If you’re questioning how to reset your life in 2023, you’re not alone. After a tough 2022 plagued with uncertainty, job losses and personal failures, many people are looking to hit the reset button on their lives. Restarting your life is not for the faint of heart. It’s for those disciplined and determined enough to shape their destiny.
Before I begin, let me say that this is not a new year’s resolution list.
You won’t find tips on losing weight here. It’s a practical, easy-to-follow guide on how to get your life on track. I feel more than qualified to offer this guide because my own life has been a series of missteps and do-overs, and every time I hit that reset button I’m better off for it.
So, if you’re serious about making changes, then keep reading my ultimate guide to making significant changes in 2023 and getting your life where you want it to be.
1. Get introspective
I cannot stress enough how important it is to get introspective about your life. Introspection is the examination or observation of your own mental and emotional processes. When you’re introspective, you self-analyse. This is important because no one knows you better than you. Not your mum, not your spouse, not your doctor. You know you the best.
You know your motivations. You understand what makes you tick, what makes you sad or makes you feel insecure. You have to delve deeply inside yourself and ask yourself what it is that you want from life and for your future.
This is not the time to consider anyone else’s opinions. This is about you. Taking the time to be introspective leads to a great deal of self discovery. That is the foundation of making positive changes.
While being introspective, you may discover that you don’t like your job, that you don’t like how you live or where you live, you may find that you long for a career shift. Sadly, you may even discover that you don’t like who you are or what you’ve become. Introspection is a crucial step, yet one that is often overlooked.
2. Stop procrastinating
When it comes to procrastinating, the first step is admitting it. I’m not kidding.
I am a master procrastinator, but somehow I get things done. Not eventually. On deadline.
Procrastination is not good because it lets you delay something important that you should be doing. It is the ultimate time thief and it’s the enemy of success.
I get it. When there’s something to do, we can always find something to distract us, whether it’s watching a marathon of a series on Netflix or going out shopping, there’s always something to steal our attention.
So, if you’re questioning how to reset your life in the new year, the answer is, by quitting your procrastination.
3. Declutter, declutter, declutter
Nothing good comes from disorganisation. Success thrives in cleanliness and order. I don’t function well in clutter. My mind can’t process it. So, I’m always tidying up my physical space. But, decluttering isn’t solely for physical spaces. You can also declutter your digital spaces, too.
Take a look at your desktop or even your smartphone. Go through your photo gallery, for example. There, you’ll find a bunch of unnecessary photos, downloads, memes and GIFs. There’s no organisation. So, clean it up.
You can also declutter your mental space. What is consuming you? What is giving you a great deal of anxiety? You need to rid your mind of the things that make you anxious, terrified or uncomfortable. Declutter your mind. It’s a process, but, in the end, it’s so worth it and you’ll wonder why you hadn’t done it sooner.
4. Learn to let go
This tip goes hand in hand with the previous tip. You have to learn to let go.
Stop holding on to the things, people and places that no longer serve you. We all love comfort zones. It’s warm, safe and cozy. It’s familiar. But, if your comfort zone is going to impede your future life, you have to make some adjustments.
Take a look at your relationships or friendships. Get introspective here. Do they make you happy? Can you grow from them? If the answer is no, then you need to let them go.
It’s not comfortable walking away from people – especially people you love. But, if that love is not reciprocated. If they will ultimately harm you in the long run, you have to learn to let go. Taking that baggage with you into the new year will only weigh you down and make you unhappy. So, shed the weight of that extra baggage.
5. Hold yourself accountable for your actions
You are responsible for you. No one else. You. Notice that I didn’t say you’re responsible for your circumstances, because sometimes life happens and you have no control. But, you are responsible for your actions and how you respond to what has happened to you.
You cannot blame the world for all your flaws and faults, mistakes and missteps. Again, you have to do some introspection and determine what part you played in the results you got.
If, for example, you needed and wanted to buy a car, and you needed to save for a downpayment, but chose to blow that money on clothes, shoes and shopping trips, then who is to blame for the fact that you don’t have a car? You!
You decided in that moment that the shopping trips were more valuable than a car to get you from point A to point B.
We all want nice things
I, like most people, enjoy having nice things. I love to travel. I love eating at nice restaurants. I love things. But, I always remember what a former Bahamian boss of mine said one time, “you can’t have tings (things) and money in the bank. Choose one.” Wise words.
Every time you take money out the bank to buy or pay for something, you are depleting your account. If you’re going to do that, at least make it count. Let it be for something that will make your life exponentially easier or more profitable.
6. Make saving a priority and get rid of debt
I’m not here to tell you how to save or how to get rid of debt. You will not hear me telling you to cut back on your Starbucks coffee. That is between you and your financial advisor.
I am here, however, to tell you that it should be a priority. Granted, it’s not easy, especially if you don’t make a lot of money. But, you have to hash out a plan to deal with both because tough times never go away. Even wealthy people experience tough times. They just have more resources to counter them.
You have no idea how great being debt-free feels
Even if you don’t earn a lot of money, if you are debt-free, you will be in a much better place because at least you won’t owe anyone. That’s an incredible feeling.
We don’t know what 2023 holds. We know what we would like the new year to bring, but we never know. So, we have to be prepared. I don’t want you to beat yourself up here. There’s no sense in doing that. Just sit down (again, get introspective) and figure out your plan. I trust you.
If you’re on this blog reading this post, you’re smart and you want to make positive changes in your life. So, just do it.
7. Chase your dreams in 2023
Many of us, myself included, put some dreams on the back burner these past few years. We shoved them in a duffle bag, went into the backyard in the dead of night with nothing more than a shovel and a flashlight, and we buried them deep into the ground.
It’s time to go back out into the yard and bring those dreams to the surface.
I have this George Addair quote on my fridge that says, “everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear.” I’ve had this quote for years and I refuse to let it go because it speaks truth.
We have to be fearless in chasing our dreams because realising those dreams will turn our lives around for the better.
Tyler Perry, while accepting his BET Ultimate Icon Award, begged the audience not to give up on their dreams because “there are people whose lives are tied into your dream.”
I remember watching Tyler in real time and crying uncontrollably when he said that, because I know there are people waiting to be employed by me. In fact, I already have people working for me. If I don’t do what I do here on my blog or on my YouTube channel, someone may not eat, and that’s facts.
8. Here’s how to reset your life in 2023: Get in tune with God
I typically leave my most powerful advice for the last. I cannot stress enough how important it is to get in tune with God.
God is the foundation of everything. The Creator gives you what you need at the right time. It would be unwise to make future plans without His input. When I say get in tune with Him, I mean spend quality time with Him. Dedicated, devoted time. And ask Him to guide you.
I remember when I first moved into my apartment. I found this place after a lengthy and exhaustive search in the DMV area. I found it just when I was about to give up and it turned out to be everything I wanted and more.
While walking around my empty new space – all 540 sq ft of it – I promised God that I would dedicate a Bible study nook where I would read my Bible and talk with Him. In the moment, I was adamant that I would do it, too.
But, I got caught up shopping for my new apartment. I decorated my space, but I didn’t dedicate my space to and for Him.
I’m embarrassed to admit it, but it must be said. I think about the many times I have gotten angry at God for not doing something for me at the time I asked. But, an entire year has passed from I promised to do something for Him, and I haven’t lived up to my promise. So, how dare I be angry at Him?
While I talk to God every single waking moment of the day – when I first rise, when I shower, when I’m driving, when I’m eating, I know that there is nothing like true intimacy and spending time with Him. He deserves that.
And I know He wants the same thing from you! So, if you do nothing else on this list, I would seriously advise you to carve out time for God. Get in tune with Him. Keep Him first and foremost in 2023, and everything else will fall in place because he will give you wisdom. He will give you financial advice. He will counsel you. Believe that.
XOXO,
This Bahamian Gyal
