It’s time to start a new life, and that means leaving something, or everything behind. It’s scary. It’s particularly scary if there is a legal step involved. That is because you are undergoing change, and any change, big or small, is going to bring some stress. You are probably wondering how you are going to do it all. That thought alone might be overwhelming you. Legal stuff has a way of doing that, but legal stuff is also sometimes a way of helping us to solve those problems. Support is available as you make this big change.
Stop, take a big breath and remember that you don’t have to find all the ways to start over a new life all at once. Make an outline of what you need to do, and take it one moment at a time. If you aren’t sure where to start, use this guide to learn some simple ways to start over a new life.
Take Inventory – What’s Broken, It Might Not be You
A legal problem is one of the most common ways to start over a new life. You might embrace it, or be eager to put it behind you. Take inventory when this happens.
A legal problem sometimes forces us into learning we need to start something new in life. It doesn’t make us bad people, it just points us to a change we need to make. Sometimes the very thought of a legal problem makes us feel like we are the broken ones. You might not be. You might just need to make the change. Take an inventory of what is happening right now and see if you can identify what needs to be fixed.
There are a number of ways to start over a new life, and identifying what a key problem is will be a great start. This is not about assigning blame. It’s about determining what is wrong and then just fixing it. Break your life into components and take an actual inventory. Is it health, money, love, family, church, work, safety plan, children, or all of the above?
Sometimes when it feels like it is all going wrong, it isn’t. It’s just one or two things that is going wrong. This is why you want to take this inventory.
It may be all elements that need to be fixed and not just one or two of them. Make peace with what you have learned in this inventory by just deciding to change it. If you’re already wondering how to start a new life in the middle of a legal problem, you’re already there in some respect.
Decide What You Want
While you are taking inventory of ways to start over a new life, make a concrete plan on your goals. You may want to start finding a good family lawyer or search for a local law firm to help you with your problem. In many cases, legal services may be just the answer you need for the life you are seeking.
Court and legal matters may seem heavy right now, but they are big solutions. They may not even be as big as you feel like they are, but it can feel overwhelming. Making the call to someone in a local law firm may be the best call you make in your life. These services are there for a reason. They are there to help you.
If you have already taken inventory on what needs to be eliminated in your life, then you may be closer to deciding what you want next. This is the time to start thinking proactively. Who do you want to be now? A lawyer may be able to help.
If that step is already behind you, then you have even more freedom to decide what you want to do with your life now. Decide what you want, and then set goals to get there. Make big goals, and small goals to get to the big goals. You are in charge now. It’s time to show the people in your life that you mean that.
Eliminate Obstacles
One of the ways to start over a new life is to determine what is in your way. If you already know what needs to be fixed, now you need to clear a path to fix them. Is it money? A relationship? Do you need legal assistance? A safer home? Children? Take your time trying to figure out what those obstacles are.
You can’t clear obstacles before you identify them. You can’t win in any legal scenario before you know what is in the way. Be realistic and not emotional when you begin identifying what it is that is standing in your way.
Once you’ve decided what it is that you need to clear away, start looking for the things that will eliminate the obstacles. Do you need a paternity attorney? Money and relationships are obstacles here. Do you need money? Then you might need a job. Is the relationship the obstacle? Work that out and how to eliminate it.
The eliminate obstacles step could take some time, but it could be the solution to every other change that you make. If you can’t eliminate an obstacle in one step, make a realistic plan to do so. Find a job to make some money to get a lawyer, for example.
In the meantime, have backup plans for your backup plans. In the example where you need a lawyer, the kind of lawyer you need will determine a solution. Maybe starting a family is the new life you have in mind, and a child adoption attorney is a solution. Learn what is standing in your way to getting you there, and make a realistic plan to eliminate that problem.
You might be in a position where you are afraid for your life. In that case, a lawyer isn’t the only solution. The obstacle here is a safety problem. Make a safety protocol as you look for legal solutions. Make your safety protocol part of your legal solution.
Create a plan with contingencies. Much of the stress that you have right now is due to uncertainty over outcomes. If you have some contingencies planned, you are eliminating some uncertainty if nothing else.
When you begin to eliminate obstacles, or at least make a plan to, the optimism over the new life begins to set in. This is true no matter how scary or uncertain the situation feels right now.
Relocate
Moving or relocating is one of the most obvious ways to start over a new life. There are few legal issues where this change does not breathe some fresh air into your life. Getting out on your own and making a relocation is a big change, but it’s also a big statement. If you can’t move now, make a plan to put the money down to make that happen.
A move or a relocation does not have to be as scary as it sounds. When you do this, you are telling all in your life that you are in charge of it, and they can’t do anything about it. Find ways to get excited about this. Begin collecting the pizza delivery menus from your new location. Buy baby bedding that nobody can bother you about. Get a new address that lets your entire world know that you are in charge of your life.
While you are waiting through the legal ways to start a new life, work on something you can chip away at every day. Set up a relocation plan. If safety requires you to keep it to yourself, do so. Keep chipping at that, the new energy of it all will excite you.
Remember Routine
When you are implementing ways to start over a new life, one thing that often gets lost is routine. If you are involved in a legal problem, or even a legal change in life, routine is bound to get lost while you try and sort this out. Losing your routine is a very easy way to get overwhelmed with the legal details that are on your mind right now. It could also cost you legally.
Establishing a routine will help you to feel organized every day and on top of your every day. When you do have to manage a legal matter, you’ll be more clear-headed and focused.
This is even more important if you have just relocated. When you have relocated you have a lot on your mind. You have to get used to a new home, even where and when you get your mail might be different. You need a new plan for groceries, a new plan for everything. Start the process of establishing new routines and schedules as soon as you can.
You may be so overwhelmed with life that you even need to remember when to take a shower every day. This happens when you move as well. You’re accustomed to one routine in your old home, and even where you go to shower and how you manage that could have the slightest tweak that throws you off. Take time to get into your new routines, and don’t beat yourself up if they don’t all come to you at once.
Being showered, having groceries, staying on top of your mail, are all important components of your daily routine. You may need to show you have these elements in place in a legal matter. Or, your legal matter may be behind you now and you are just starting your new life a new way. Either way, a routine that you and you alone create is going to be an empowering little step to a big mindset that you are coping with change in a healthy way.
Make a list of all the new people you need in your life, like a plumbing guy, landlord, mechanic, and even a vehicle rental company for emergencies. Have every element of your life prepared for that you can, while you work out the things that are in the process of being managed elsewhere.
Secure Your Income
Having a secure income is an important part of feeling secure in life. When all else is going wrong, if you are loaded with work, at least one part of your life feels stable and secure. A job is one of the best ways to start over a new life. Start the hunt for a new job, or find ways to feel secure in a job you may already have.
If you are already working, find a way to feel better there. That may involve upgrading skills and work on getting a promotion. You may even just need to take some time off or be forced to with drug rehabilitation centers. Do what they are asking you to do.
The key takeaway is to secure your income as soon as you can. It may be an important part of your legal problem. Even if it isn’t, and that part of your life is over, it’s still an important part of you starting a new life. You will feel much more secure overall when you have that part of your life in place.
If it takes more time than you want it to, give yourself a break. Waiting for employment is part of life as well. Be patient, it will come together. When it does, that flow of life falling into place will tell you that you know how to start a new life. You did that, your new life is now falling into place. Securing your income on your own will be one of the most satisfying ways to start over a new life.
Start Your New Life
When you are going through the many ways to start over a new life, you will feel overwhelmed. That’s called life, and being human. Take small steps in this journey, and take control of every choice that you make. When you do, the changes feel less overwhelming because you are the one making the changes. Start your new life, and celebrate yourself for taking that step.
