On Starting Over

One of the most terrifying prospects in adult life is the idea of starting over. Whether it is a career pivot, a major life change, or the humbling process of recovery, the fear of losing our accumulated progress is profound.

We view starting over as a return to the bottom of the mountain. But this is a trick of perspective. When you begin again, you do not lose the wisdom, the resilience, or the scars you earned the first time around. You bring all of that with you. You are not starting from scratch; you are starting from experience.

There is a peculiar kind of freedom in letting go of the sunk costs. It forces a radical distillation of your priorities. Starting over strips away the superficial and leaves you with the quiet, undeniable truth of what you actually value. And from that place, you can build something much sturdier.