How to Start Your Life Over When You Feel Stuck

“I need to start my life over” sounds enormous. That is part of why people can remain stuck even when they know something needs to change.

If the themes of Tyler Perry’s Doing Life brought you here, this is the practical companion: you do not need a movie-sized turning point to change direction. A small, responsible decision can be the beginning of a different chapter.

You probably do not need to solve your entire life today. You need to identify what is no longer working and make the next useful move.

1. Be specific about what feels stuck

Is it your career? Money? Relationship? Environment? Routine? Confidence? Faith? Social circle?

“My whole life is a mess” gives you nowhere to begin. “I need a different work situation” creates a problem you can actually examine.

2. Separate what you can change from what you cannot

Some circumstances require acceptance before progress becomes possible. You cannot rewrite yesterday or control another person’s choices. You can decide how much access the past gets to tomorrow.

3. Decide what you want more of

Starting over should not only be about escaping something. What are you moving toward? More stability? Creativity? Peace? Community? Purpose? Time? Healthier relationships?

4. Create one week of movement

Do not begin with a five-year plan. Create seven days of evidence.

Update the résumé. Make the appointment. Clean the room. Research the class. Call the person. Cancel the thing draining you. Walk for twenty minutes. Open the savings account.

5. Expect the new life to feel unfamiliar

People sometimes interpret unfamiliarity as proof they made the wrong decision. New routines can feel awkward simply because they are new.

6. Keep adjusting

Starting over is rarely one giant decision. It is a collection of smaller decisions that eventually produce a life that looks different.

You do not need permission to begin changing direction.

Read next: Starting Over: When Life Gives You a Chance to Begin Again.

Explore the conversation: Tyler Perry’s Doing Life: what we know and the meaning of doing life.