Summer Reflections: Starting Over…Again

Within this past year, I have seen a lot of people share their experiences about starting over. And for some, starting over…again.

Whether starting over again is forced due to an external circumstance or by choice, this topic does not get as much awareness as it should.

And as someone who has intentionally started over twice in the last year, I’m sharing my thoughts on it now and where I’m headed.

Beginning again is not easy. And when I say again, I mean with every area of your life.

If you feel me on this, keep reading!

Let’s discuss starting over…again.

And let’s start with the truth.

When life forces you to begin again, our first thoughts are, “I have to start over? Again? The first time was hard enough!”

The loss of a loved one, a job, a home, and/or a relationship is hard because most of the time, the loss is outside of our control.

How about when it is in our control?

Intentionally starting over again is a different kind of hard.

At times, beginning again is a good and bad thing because we know that in order to grow, we have to start over.

I’ve said it before, but personally, I have a love/hate relationship with starting over.

For me, what makes it feel bad is the feeling of loss of progress.

On the plus side, we’re not really at square one. We’re at square seven, but with loads of experience this time.

That said, here are my thoughts on starting over again in my personal life…

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Prior to 2020, my longest streak of consistency at the gym was two years. I was doing so well after my car accident too! After an unintentional two year hiatus, I made my return in 2022. It was SO hard after my return that I promised myself to never be that inactive that long ever again. And I can say with the utmost confidence that I’ve been extremely consistent since my promise.

Considering I’m doing well at the gym, I feel like I’m starting over again with my health. With all that’s going on in the food and health sectors, I know I need to start again.

I won’t go into details, but let’s just say I have a lot of work to do internally. Externally, my body is showing me signs that I need to practice cleansing, detoxing, and fasting more often than I think.

On top of this, I’m starting over again on my mobility. While I hate the idea of starting over, I know I can also reach my flexibility goals as I’ve started over twice before in this area. That and knowing the importance of mobility when it comes to getting older is what’s encouraging me to start over.

Speaking of getting older, I see my chiropractor, but not consistently at all. And I know I should start seeing him again because I’ve been doing a lot of diving my weekly volleyball games, ha! However, this is low on my priority list with all I know I need to do at the moment.

PERSONAL STYLE

I haven’t been consistent in sharing outfits with you guys for a long while. And again, it’s for a good reason. While I am down a few clothing sizes (yay!), it’s been hard being my current size.

And it’s not because I’m not trying. I’ve been having a difficult time for years finding clothes that fit my current body AND helps boost my confidence.

For the past few months, I’ve been starting over with my personal style by learning my body type and purging my closet.

Yep, instead of shopping for a lot of new clothes, I’m slowly starting over with my wardrobe. Does it suck? Yes, it does because with every item I post on Poshmark, I feel like I’ve wasted money trying to figure out my personal style for the past decade.

I also have clothes, shoes, and bags currently in storage from my move several years ago that I hope I can get to this fall to start the purging/editing process.

While the purging process is overwhelming, I look forward to having a more edited wardrobe in the future!

BEAUTY

After a summer of purging everything, I found SO much beauty products that I had tucked away.

I ended up with two huge boxes: one for me to keep and use and the other to sell/give away.

After going through my belongings, I learned that I’m a major creature of habit…way more than I thought.

It’s not that I don’t enjoy makeup. I just prefer a quick ten minute makeup routine, lol!

In this area of my life, I’m “starting over” by not buying any more makeup and just using what I have until I run out. And my wallet is thanking me for it, ha!

BUSINESS & FINANCES

For some reason, business/career is one area in life I don’t mind starting over. And I did just that this past year…twice. I quit my jobs. More on this in the future…

Did I want to? Financially, no. Knowing I had to in order to take care of my family/myself and grow? Yes.

I’m not going to lie. It’s been hard adjusting to my new life. However, I think I’ll get into the swing of things in the next few months because I’ve basically given myself a deadline.

I’m currently taking a course on branding so you’ll see new/different content on my social media soon. While I have no idea what will happen, my goal is to practice being consistent on putting myself out there. A new website will also be coming, I just don’t know when.

I’ve recently begun to do my banking at different institutions as well. I figured that as my finances continue to change for the better, it’s best to leave my old institution behind.

Jesus, take the wheel!

LIFESTYLE

In terms of starting over with my lifestyle, I’ve learned that your environment has a huge effect on your performance. Who you hang out with and where you live is a huge factor in how fast you want to succeed. While I don’t have answers yet, I know I’m going to have to start over in this area…beginning with where I live.

Even the thought of searching for a place to live is exhausting, but I know I can do it.

Sometimes, when we look at what we have to do, we get discouraged. The only way I know I’m going to be successful in starting over is knowing that I’m blessed I get to start over.

I mean, they say that the best time to start was yesterday and the next best time is today, right?

So, today it is!

How do you guys feel about starting over…again? Let me know in the comments!