Have you ever felt the need to start your life from zero? To reinvent yourself and say “this is the new me”? I’m sure you have! When we are younger, changing gears doesn’t usually feel like so big of a deal. If you don’t like your school, your job, or your city, you just start searching for a new opportunity and go for it. But the older we get, the harder it seems to get out of our comfort zone… And yet, we’re so sick of that comfort zone that we can’t stop thinking of leaving it all behind. But when the time comes to take the first step, second thoughts start to appear everywhere!
You might think that younger people have it easy. They don’t need to pay taxes, take care of a mortgage, or feed a family. Having fun and looking good is their only job! Well, and upload a couple of TikTok dance videos… Or that’s what one could think… If I were younger… If I had fewer obligations… If I had more time… So bear with me, and let me prove to you that most of the time, it’s all in your mind!
You have it in you. You know you’re meant for so much more. But your obligations take up so much of your day that time goes by and you slowly forget that big idea of yours. Your dream. Until you realize that you’re not getting any younger. You may even be too old already. Are you too old?
Why age is just an excuse you use not to start from scratch
This past year, I’ve had the chance to work with many secondary and high-school students. I was lucky enough to teach how to start and manage a blog at my children’s school. As I love talking about plans and dreams, I started many conversations with my students about their plans for the future. It was fun to realize that some of them were hyper-excited about everything they wanted to do during the next months, but there were also others who had absolutely no clue! Their answer? “Let’s see. There’s no rush!”
And there, that is what hit me. Younger people don’t have it easier to start new things just because they have more time or fewer obligations. It isn’t youth itself that we should want. But their feeling of having their whole life in front of them, of being in control of their future. They feel that they can choose what they want to do, or who they want to be. And that’s what we should envy. But guess what. Nobody knows how long we will be on this planet. These students don’t feel in control of their life because they are objectively calculating how many years they have ahead. We are talking about feelings. And that is something that lies just in our minds. You can have that feeling of being in control, too. It is just a matter of changing your mindset.
So let’s talk about what is really stopping you from reinventing yourself. Have you ever asked yourself whether you may not be missing time, but courage? That you haven’t become too old, but rather too comfy? Too cautious? What words didn’t use to exist in your vocabulary when you were young and have now taken the first places in your mind? “Security”? “Obligations”? “Responsibility”? And how many of these words are stopping you from changing careers, quitting your job, or starting a new business? Yes, that idea you’ve been playing around with for months – or even years!
Step 1. Identify what is stopping you from reinventing yourself
If you want to change something, first you have to know what it is, don’t you think so? So let’s start figuring out what is it that is stopping you from starting from scratch. Your first spontaneous answer might be lack of time or money, but both of them are usually just excuses we give to ourselves. There’s much more underneath those “reasons.”
These are the three most common causes for not starting something new:
>> You’re afraid of what others might say
>> You think you are too old or too young!
>> You don’t know how to start
Step 2. Do some soul-searching and consider whether you’re just afraid of failing
Be honest to yourself. Are there any *real* reasons for you not to try to reinvent yourself? Do you really have no time? Not even a couple of hours per week? Go through all reasons you might be thinking of right now, and ask yourself whether it is just a reason or an excuse not to step out of your comfort zone.
What would your younger self do? What would she tell you? Would she advise you to keep it safe, or to take the leap and risk it? What do you have to lose?
Step 3. Give yourself a chance
I suggest you try this challenge: choose ONE month to work only and focused on advancing with your new project. Do not think about whether you’ll be successful, what other people will think, or about your age. Just keep working. When that month comes to an end, stop to think. Is that what makes you happy? Then, you’ll find the time to keep on working on your passion project. And don’t let anyone convince you otherwise.
And if that new project is starting a business, I sincerely recommend you to let me help you with the Work for You Planner! It will guide you to set the right goal and the steps you need to start freelancing sooner than you think. Just give yourself a chance!
What I most envy from high-schoolers is their feeling that there’s no rush, that they can do whatever they want, and be whoever they want to be. That’s what we should envy. But guess what. We can have it as well.
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