We’ve all seen the annual advice columns that herald the start of a fresh January. You know, the ones that offer life-changing ways you can embrace a ‘new year’ and a ‘new you’. Hell, we’ve even written some of them.
But all too often, these columns overpromise and underdeliver, with resolutions falling by the wayside before the Burns Night and Chinese New Year recipes have even been published.
Let’s be honest here; is pledging to cook a new dish each week or joining a pottery class truly going to result in a ‘new’ you? We think not. Instead, if you’re looking to make wholesale, sweeping changes to your life, to symbolically bid farewell to a tumultuous, turbulent couple of years, then it’s time to get serious. To truly make a break with the past, here are 4 ways to rebrand in 2022.
UP STICKS
With so many of us still working remotely, the opportunity to up sticks and move abroad has never been more feasible. And after the two years we’ve all had, largely confined to the UK and with the four walls of home as our main inspiration, doesn’t the idea of new experiences sound so appealing?
Indeed, many of us no longer have to attend the physical office space at all. Which begs the question; what’s keeping you living in your current city? If the sole reason was work, then experiencing a new city, if only for a short time, might bring about the fresh start you’re seeking.
Embracing digital nomadism and working remotely from somewhere inspiring could grant you access to some of the world’s most exciting cities after such a dreary couple of years, and doing so could well open new doors and opportunities, in your career as well as your romantic and social life.
Upping sticks could be as lucrative as it is rewarding. So, what are you waiting for?
Read: 5 cities you should consider for a fresh start in 2022
SWITCH YOUR CAREER
Even if you’re to stay put in the UK, there are other changes that you can ring that serve as a rebrand. Indeed, workers the world over have been viewing COVID-19 and this period of unprecedented upheaval as the catalyst for a career change. So much so, in fact, that economists have coined a term for it; ‘the great resignation’.
With so much of the British workforce feeling dissatisfied with their jobs, their pay, and their work/life balance, if you’re in need of a rebrand and fresh perspective, then now is the time to consider pastures new. Because with crisis often comes opportunity, and the job market is currently undergoing one of its biggest transformations of the modern age. Could you make a career change work for you? There’s only one way to find out.
Read: 21 in demand careers to consider in 2022
CHANGE YOUR NAME
Okay, we accept this one comes a little more from leftfield, but you said you wanted to make wholesale changes, right?
Perhaps you share your name with a celebrity you’d rather not be associated with? Maybe you’ve finished gender transitioning and are keen to have your new name on record? Or, maybe you’ve simply grown out of your current name and want to bid farewell to a rocky period, symbolically signifying a fresh start?
We don’t blame you. A name change can actually make a huge difference to your life in 2022, and can go a long way towards helping you embrace a new identity and a fresh start. Doing so is surprisingly easy, and can be done by deed poll. All you have to do is fill out three forms (the LOC020, LOC021, and LOC025) and send them to the Royal Courts of Justice, paying a fee of £42.44 for the privilege.
Alternatively, there are companies who will do the hard work for you. All you have to do is fill out an online form and pay a small fee, at which point a form will be automatically generated and sent to your address. Then, you sign it in front of a witness, and send the form back. Job done.
A WHOLE NEW OUTLOOK
We think it’s fair to say that everyone’s mental health has taken a hit during the last two years, with several studies reporting on the increased prevalence of depression and anxiety during the pandemic here in the UK.
In fact, in September of 2020, a major study by King’s College London and the University of Nottingham noted that ‘’People are experiencing significantly more stress, anxiety and depression since lockdown began, with women and young people the most affected’’.
So, as the kindest, most self-compassionate rebrand of all, make 2022 a year of focusing on improving your mental health. There’s no way to bid farewell to a rocky two years than that.