Taking a new look at life in 2018

Don’t want to live the same life you led last year? Maybe it’s time to make a change. Making a fresh start is about much more than healthy eating or resolving to go the gym more often. Here are a few insights if you are really thinking about making life changing decisions.

1. Acknowledge who you are

Your past, your failures, your successes all add up to form you as an individual. It’s what makes you unique and it’s not something you can slough off like an old skin. Recognise that you are a special individual with your own thoughts and experiences that will affect how you perceive what happens next. Don’t expect to magically become another person overnight because that’s very unlikely to happen. You can still do something new or different but realise that you are bringing someone special along on the journey – you!

2. Make yourself your priority

We all have responsibilities and obligations and we’re not suggesting your needs always trump everyone else’s but all too often we put ourselves and our needs at the bottom of the pile. One way of making sure you pay attention to your own needs is to realise you have sole responsibility for self-care. Look after yourself!

3. Be abstract

Don’t think about specific goals because that often limits your thought processes. So, if you want to take a new career direction, imagine how your perfect job might make you feel, whether you want to work alone or as part of a team, whether you want to work independently or to have lots of support, or whether you want to be learning something new or become expert in something you already know. This should give you a deeper understanding of your needs and help you frame some solutions to meet those needs.

4. Accept that change involves loss as well as gain

What keeps us stuck on the same old hamster wheel? Most people are pretty resistant to change because they can’t deal with the fact that although change can’t guarantee any wins, it will definitely result in some kind of shake up of the status quo. That might be entail loss of security, what’s familiar, or predictable routines. Those things are also what’s great about change – in that unpredictable mix sometimes great things can happen. About to change but hesitating? Accept that there is going to be uncertainty and decide whether the potential gains make it worth accepting this.

5. Remember that in any situation you have three alternatives – accept the situation, try to change the situation, or take action to leave the situation. It can clarify your thinking remarkably well to know that those are the only options!

Feeling troubled? Don’t struggle on alone. Vetlife provide the veterinary community with help for free and The Samaritans can also provide support.