The Art of Starting Over, Again and Again

Choose your own life adventure

If only I could give my younger self the gift of reassurance that comes with knowing you can reinvent yourself as often as you like. If only I could tell her that there are no perfect decisions – or perfect outcomes – and that every single day brings a new chance to become a better person. 

I’d show that junior version of me that even the biggest disappointments in life can be turned into opportunities for expansion, healing, and sometimes even gratitude. 

Because change is coming for all of us, whether we like it or not. Change is always knocking on the door. 

There were so many times I heard it loud and clear, but tried to ignore it. I hung on to the status quo as if it would help me stay in control. In the past, I’ve stayed in jobs, friendships, relationships, and cities for longer than I should have, simply for fear of allowing change and facing the unknown.

There was self-judgment mixed in there, too – a refusal to “fail.” Little did I know that leaning into the chaos and fiercely loving myself more would inevitably bring a better result than clinging to something that was clearly over.

Me getting ready to cross another threshold, smiling at the unknown.

I’m not sure exactly when I started harnessing change with this kind of confidence; it’s been a gradual learning process. Certainly the biggest leaps of faith led to the best life shifts, and over time I couldn’t help but notice that the more I trusted my intuition, the more insistently it called to me. 

After all, what would lead a person to flat-out quit a dream job when gut instinct prompted a swift exit; to move to New York City and lease an apartment with the raw hope that a job would materialize; or to uproot again to work in a foreign country in the name of evolution? These are just ways I’ve made intuitive leaps, large and small. 

Every time I focused my intentions on becoming a new me, I deeply trusted that it would lead to something better. 

I’m writing this note to you at a moment when my efforts to study new things have brought me to yet another self-reinvention. Along with being a writer, editor, and creative strategist, I can also add certified meditation teacher and sound healer to my resume. It might seem like a different direction, but in fact it’s an entirely different dimension. Somehow all of the parts work together. 

Interestingly, these additions aren’t entirely new to me – they started percolating several years ago – but studying them in earnest and sharing them more broadly are what’s different. It took a lot of introspection to realize that all of my years of doing creative work, writing about creative people, and coaching creative colleagues have led me to a place where I have deeper insights to share about the connections between mindfulness, creativity, and healing.

In this way, starting over is both something fresh and an evolution that builds upon what came before. Nothing goes to waste; everything is either refined, upcycled or composted. 

On any given day, you can do this, too.

Take steps to becoming who you really want to be. Let go of what you don’t need and what’s holding you back. Build upon your best qualities and recognize your small wins. Honor where you came from and celebrate all of your hard work that got you to this very moment. 

Keep your chin up, and keep becoming.

And don’t forget – tomorrow, you can start again, too.