We all have had to do a do-over at some point in our life. Maybe it was an unwelcome one through a break-up, losing your job, feeling like you failed at something. And there are small do-overs we do everyday too- getting back up, trying again, communicating in a different way.
So it's natural for us to want a do-over at times in our lives, but less easy to actually make one happen.
I think we can get scared. If we focus on all the time we already put into the project, relationship, job, whatever, that idea of not wanting all that time to "go to waste" can keep us stuck in a situation we know is not really what we want deep down inside.
That happened to me in what was probably my most recent big do-over- changing the direction of my blog. In just changing what I write about, I changed what I'm known for and I feel like I traded in years of hard work & community building to now have to basically start from scratch in building my audience, clarifying my voice, trying to connect with my ideal people out there.
I feel like a newbie again in so many ways, and sometimes wonder if I should have stopped what was already working well just to jump again into the wide unknown.
But then I remember, what was working before business wise, wasn't working for me. I had felt unsettled, unsure, unfulfilled with what I was doing underneath it all. I had become so sick of talking about STUFF and all these material things- as lovely as all those things are and the people who make them- the stuff is not what's important to me in my life, and I felt like I could help the people in a more real and lasting way than just a little airtime on the blog for a day.
I began to feel like a bit of a sham, like the blog was a facade that was too hard to keep up with. And I felt like I had to continue this popular blog just because it was popular, but started to care less and less about what I was writing about.
I checked out and found myself resentfully going thru the motions and that's when I realized two things-
I need to start over. And, I can start over.
All that hard work and years of time I put into something I wasn't loving anymore weren't worth holding onto just to say- but look how many years I've been at this! if it wasn't making me happy any longer.
So I decided to do a do-over. To shift my biz model. To shift my blog's direction and subject matter. To shift into something that felt right for me now, rather than still trying to fit into what was right for me then.
The me that started my blog isn't quite the same me today. And as we grow, evolve and become more in tune with who we are and what we want, we may find where we are currently isn't exactly where we want to be.
So we yearn to make a change, but it feels too scary to imagine starting from scratch, all over again, especially in adult life. But to me, it's even scarier to imagine staying stuck in a job, relationship, place or even state of mind that you don't want to be in.
And once you get over that hump of fear you'll see on the other side of a do-over there lies a sense of freedom, possibility, direction. On the other side is the chance to create the kind of happiness you know you can have.
And if not, if it's a big failure- good news, you can just do it over again!
Is your intuition telling you to do a do-over somewhere in your life? Is fear holding you back? What do-overs have you rocked already?
Share your do-over experiences or yearnings in the comments, or over with us at The Maven Circle!
{This is part of our Truthy Tuesday series over at The Maven Circle, where we openly share our struggles and thoughts around a different topic each week. Join us in getting truthy on your own blog, and we'll link up and spread the love!}
