On Starting Over, Part 2

The mistake of looking *after* you leap

Deciding to start over is hard. There’s a lot to consider, and it often takes weeks or months before we feel ready. The sheer amount of time we spend trying to decide if it’s time to start over makes us falsely believe the hardest part of the process will simply be choosing.

What no one prepares you for is what happens just after you cross the threshold from old to new life.

Photo by Sammie Chaffin on Unsplash

At first, you feel sheer liberation. The rush of taking a tangible step floods your system with all the feel-goods. You feel invincible. You wonder why it took you so long to just fucking do it.

And then… the doubt starts to creep in. The same pesky voice that kept you stuck in decision mode for so long pops back up:

Wait, did I forget something?

Did I think this through?

Am I *absolutely* sure about this?

What if I made a mistake? Oh god, I think I’ve made a mistake…

This is the point where most of us begin to question if we should change our minds. If, just as we’re about to fully land in our new beginning, we should reverse the leap and go back to how things were.

One of my biggest regrets in life is rooted in a moment where I leaped and made the mistake of looking back. The shambles of the life I left behind beckoned me to put them back together. I listened, and I wish I never did.