What a Fresh Start Actually Feels Like

And a secret transformation “hack.”

For the million “courses” offering a step-by-step guide to transforming your life, there is no magic solution. It is simple, but like most simple things, it is not easy. Finding yourself on the other side of a big life change isn’t like playing the game of life. It’s kind of like bobbing for apples, but the apples are your blind spots, triggers, and fears.

“Fresh Start” season is upon us, and with some irony, I find myself coming up for air after a year of darkness, holding my lost hope in hand like a pearl. When I took this plunge a year ago, I found myself overconfident and then in over my head. I lost months fighting against myself, and in the process, prolonged my own homecoming. 

To usher in this season of new beginnings, I wanted to share what I got wrong about my own fresh start. I hope it helps draw a map in the sand of what to expect (anything) and what to avoid (nothing) when we’re spelunking the darkest parts of our hearts.