There will come a time when you want to wipe the slate clean, to turn a new leaf, to start a new chapter in your life. The reasons will vary but it will probably (for the majority of people) come as a result of being at a turning point in your life. I have realized it two years ago while celebrating my 55^th birthday. I looked at myself in a mirror and decided that I have to change my lifestyle and get rid of bad habits. I knew that 55 is not an ideal age to start from scratch, but the choice was now, or never, or later when it will be even more difficult.

I’ve decided to get in shape first and started training with my personal trainer. We had two sessions a week during the first year. It will take up to six months until you notice real changes in your physique and endurance. After a year of training I have decided to work out on my own. I had basic knowledge and vision on how to improve my results through variety of training programs.

How do you start that new chapter in your life? Is there a “formal” way? There actually is and chances are, you’ve gone through it.

Whenever someone marks significant change in their life, when they head in a new direction in life, they go through these 3 stages (broadly speaking).

Stage 1: The Cutting-Off Stage

Stage 2: The Training Stage

Stage 3: The Acknowledgement Stage.

Notice without going through ALL these stages, it doesn’t really “feel” like anything has changed, that anything is different in your life. You have to go through all of them – and people usually do even if they are not consciously aware of it. You can’t go directly from Cutting Off Stage to Acknowledgement. What’s there to acknowledge? No wisdom was learned. No training endured. No trials passed.

You can’t skip the Cutting Off Stage either and go directly to Training because without that Cutting Off Stage, you tell yourself you don’t really mean business. That it’s just a “phase”. And with that blasé attitude, you don’t really throw yourself into learning and training and fail to pass the trials that inevitably come about.

You go through the three stages creatively.

Let’s say a person is just morbidly overweight. He or she finally hit rock bottom. So they decide it’s time to change. For REAL.

They cut off all association with their obese friends, throw out all the junk food in the house, and the huge clothes as well (save for a few changes of clothes).

They then begin the Training Stage. They get a personal trainer, join a gym, and start learning all there is to know about weight loss. Little by little, they start losing weight until they finally lost the exact amount of weight they wanted to in the beginning, signifying that they have passed the “ultimate test”.

So they throw a big party with all the new friends made during this journey – fellow people at the gym, family, friends made outside the gym, etc., (serving healthy food of course at the party) and the new chapter in their life begins.

Yes, a bit corny but you get what I’m talking about.

Having this “frame” is useful because it provides structure when you’re lost. And when you’re lost and trying to start a new chapter, it can get pretty discouraging but now that you know what stages are involved, it’s easy to start taking action.

Some might say that the first stage – cutting off your former life may seem a bit extreme or difficult, but it’s necessary. That’s why those who never go through with this stage, who half ass it – they never really start a brand new chapter in their lives. Have you noticed that?

Maybe they start a brand new paragraph or start on the next page in their book of the same chapter – but a BRAND NEW chapter?

Not really.

They don’t draw the line and make that commitment. They don’t burn the bridge back to their former self so they always have the option of going back.

Cut it off.

Train your ass off.

And throw a big celebration after you pass the big test, acknowledging to yourself that a new chapter has indeed started in your life.

Two years ago, I celebrated my 55 anniversary. I looked back at my life and figured out that I have to change my lifestyle completely. I decided to get in shape and started exercising with a personal trainer.