Shownotes
If you're on the lookout for a sign to hit the reset button and embark on a fresh start, well, here it is!
This episode is all about embracing the power of starting over, and trust me, you don't need to wait for the perfect moment or someone else's approval to start.
I’m Sara Burton, your go-to life, business, and start-over coach, and I’m here to remind you that change doesn’t have to be scary—it can actually be exciting!
I'll explain why we often hold back from making that leap, the common fears that keep us stuck, and how to break free from old patterns that no longer serve us.
Let’s explore how you can declare your fresh start right now and start making positive changes because, spoiler alert, you absolutely can!
Register for the FREE Start Over and `rise Masterclass - 5 steps to the life you want! https://www.saraburton.co.uk/masterclass
Transcripts
If you are waiting for a sign to start over, create a fresh start, then this is it. You don't need to wait for the perfect time. You don't need permission, and you certainly don't need anyone else's approval to go ahead.
In this episode, I'm going to be talking about the power of creating a fresh start and why you get to choose when that happens whenever you want. Foreign how are you doing? Thanks for joining me again, this is Sara, your life business and start over coach.
And today we're talking all about fresh starts. Now, the first thing to say here is that many people don't declare that they're going to make a fresh start.
Not because they don't know what it is that they actually want to achieve, but more so. There is so much baggage around actually drawing that line in the sand and making that fresh start.
There's often quite a lot of fear behind making that fresh start.
What often happens is deep down they're waiting for some kind of permission or for the right time because change is uncomfortable and we feel that we have to be ready for it. But the truth is, we're never ready. There's never good time. But the minute you start to take those steps forward, everything else starts to unravel.
I'm not gonna lie. Declaring a fresh start can be scary and it can take some courage. But you've got this. You can do this. Think about the times you've done it before.
There must have been oodles of times when you've declared, I am starting it over and I'm going for it. Pick out the times when it worked for you and remember those. Remember, you've got this in you.
A fresh start means that you are admitting that something isn't working. It also means that you've got to let go of something, maybe an older version of yourself.
Whilst you might not want to stay in that place, the fact that it feels familiar can make it feel comfortable. But real change, significant change, doesn't happen in your comfort zone. The problem with a fresh start isn't the idea of change.
It's the fear of what it might cost you in terms of relationships, approval, identity or certainty. So instead, sometimes we simply stay in the waiting room of our life, secretly hoping that clarity will come without commitment.
I'm afraid that's not true. So fresh starts, they're not something that you need to wait for.
They are something you can choose to do that you can decide is going to happen right now. You don't need anybody else to validate it. You just need to make that decision. But we get super clever at telling ourselves that it's too late now.
You've messed up too many times, and it might feel a little bit embarrassing to even think about trying it another way. When we think about it, there's this myth that we've all bought into at some point, which is that we only get one shot.
One career path, one version of yourself, one. One relationship, one go at getting everything right. But it doesn't have to be that way.
Fresh starts can happen at any point, Any year, any time of year, any month, any week, any day, any hour, any minute. You get the idea. So let's start gaining a little bit of self awareness. If you're thinking about a fresh start, make sure you check in with yourself.
What are the beliefs that are holding you back? Maybe you're worried that you'll be seen as flaky, inconsistent, or. Or that you've failed. Most of us at some point have had a fear of being judged.
Fear of what is ahead, what is unknown, the levels of uncertainty. And if we have tried to change before and it didn't work, that memory becomes ingrained in us.
And if we're not careful, it'll be the reason why you don't try again. So it's time to remind yourself what's really going on here. We don't fall back into old patterns because we're weak.
We fall back into old patterns because it's familiar, it's safe. And our brains really like to keep us in that state, even when we know that's not where we want to stay.
So if we don't consciously shift those beliefs, change the routines, rethink our identity, we simply end up repeating what has happened before. And that is irritatingly frustrating. That's why it's well worth taking some time to contemplate what it is that you actually want.
Because before you can get a fresh start to actually stick to really start to see the benefits of making these changes, you need to get clear on a few things first. Number one, what needs to change? What is positive about this fresh start that you actually need to keep?
And my favorite, who is it that you need to become to make the change? You can't mess about with fresh starts. It's no good pretending that this is something you really want. You have to want it with a white heat.
A fresh start also isn't about wiping your past. It's about honoring your past. Because everything you've ever done has brought you to this moment.
It has such value and it doesn't matter how many times you need to start over because each and every time, if you are conscious of what was different about the last time, you are able to step forward with more wisdom. You're not starting from scratch, you're starting from further experience.
So before I go any further with this, if this is resonating with you and you are really feeling the pull to make a change, then I want to invite you to my Start over and Rise masterclass.
In that masterclass, I'm going to take you through my five step method that will help you get unstuck, rebuild your self trust and help you create your next chapter, that big change that you're thinking about. So head over to register@saraburton.co.uk masterclass and just sign up there and you'll get all of the details.
If you're watching on YouTube, just head down to the description and you will find the link there. And if you're listening on the podcast, go over to the Show Notes and you will find the link there for you. Okay, let's get back to it.
Fresh starts come in many different forms and all too often we miss just how many opportunities there are to start over and create a fresh start. But just going to take you through three of the most common ones. The first ones are all the obvious ones that we have grown up with.
The date based ones. They might be New Year's Eve, New Year's Day, your birthday, it could be the start of the summer, holidays or going back to school.
These are all natural reset points. Other times it can be event based.
It could be getting married, getting divorced, when you start a new job after being made redundant, when you've moved house after the children have left home, or even, even becoming a grandparent. Even grief can bring about a deep moment for reassessment. And sometimes it's a key moment.
The one where you say, that's it, I've had enough, no more, or I can't keep doing this.
It's that straw that broke the camel's back moment, that little tiny thing that has built up over a length of time that suddenly changes everything and you are ready to make a change. These moments can be such a powerful spark for transformation, and research backs this up.
There is such a thing, a phrase that has been coined as the fresh start effect. It refers to how temporal landmarks like the start of a week, or the turn of a year, or a birthday, or any of those moments that we've just outlaid.
And it's about how they can create a psychological separation between our past and where we are right now.
The fresh start is a mental little reset that helps people feel that change is so much more possible and that they are capable of making the changes that they want because they can feel that shift between what has been and where they want to go. These moments help us believe that change is totally possible.
They shift us out of autopilot and bimbling along in our everyday life and thrust us into conscious action. Now, if you've listened to the podcast before, you will know that I have a start over and rise formula. And this is why it starts with fresh starts.
The formula is fresh starts plus new thinking equals your next chapter. I am a massive fan of giving ourselves that gift of starting over.
I have seen and felt the power of a fresh start many a time, and it doesn't matter how many times you need to do it, as long as you never give up. You will always find a new way to and that way could very well be the one that sticks.
One of the biggest significant startovers that I experienced was after I'd been made redundant. I was in my late 20s, I had just taken on the biggest mortgage I could possibly afford, and within a matter of months I was made redundant.
Now I'm not going to lie. Panic set in.
I wasn't too happy about the situation to start with, but after a couple of days I realized that this was an immediate, amazing opportunity. It was a chance to have a fresh start.
Now, to cut a long story short, it ended up that I was actually offered a job in Dubai and my career went from strength to strength as a result. It was an amazing thing that had happened, even though to start with it didn't feel like it.
But once I declared that this was a chance for a fresh start, what has been has been. Let's move on. My God. Goodness.
It was empowering and I was able to see all sorts of opportunities that I wouldn't have been able to see had I not declared it as a fresh start and seen it in a positive way. So let's just pause for a moment. When have you declared a fresh start and it has turned out really well? Remind yourself of it. Write it down.
It's great stuff to remind yourself of when maybe in the heat of something going wrong, you don't see that this is actually an opportunity. Being able to remind yourself that you have come through hard things before is such an empowering action.
So if you are thinking about a fresh start, I want you to hold on to these three truths. The first One is fresh starts do not erase your past. They honor it. Think about everything that you've been through before.
They have helped you build resilience, character.
They've given you the tools to be able to make positive moves forward, to look for the wisdom, look for the good, look for the potential opportunities. Number two, you don't need a breakdown in order to have a breakthrough. This is so important.
You do not have to wait for disaster to strike before you go for a fresh start. You can make that decision whenever you want. And number three, permission is an inside job.
Just remember that at any point, you get to say, you know what, this isn't working for me and I'm ready for change. I'm ready for a new chapter. And then you just begin.
So let's ditch those phrases of the diet can start again on Monday or I'll go to the gym again after the weekend or I'm going to wait till the kids are back at school. So what is your one step, your one thing that you can do today? Well, if you've been thinking about it, making a fresh start, you can do that now.
You can use listening to this episode as your turning point for making that fresh start. So I challenge you. Declare your fresh start. Say it out loud.
Write it down in a journal, email a friend, declare, I am choosing a fresh start, starting right now. How does that feel? I hope it feels good. That simple decision changes everything if you choose to make it that way.
But if you're still struggling with this, I've got a few more questions I want you to ask yourself that might just tip you over the edge to make that declaration. Ask yourself, what am I no longer willing to tolerate? Have I actually been waiting for permission to make the change that I want?
Or you could just ask yourself, if I were to wipe the slate clean right now, what would I want to happen next? If you got value from today's episode, I would love to hear from you. What is your fresh start? What's your key takeaway?
If you're watching on YouTube, pop it in the comments below and I will reply. And if you're listening on the podcast, maybe DM me via Instagram, that might be easier. Or leave a review on Apple podcast.
Let's normalize, reinvention. Let's champion fresh starts and the opportunities to start over. Let's make changes exciting, not scary, and something to be avoided.
Let's make starting over powerful, not shameful. And it's so important to remember that you don't need permission to start over. You can do it at any point.
You just need that little bit of courage to say, I'm ready. So if you are ready for change, head on over and go check out that masterclass. And remember, it's never too late to make a change.
It's never too late to make a change. And it's never too early to start over and rise from where you are right now to where you want to be. You take care. Thanks for joining me.
