Naturopath Amina Eastham-Hillier shows you how to take a step back, look at all aspects of your life, and achieve change for the better.

Reinventing yourself may relate to your career, the people you interact with, your passions, and/or your mission in life. The latter can take many forms – caring for people, animals, or plants; teaching; hospitality; building; entertaining; or inspiring artistic creativity.

  1. Live your passions

The areas of your life you’re most passionate about are the most important. If you haven’t found your passion, you may feel unworthy – and this is precisely what may be stalling your true happiness. Not everyone knows what ‘rocks their boat’ or what their finest attributes are, so a good place to start is to identify what brings you joy and makes you feel excited. Still stuck? Take a trip back to your childhood. What were your passions then? What did you love doing? Is there some way you can bring this forward into your adult life? For example, if you loved to draw as a child, return to your art with the aim of achieving nothing more than enjoyment. Drop the perfectionism, silence the self-critical voice, and simply enjoy the creative process.

Having joy in your life is fundamental to gaining a sense of wellbeing. This in turn leads to confidence, and confidence enables us to move forward, making the most of life’s situations. Find projects that feel purposeful to you: they don’t have to be earth-shattering, but simply those that provide a sense of satisfaction and contribution to others. If you’re in a job that’s less than ideal, look at ways to make improvements, or perhaps explore options to gain new or additional qualifications. You may even change employment. Certainly, this tends to be easier said than done, but keep in mind there’s a lot to be said for making dramatic life-changing decisions and just trusting! If leaving your employment is too daunting a decision to make, just ensure you’re involved in joyful activities during your time off.

  1. Love changes all

Love your neighbours, colleagues and family members – and yes, even the people who create problems for you! Not appealing perhaps, but in the long run, projecting love is more fulfilling than being consumed by anger. When dealing with such difficulties, remember you don’t have to do it alone. Seek help and look for strategies that foster better relationships. Loving people does not mean you have to seek a deeper connection with them: it simply means live and let live and wish all well.

  1. Release the baggage

An inability to forgive causes a barrier for many people, hindering the projection of their love – and quite understandably, for if someone has hurt you or been disrespectful, it’s hard not to be angry with them. However, it’s you who gets hurt and carries the burden of emotional pain, as chances are they probably don’t care how you feel. Holding on to your resentment and bitterness is toxic to your body and soul. Forgiveness is the way forward and if we can start to love others by understanding that they, like us, have insecurities and often act from fear, we’ll gain greater peace of mind. The more peaceful and content we become, the more capable we are of giving and receiving love. This is a huge step for reinventing mind, body and spirit – and it feels so liberating when we fly beyond pettiness, criticism, and blame.

  1. Revitalise

Detox your body for life-changing results. There’s nothing better than gaining a ‘new you’ through a sound detox program under the guidance of a qualified naturopath, who will help modify your diet and lifestyle choices in a way that will work for you on a long-term basis. You can literally change every cell in your body in six months, so imagine undergoing a detox for a few weeks and then sticking to those healthier habits and making them part of your everyday life. If the body is content, the mind is calmer. When there’s vitality in the body, there’s vitality in the spirit. Caring for the body is paramount to living well. Take the time to feel gratitude for your body regardless of age, shape or fitness as it is what carries you through life.

Detox your home and workspace, too, by clearing clutter, rubbish and items that no longer reflect what you aspire to. Marie Kondo, organising consultant and author of The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, says that if an item doesn’t spark joy when you hold it, thank it for its service and get rid of it. While this is a difficult one for hoarders, having less physical ‘stuff’ frees you to move forward. Decluttering symbolises and adds intensity to your commitment to change.

  1. Plan – and be prepared to leap

Find a beautiful notebook to plan and play with your new adventures. Write a list of 50 things you would like to do in your life; for example, master new crafts and hobbies, join a club with like-minded people, do things you may have previously feared, such as public speaking, learn a new language, play an instrument, teach young people your skills, or sign up for a new study course. Plan your future by writing down your goals. Start with one week, one month, and then what you would you like to be doing in one year, and five years. You may wish to segregate your goals into categories such as health, financial, family, career, and spiritual. Fill your book with poems, sayings and insights that inspire you to believe in yourself and your ability to create. Set out on your adventure with a brave heart and a strong belief that those dreams are already starting to become reality. Start right now and make it happen.