How to win at starting over

Take it from me, we all fall of the wagon sometimes, and getting back up can be difficult, so here’s some help to getting back to good and honouring yourself the way you should!

Write it down / write it up! The first step for any new change is to do an audit. You have to take stock of where your health is, how you feel what you have been doing right and wrong and where you want to be. Simply writing down your intentions is a powerful step towards fulfilling them. You are literally taking a thought that exists in the ether and transmuting it to a physical plane of existence – whether on your phone or a piece of paper. Start with paper though, you want to be disconnected for this bit. After you have written down where you are at and where you want to be, now we need to direct this in a sensible way.

Let’s get it on! I have my own process but I have also learned that there’s no reason to reinvent the wheel. Tony Robbins has been doing this kind of work for three decades. Here’s a little process, using the Robbins’ approach:

Story: Imagine nothing else, but your ideal life - how you dress, where you are, who’s around you, even how you smell! What you are going to do is write down your ‘eulogy line’; it sounds morbid but really, it isn’t. We spend our lives living by our value to other people, our CV skills, but people will really and truly remember our story. What’s your desired story? E.g. “A mother of three, but godmother to 300, always caring, always there, who kicks a*s as a photographer and lives with energy, purpose, and lots of coffee.” That’s who you want to be seen as, right? What does the real empowered you look like, write it down! Now let’s go there.

Strategy: The tricky part; but its fun too, especially if you have never taken a single photo in your life but dream of being a photographer. Now you need to create some columns in your notebook, perhaps – Family, Friendships, Charity, Photography, Health and start finding ways to maximise each. You perhaps need to _ nd a photography course, outline new fun ways to spend time with your own children, while outlining ways to help all the other children you would like to help as well?

State: Now you can’t get anywhere with an unhealthy body or unbalanced mind. Your state is how you feel, but also how you can make yourself feel. Where does energy come from? Food? Remember Indian Arrival Day after all that curry – weren’t too energised afterward, were you? Sleep? Do you feel well rested after six to eight hours generally? Again, probably not. State is a psychology and there are ways and means to get there, so that you can live your strategy and become your story.

Get started! Now, after all this writing and planning, you need to get started.

But not just yet, you may need a little more advice in the way of setting your story and strategy and that’s what we will focus on in the next Honour Yourself. For today, just spend a few minutes wherever you can find it. For moms, it’s usually in the shower – that’s fine. You can stand and spend just a few minutes focusing on your breathing. Take these few moments to be grateful for all that you have, because you’re about to have a lot more to be grateful for.

Honour Yourself is a column aimed at helping you to salute the divinity within you, and empower the vessel that supports it – your body. This advice is culled from dozens of books, medical studies, discussions with professionals and experience. Always consult your doctor, your nutritionist or preferred health advisor before starting any health changes.

Most of all, listen to your body and honour yourself.