Starting over used to feel like failure. Now I see it as proof I’m still in the game.
When I think about starting over, I have to laugh. For years, it felt like my favourite sport. Every January 1, I started over. Every birthday, I started over. Every Monday, I started over. If I started something and stopped, well, I just started again. My life was one big game of do-overs.
But I never saw myself as a quitter. To me, quitting meant giving up completely and never trying again. That is not me. Starting over is different. Sometimes you fail, sometimes you pause, but you always find your way back to it.
Since recently being diagnosed with ADHD, I’ve learned a lot as to why I work the way I do. Consistency doesn’t come naturally to me because my brain isn’t wired for it. But I am persistent. I can live with not being consistent if I know I’ll always return to what matters.
The gym is the perfect example. I’ve been working out for years now and there are weeks when I’m in there five days straight, feeling strong and proud. Then there are weeks when I don’t walk through the door at all. The old me might have thought I’d “fallen off the wagon.” The me I am now knows I’ll get back to it. It’s not about perfection, it’s about persistence.
It’s the same with creative work. I’ve started and stopped more projects than I can count. Speeches that sat half-finished. Articles that lived in my head longer than they lived on paper. Even my Once Upon A Woman events have gone through cycles of momentum and pause.
What I’ve realized is that breaks don’t erase the work I’ve done. When I return to them, I’m picking up from experience, not from zero. Sometimes those pauses give me a new perspective or better ideas.
Starting over is not failure. Now I see it as proof that I’m still in the game. Life isn’t a straight line. We all go through seasons where we feel motivated and seasons where we need to step back. The important thing is knowing when it’s time to re-commit and having the courage to do it.
Starting over has taught me that persistence is a muscle you can build. Every time you return to something you care about, you strengthen your belief in yourself. You start to trust that even if you take a break, you’ll come back. That kind of trust is worth more than a perfect streak on the calendar.
So no, I don’t quit. I just keep starting over. And every time I do, I bring with me everything I’ve learned, all the strength I’ve built, and a little more proof that I can do hard things. If that makes me the queen of starting over, I’ll take the crown.
