Falling behind on goals? Here’s how to harness the power of temporal landmarks to create every day fresh starts and get back on track.

Oprah’s call to make fresh starts every day to expand your possibilities is backed up by science.

Recent research shows temporal landmarks (the start of a new week, month, year, or semester; a birthday; a holiday, etc.) generate “fresh start” feelings in our brain. The very powerful perception of a clean slate can re-start our motivation and put us back on the road to success.

Findings further suggest that “fresh starts” can prompt us to tackle existing goals.

That’s likely because we feel empowered to leave our past selves and any failures behind, and embrace our new selves and the potential for success. The perception of a new beginning can also give you a boost when the motivation to pursue your goals is flagging. All you really need to do is recognize that every day is an opportunity to try again.

So how do YOU make like Oprah and harness the power of fresh starts?

1: Find a day that feels like transition point and get started – new beginnings can happen any day of the year
2: Embrace the power of a clean slate – move forward toward possibilities, learn from & leave failures behind.
3: Set measurable, realistic goals and celebrate every milestone you reach on your fresh start.

For more on inspiration on fresh starts read these Stout stories on finding your purpose and path and setting priorities.

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