There are times in the life of any parent when it is appropriate to focus on consistency and continuity. Our children need rules and limits and they need to know we are a stabilizing factor in their lives. There are other times when it is time to overhaul the system—things might not be working any more or our family has changed in ways that make it necessary to take a step back and re-group.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with giving your family style, ways, etc. an overhaul. In fact, it can be invigorating and refreshing to change things up a bit. This does not have to mean that you are admitting to failure or giving in to outside pressures (unless you truly are) and it can be a way of gathering your resources and coming from a position of strength.
Our children have a way of stretching and pushing us into new territories anyway. One of the joyful challenges of parenting is all the ways that our children help us to explore new sides of ourselves. If you notice that things just do not seem to be running smoothly in your home, or if your child is going through some new challenging phases, or even if your life has changed in such a way as to make it tough to follow through and follow up on rules and expectations, consider taking a day or two (or even longer) to step back from the daily operations of family life, look things over with fresh eyes and fresh perspective, and try to re-group so you can come back to the challenges with some new approaches. It can be helpful to get some outside perspective—talk to friends, see a counselor or therapist, or take a class or go on a retreat—getting some new blood and new ideas can help you to see old problems in a whole new light.