To say that the past two years have been difficult would be a massive understatement. This period of our recent history has fundamentally changed the lives of millions of people and has encouraged most individuals to take a look at their lives and reassess where they would like to be.
There is a lot of suffering and existential wandering out there – lots of people have lost loved ones, others lost their jobs, others still feel that they are at a crossroads and unsure about whether or not they can or should remain in their place. It seems that things have to change, but what exactly? While the powers that be are in a position to help provide citizens with a strong infrastructure to rely upon, there are things that we can do as individuals to change our situation and get our life back on track. Here are a few ways to do just that, and join the great “reset” everyone’s been talking about.
Cultivate your Self-Esteem
All good habits begin and end with a healthy level of self-esteem. Without it, your capacity to hold onto any changes you need to make in order to turn your life around will be severely limited. When things feel out of control, or you’re suffering from other ailments like depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and so on, feeling some measure of confidence is what will help you feel grounded. Feeling confident or having enough self-esteem means that you value yourself enough to show up every day and put forth the work necessary to get better. Physical and mental clarity only arrives when you give yourself permission to prioritize your needs, which ultimately stems from having a stronger sense of self-esteem. By working with a life coach Manchester residents have been able to boost their self-esteem and you can too.
Find Your Purpose
After the pandemic, it seems that a lot of things that previously shaped our identity have been ripped away from us. Maybe you lost a friend to COVID, had a romantic relationship fall apart, or lost your job. All of these are events that can change people on a cellular level since they signify major elements of our identity. Usually, when someone loses their livelihood or decides to go on a career change, the shift is seismic and requires significant rethinking about how you should define yourself.
When trying to get your life back on track, one of the first things you need to do is to find a purpose for you; something to pursue, and give you the motivation required to take the next steps. However, in order to do this, you will need to be honest about yourself and maybe even find an experienced life coach to help clear the cobwebs in your mind. Becoming more aware of not only your needs but what could make you feel happy and offer a fulfilling life will ultimately lead you to find your purpose. Perhaps you want to go back to school to become an educator, or you would like to work in development for a non-profit organization. Finding your purpose may take some time, but once you get there you will feel more in control of your life.
Get Organized
One of the most important things to do in order to begin to feel that you have a modicum of control over your life is to get more organized. It can start with little things, like simply tidying up the surrounding space. Clear clutter from your desk, organize your drawers, and dust off your bookshelves. Once you’ve done that, look at the other things you need to get organized in your life. Maybe it’s your clothes, or you need to declutter your pantry. If you have too many things you don’t use then be sure to donate what you can to charity, give away, or just toss. You will be amazed at the incredibly healing effect this can have on your life.
Getting your space to be more organized will open the door to feeling empowered enough to incorporate other healthful habits, like eating better or checking up on friends and family you haven’t been in touch with for a while. This is because decluttering essentially sets the stage for you to take on more ways to take care of yourself and others. You need to clear the cobwebs in your head in order to take on other challenges, but small incremental changes add up while reducing obvious stressors in different ways.
Make an Assessment
When you want to get your life back on track, you need to take a step back and review the ways in which you need your life to change. This could be a painful process, one which requires honesty and for you to delve into issues you may not be quite ready to face. However, it is a fundamental part of the work, and it will help you a great deal to become better aligned with different aspects of your life – career, romantic relationships, family, emotional and physical health, finances, and so on. If you are determined to get your life back on track then it’s important to assess where you are in the present.
One method that life coaches often recommend is filling out a Wheel of Life chart, but you can also simply grab a pen and paper and jot down notes regarding the different aspects of your life. Be sure to journal different ideas answering the central question of whether or not you are contributing to your community and your family in the ways you would like to. This process will also help you locate the elements in your life that don’t serve you and only enhance unhealthy habits and negative thought patterns. An honest and thorough assessment will help you jumpstart the process of getting your life on track.
After so much upheaval, it makes sense that you may feel terribly exhausted and even burned out. This is normal and it’s not something you should beat yourself up over. After all, a pandemic and the extreme economic fallout is a once-in-a-century event. Soon enough you will be ready to change things in your life, and following the notes above will make the process a bit easier.
