Welcome to Inspired To Soar!
Thanks for visiting this page. In keeping with the mission to tend the broken wings of your dreams, you can expect posts that will encourage you to thrive in all areas of life.
So let’s talk about new beginnings.
Nobody can avoid them no matter how averse one is to change. At some point in your life, you will have to change houses, jobs, careers, businesses, projects, the list goes on. No matter what your new beginning represents, there will be uncertainties which can make the journey an unsettling one. There are some common threads that run through the start of a new venture.
Here are 7 tips to encourage you in your own new beginning.
- Take the first step
In life, most people have big dreams even if they do not broadcast it to the world. You are no different. However, for the major part, those dreams do not see the light of day as those who conceived it have allowed fear to paralyse them to the point where they do not even start. There is no great thing that does not begin with a small seed. Do not let fear hold you back. As the saying goes, “Rome was not built in a day”. Take that first step. Take action. If you are waiting until all conditions are perfect then you will wait forever. You have to take imperfect action and then build on that.
- Be diligent and consistent
It is very easy to get excited and enthusiastic about something new especially if it garners a lot of attention. This in turn means that in those initial days, there is great momentum. The reality however, is that the shine will soon wear off and things settle into the mundane. It is important to know that in order for this new beginning to really take flight, you have to be diligent and consistent. No matter how clever or glamorous a project/venture/career/business might appear to be; there are tasks that are involved and you have to apply yourself to the tasks without seeking shortcuts or avoiding responsibility. You have to be prepared to work hard day-in, day-out. This will ensure that your new beginning does not end up as a flash in the pan – here today gone tomorrow.
- Be focused
When you are starting a new venture, there is always so much to learn; so many new things that you want to try out. This are often the risks that are part of the process. At every point though, you need to decide what risks you are going to take and the ones you will not bother with. Every new beginning requires laser-sharp focus on your part. Distractions will come from various quarter often disguised as “good ideas”. Do not be side-tracked. Be clear on your goals and destination so that you know what to say ‘yes’ to and what you have to say a resounding ‘no’ to.
- Be willing to serve
No matter what your new beginning represents, it can be so easy to get wrapped up in what you are doing, and how it impacts on you. Before you realise it, you become so self-focused and self-centred you cannot think of anyone else as you grapple with all the responsibilities that go with what you are doing. This is a reminder that no matter what you are doing, there will always be an opportunity to serve others if you are willing to see it. “Service is often not dressed up in couture or glamour but in dirty overalls and gloves. It however paves the way to greatness”.
In your new beginning, make service the centrepiece. Do not be afraid to get your hands dirty in service of humanity. What service represents looks different to each person but the most important thing is that you must seek to make the world a better place for another.
- Celebrate small victories
In the early days of any venture or project, things might seem so slow that it appears that you are not making any progress for a long duration. It is at this stage at this point that discouragement can set in and you start questioning yourself. You might even consider giving up. No matter how slow your progress, there will be small victories if only you pay attention. It is so important for you to celebrate them in order to keep yourself motivated. The fact that you have come this far means that you are not where you used to be. Learn to celebrate that and give yourself little rewards to keep you going.
- Do not imitate others
This point is one that you might think is misplaced but it often starts subtly. Anyone who is embarking upon a new thing will probably have someone that they look up to or admire. It might be a mentor, close associate or family member. Depending on the strength of the relationship, there might be the nudge from the other party or from you yourself to try to do things the way they have done it. Even though someone else has had success doing something in a certain way, it does not follow that you will replicate their results. Before I go any further, I need to stress a couple of points.
- Good mentors are important in life’s journey as they give guidance and counsel that will often help you to avoid the pitfalls they previously fell into.
- For any venture whatsoever, there are principles, standards and methods that those who have gone on before had laid out. These form a big part of the building blocks that make up your foundation. There is no use reinventing the wheel so it is prudent that you take them onboard to forge ahead.
Taking the above points into consideration, it is important for you to be yourself, bring your own individuality and creativity into your own venture. This is what will hold everything together so that the end-product the best you can make it. The analogy I can think of the role of cement in concrete. Your uniqueness is what will make you stand out and also differentiate you from anyone else. That is an important key to sustaining that which you have started.
- Do not allow setbacks or failures bury you
Thinking that every part of your new beginning will be plain-sailing is just a fallacy that you need to disabuse yourself of from the get-go. This means that you need to accept that setbacks or failures of some sort comes as part of the package. However disappointing setbacks may be, do not allow them to crush you beneath their weight. No matter how tough things might be, there are lessons for you to learn from them. Learn those lessons, dust yourself up and move forward. Do not allow a negative self-belief system convince you that you are a failure. My definition of real failure is the refusal to get back up after setback or failure thinking that there is no more hope.
As long as you are alive and breathing; there is always hope of getting up and trying again. Do so with all the aplomb you can muster.
You are meant to thrive NOT just survive.
Be inspired to soar.