Ode to a new beginning

Starting fresh is good for you

You are probably familiar with the little window on your computer that prompts you to restart your computer after an update. And you’ve probably postponed this action several times. But the reboot is important: The computer updates itself and needs to be switched off and on again to process everything.

Unfortunately, we humans don’t do this often enough. We continue to develop, we learn, we “update” ourselves. And yet rarely do we dare to make a fresh start.

I am making a bold proposition that we all think about making a new start at least once a year—on December 31st—based on the motto “new year, new luck.” I will let you in on a little secret: You can make a new start at any time, and ideally today rather than tomorrow. A study by personality researchers Paul Costa and Robert McCrae showed that the older we get, the more resistant we are to change.

Personal view on new beginnings

After graduating, I knew that I needed a job, and that the serious side of life would begin. This restart almost forced itself on me. A year later I made the decision to start over again. Despite many explanations, justifications and fears that the risk was too high, I do not regret my decision. Sometimes we are forced to let go, and sometimes we see that we have grown, and that the status quo no longer works. No matter what your background, every ending is a new beginning.

We humans like to make ourselves comfortable, build up our comfort zone and settle in. Leaving it takes courage and effort. The older we get, the more firmly anchored we are in a situation and the more difficult it is to start over. But the future is uncertain for everyone. Especially with corona. And that is why it is all the more important not to get stuck in the grind, but to dare to take the leap into the unknown.

If we don’t, we rob ourselves of the opportunity for new experiences. To put it simply: Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Restarting 101

In order for the reboot to work, you first have to say goodbye to the status quo. Shut down, switch off, leave it behind. And yes, a new beginning should be carefully considered. There is no doing things by halves. You can also take this opportunity to get rid of sabotaging self-talk like, “You can’t do this,” “You will never be successful” or “No one will support you.” You don’t need these anymore. Mark this farewell symbolically. Wave goodbye to your workplace. Say goodbye on Twitter, as SRF parliamentary correspondent Erwin Schmid did before he reinvented himself as a hotelier in Brazil.

This phase of letting go and saying goodbye is often a bit chaotic. That’s okay. If you venture into the unknown, you have to be prepared that it will take time for things to settle down again. Especially if you switch to a completely new environment, you will make mistakes. Don’t be too hard on yourself, take your time, learn from it.

Making a fresh start is a huge step. On the one hand, there is convenience—on the other hand, there is the door to a new experience. But if we dare to open this door and walk through it, then we have come a big step closer to our own success story.