Trying new things after divorce can be just as exhilarating as it might be scary!

Trying new things after divorce can have you feeling scared, excited or “scited” as I recently heard Glennon Doyle describe in her podcast. I often see the phrase “New Year, New You!” and frankly, I despise that. No need to reinvent yourself. You’re amazing as you are! Instead of focusing on a new you, let’s focus on new things for the current you in this new year.

I recently saw a divorced woman post a picture of a Christmas Tree on her car and I didn’t even need to read the caption to know what had happened, because it has happened to me. For the first time, this woman had to go get a Christmas Tree by herself. That prospect is both emotionally challenging and physically challenging (at least it was for me!). Knowing that I would have to carry a tree into the house, I opted for a small one, but I did it. And once you do something one time, your confidence increases and you know you can do that same thing again, because now you’ve already done it.

If you’re a parent, there will be countless things you need to navigate for the first time by yourself. Putting air into bike tires, attempting to pitch during at-home baseball practice, lacing up ice skates, the list of my firsts goes on and on. Just because you haven’t done something in the past doesn’t mean you cannot do it in the future, or better yet right now! I surprised my son (and myself) by agreeing to go with him down a slide at a water park that looked like it might kill me….one of those where you stand up straight and a trap door drops out from below you and you plummet into a water-filled tube ride. I wouldn’t have been caught dead doing that years ago, but my single-parent scenario pushed me out of my comfort zone to try something new. My son was super excited and I was happy to do something new with him.

In this New Year, I encourage you to learn new things, or try new things. You will find your comfort zone is more flexible than you think. Maybe you will go to a movie by yourself or have coffee alone at your favorite local spot. Each new thing you try is something you do just for you that’s not tied to your past. You don’t need to be a new and different version of you, just the best version of who already are.

If you enjoyed this article, check out this one on how to move through divorce.

Trying new things after divorce will run the gamut from the mundane, every day stuff to the trap-door-water-slide stuff and every one of them you can claim as a victory!