Recharge Your Heart and Reconnect with Your Inspiration through Self-Renewal

Discovering that you aren’t living the very best possible version of your life can be a difficult reality to face. If you’ve ever felt like you’re traveling down the wrong pathway or pursuing goals that don’t align with what you really want out of life, you may feel a strong yearning to self-renew. However, actually attempting to reinvent yourself and start anew can be equally intimidating. How do you approach restructuring your life and changing familiar parts of yourself?

How does self-renewal recharge your heart and reconnect you with your inspiration?

Self-renewal requires a person to reflect inward and really get a strong understanding of what they want out of their life. Renewal requires a lot more than making a few small changes. Often, the process requires some major overhaul, such as reassessing your life purpose or readjusting your ultimate goals, to get yourself back on track.

After my mother passed away, I faced a true identity crisis. I had spent forty-odd years working for others, raising my children and caring for my parents on a daily basis. All of a sudden I found myself alone in my home with no one to be responsible for except myself. It took over a year for me to work through my emotions and “reclaim my brain” (my mom had cognitive impairment from a stroke so I’d been thinking for both of us). I went through a process to identify what I truly wanted for my life. This was the first time ever that I’d had the luxury of sorting through my values and options and choosing for myself.

When you’re living your life in a way that feels aligned with your greatest dreams and desires, you feel extremely satisfied with your life and motivated to keep moving forward. Self-renewal, then, recharges your heart, bringing the fire and desire back into your actions and choices. Rather than moving through life just to “survive,” you are thriving and getting the most benefits you can.

A self-renewal process also reconnects you with your greatest inspirations. When you feel like you need major changes in your life, you may feel totally bored and uninspired by what you’re currently doing.

This kind of elevated boredom is a major sign that big changes are needed because you’ve lost sight of your big goals and dreams somewhere along the way. Living your life should excite you; if it doesn’t, then it is time to reconnect with your inspiration.

For me, it’s all about travel – and art. For the first time ever I traveled to Europe, sometimes alone, and visited some epic galleries, churches and museums. I was apprehensive at first, but it was such a wonderful experience to engage with other cultures and fulfill some long-held dreams.

I’m ready to embrace self-renewal. What are some strategies for getting started?

Self-renewal can be tough to face. Think of it like allowing old parts of your life to “die” so better things can be “born.” You will be scrapping old parts of your life that are no longer serving you and replacing them with what you need to succeed. To make this process feel a little easier, consider using these strategies.

1. Allow yourself to experience all the emotions self-renewal brings.

Hiding or ignoring big emotions is a tempting way to deal with them, but it is highly ineffective. You may experience grief, sadness, anger, frustration, and more, but it’s always best to let yourself feel those emotions rather than hiding them. Trying to hide or ignore emotions doesn’t mean they’ll disappear. Instead, they will return even stronger. So go ahead and process them in real time.

2. Keep your end goals in mind.

During self-renewal, it can be difficult to remember why you’re putting yourself through such a difficult change process. It’s essential to keep your end goals in mind at all times. They will help you power through the most difficult parts of the experience.

Staying in your “old ways” is tempting because it’s the easiest choice. However, the easiest choice isn’t the one that will lead you to true success and happiness. Keep yourself focused on your ultimate “why” when you’re self-renewing.

3. Identify and utilize your personal support system.

Identify a key group of individuals who you love and trust to support you when you’re struggling. During the particularly hard parts of self-renewal, reach out to them for emotional and moral support. These folks want what is best for you, and they’ll know how to encourage and support you when you need it most.

4. Change your environment.

Oftentimes it is helpful to get into a new environment where you can gain some distance from your normal routine and see a new perspective. If your usual place to do mental work is in your office, move outside to the patio or a park. If the weather is not pleasant, find an out-of-the-way table at your favorite coffee shop or go to a hotel for a night or two. We used to go to a hotel for a weekend once a quarter to plan our business. This change of scenery will allow you to view your life differently and opens up your creativity — you’ll be amazed how much!