Setting intentions for a new month is just as important as setting goals for a new year or new quarter. These monthly intentions will help you achieve the things you hope to accomplish in the long run.

Yesterday was April 1st but it felt like New Year’s Day. When I woke up with fresh start fever, I felt my inner critic – or my inner mean girl as I call her – saying “April Fools! You don’t get to start over, silly girl!”

But the joke’s on you Jolene (I decided to rename my inner critic in honor of Cowboy Carter).

I know how to give myself a fresh start without starting over. I know how to hit the reset button whenever and as often as I need to.

And everything around me seemed to be in agreement. Spring has sprung and many of us just celebrated Easter. What better way to kick off a fresh start than with a spirit of resurrection? With this spirit that all things can be made new, that we can boldly do a new thing, that deferred dreams can be raised from the dead.

Do you need this month to be Fresh Start February?

So often we enter the new year full of hopes and dreams, fueled by our goals and plans. We try to “hit the ground running” only to trip and fall flat on our faces.

If that sounds like you this year, give yourself some grace. Get up (or let someone help you up) and give yourself permission to start again. Give yourself permission to start slow. You don’t have to hit the ground running. Walking is just fine.

February is my birthday month, so it always feels like a fresh start for me. It’s like my own personal New Year. But you deserve a Fresh Start February too. Here’s how to give yourself the new beginning you need.