What Does It Mean to Self-Renew?

We are excited to announce our new theme for the Fontanie Magazine during 2023 …Renewal

Renewal is such an important part of life that we will be dedicating our articles, YouTube presentations and social media contributions to this theme. The first half of 2023 will focus on self-renewal and the second half will focus on career change and business renewal. We are starting with self-renewal because how we deal with our own renewal paves the way to how we face renewal in business, work and our careers. 

As we go through life, we experience many highs and lows along the way. When we are going through the highs, we feel like we are on top of the world and no one can bring us down.

But then we sometimes get buried in the lows and it feels like those highs are very far off. When we are feeling that way we need to realize that it is possible to pick ourselves up and journey back to feeling good about ourselves and others. 

As we do this we become more hopeful,  resilient, and satisfied than we were before. Just by simply making the effort to continue to renew ourselves throughout our lives we stop getting stuck in the trap that the lows try to keep us in.

The meaning of Renewal
These days ‘renewal’ is often referred to as ‘energy renewal’ and ‘sustaining our beautiful natural environment, and although these are extremely important, we will refer to them only as a backdrop in our materials. We will focus more on renewing ourselves as we go through life, meeting the challenges of business and in our workplaces. 

Renewal is a process of rebirthing, regrouping, repositioning, and reinventing. In reality we are all renewing ourselves every day. Each day is unlike yesterday and each year is unlike the previous one. Everything is aging in one way or other but as they age they are also being reborn. 

As we evolve we are brought into the process of dying and renewing, transforming, and changing. It is all about what is called the circle of life. We see this in nature as winter recedes and spring brings new hope, we experience it in business as it struggles and reinvents itself with renewed vision, and we experience it in our careers as we move from one opportunity to another. 

Self-renewal is also a spiritual act – it's the act of rebirthing, it is a rising from the ashes moment, a conversion, and a transformation to new life. The beauty of self-renewal is that it allows you to constantly reinvent yourself when you find that you need to. 

For example, when we join one another in marriage each leaves a lot of things behind. Our single life is over and we go through a period of self-renewal as each partner reinvents themselves in a way. They learn to compromise in ways they never did before and that takes sensitivity and tact. We go through a renewal process whenever we change careers, jobs, move out of addictions, bad habits or change any aspect of our lives . 

As life evolves, so do the demands on us and the only way to meet those demands is through self-renewal. While there are many benefits to self-renewal, the key benefit is that it helps us attain fulfillment, and that satisfaction continues even when our needs and wants are evolving or becoming clearer to us. 

When we go through self-renewal, we change our focus, set new goals, and start fresh. 

A major event can motivate us to change or we may just simply want a change. Self-renewal is often fueled when we see changes taking place around us. Those changes motivate us to change as well.
Whatever the motive, self-renewal is a way to hit the reset button for us and start anew. Self-renewal allows us to reassess our priorities and focus on what is truly important to us. Life has a tendency to get away from us, and before we know it years have gone by and we are stuck in the same old routine. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it can lead to feelings of stagnation and dissatisfaction. 

If we do not take the time for self-renewal, we may never take that leap out of our comfort zone and into something new.

There is no one right way to go about self-renewal, as everyone will have different needs and goals. However, we can take some general steps to start the process.

• First, take some time to reflect on your life up to this point. What has worked well for you? What has not been working? What do you want to change?
• Once you have a good understanding of where you are coming from, you can start setting some new goals. These goals should be specific, achievable, and realistic.
• Once you have your goals set, it's time to start taking action towards them. This may mean making some changes in your day-to-day routine or even completely changing your lifestyle. Remember to take things one step at a time, after all Rome wasn’t built in a day!

Renewal is a necessary part of life if we want to avoid feeling stagnant and empty. It gives us the opportunity to examine ourselves and make necessary changes whether they be in business, work, or in our lives. While there is no right way to go about renewal, taking time out for reflection and setting specific, achievable goals are an essential first step. We are always evolving and hopefully in the process we are becoming the best version of ourselves. 

I look forward to journeying with you during the year of “Renewal”. In the meantime I wish you,  peace, joy and success throughout 2023.

As always stay safe, keep healthy and continue becoming the best version of yourself.

Richard,
Richard Fontanie