How to have a fresh start

Year after year, every beginning of every January, we hear ourselves declaring our "New Years Resolutions" to the world- and year after year, most of us never make it past the middle of January before we completely forget all about our silly resolutions.  But what has stopped us from following through? I think a lot of what holds us back in life is past events. Sometimes our past is not so pleasant, and maybe it puts us into a negative mindset that prevents us from starting over. 

In John 10:10 Jesus said, “ I came that you might have life and have it more abundantly.” He then goes on to tell us that there is an enemy, called the Devil, whose main objective is to hurt YOU... ME...ALL OF US! Any attempt to start over or even have a happy life will be thwarted by this Enemy. It is a lifelong battle that we Christians will always be involved in. 

But there is good news... God does not care about our past. He wants us to move forward with a fresh start in life. Focus on the NOW and not the THEN. Caving in to the THEN is much easier to focus on because it is what we are used to doing. 

According to a Psychology Today article from 2014, there are 5 ways to a fresh start: 
1. Manage your regrets
2. Deal with your rumination
3. Think about your new goal in abstract terms
4. Adopt the right mindset
5. Motivate yourself

Do you see why I would say that focusing on the NOW is much more of a challenge to do?  But it is the RIGHT THING to do!  Live an abundant life. Let yourself have the much deserved reward of making a fresh start for yourself.  Just remember... God wants you to be happy.