Starting from scratch: is it worth it?
If you have seen me on social media these past few weeks you will already know that I’ve recently moved. It’s been an amazing opportunity to upgrade our home, and it was also part necessity: raccoons were taking over our old place. Now moving has been a lovely fresh start - new space, unlimited possibilities… but what I underestimated was just how much extra work the move has created. I knew it was going to be chaotic and require huge time and energy, but it’s been way more draining than I imagined.
As a perfectionist, I love a fresh start (don’t you?). Clean slate, leave behind failures, unfinished projects… it feels like unlimited possibility. For a short time. Then the work sets in. This move has reminded me that the unlimited possibility feeling is really only there before the fresh start begins. Then we are often right into the hard work phase, because doing something from scratch is like starting over.
Don’t get me wrong, in this and many other situations - it’s soooo worth it. But it’s been a reminder that the fresh start us perfectionists crave, isn’t always as good as we think its going to be. I’m thinking of those times when we’ve fallen off the wagon with a new habit, and we want to just start fresh again. When we’ve meditated 10 days in a row, miss a day and want to start counting from zero again. I’m thinking of those thoughts that convince us a brand new morning routine is going to change our lives… maybe in the long run, but it’s going to be a lot of work in the meantime to get it in place. Work that has vulnerability attached - adding an extra challenge.
How do you know when to start over vs. when to keep going?
I’m thinking now of one of my favourite hobbies: sewing. There are times when you make a mistake and you just have to rip out the seam.. Then there are other times when your mistake has ruined the project and it’s not salvageable and the only option is to bail or start over.
So here's what you need to consider when it comes to habits, routines, schedules, creative projects, etc.
How do you know starting from scratch will serve you?
It’s a new season and/or external circumstances have changed dramatically
You’ve exhausted all possibilities
It’s the healthy option
You are capable of navigating the change
Sometimes life throws us curveballs and we need to rely on resilience (goodbye raccoons).. But other times we create the problem ourselves + need to know when starting from scratch is helping or hindering.
If the fresh start is out of your control: capitalize on it.
If the fresh start is within your control: check your reasons.
And as always, if you need any support navigating change, the temptation to scrap everything and start over.. I’m here to provide it. You can book a free call here and we can chat about what your options are.
PS- If you are nosey (like me) and just want to know about coaching without committing to a call, you can check out this page for all the details.
