makes it a lot easier to enjoy the changes.
Continue reading here: Supramental Awakening: Reflections on Planetary Hope
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