Personal Renaissance, It's Okay to Start Over

Starting over can feel like you're taking 10 steps back.

When you've made it so far, but now, at best, you're standing still. Your focus drifts more easily, and your discipline seems to fall apart. A renaissance of your goals, tasks, and focus might be precisely what you need.

Dan Koe and his Kortex.co partners Matt and Ari have run into this recently with the Kortex app.

The launch of Kortex.co seemed like a massive success. People like me started using it and even paying for premium access. One issue was that, behind the scenes, the development team began hitting roadblocks. They went from developing new and promised features to endless app maintenance cycles. There seemed to be no end in sight to the issues. The way the app was built wasn't cohesive enough for a small team to develop efficiently.

Eventually, they realized that they couldn't escape the inevitable.

During a trip to Japan, Matt and Ari decided to rebuild Kortex from the ground up and in a way that a team of their size could not only maintain it but also continue building the promised features.

They were fed up with the constant maintenance that yielded no progress.

This new build sparked the rebranding of Kortex.co to Eden.so. It was the renaissance of an already excellent product, made better and more sustainable.

Currently, I'm writing in Eden, and I can already see why they chose to rebuild: new functionality, a new layout, and more tools to help writers and creators. It's in beta, so it's not perfect, but I see continuous improvements, and their vision is clearly on the horizon.

Starting over isn't necessarily you giving up. It can be a "Personal Renaissance" or a rebirth of yourself into something better.

Late last year, I started a daily writing routine. I found myself on such a long streak that it felt wrong to miss a day for any reason.

It had become part of my identity.

Late into this summer, I worked so much at the day job that I reached absolute burnout. I started missing my writing routine day after day, painfully. I was mentally worn out, sleep deprivation and constant work demands left a chaotic haze over everything.

I had felt that I had lost my identity.

The idea of starting over was one that I had struggled with. The issue was that whenever I tried to sit down and write, I couldn't focus, and my ideas were uninspired. If I did write, the articles felt forced.

My own personal renaissance was needed.

Eventually, I had to admit defeat and start over. Instead of pretending my ability to focus was still at its peak, I needed to rebuild it—no more pressure to have at least a couple of articles done a week. I needed to let go of the anxiety and let the good, positive energy flow into something more productive.

The return of the daily writing routine...

My goal had become to write something, even a little, every day. It could be as little as a few sentences or as long as an entire article. I needed to focus on consistency, not volume. That will come as my focus strengthens.

Starting over was exactly what I needed.

Removing the pressure and just worrying about consistency created a new me. My identity as a writer feels stronger than ever, and I haven't missed a day since my rebirth. I was surprised by how quickly my focus strengthened like muscle memory. It really does feel like a new me.

We grow more from failure than success.

Falling out of my daily writing routine made me feel like a failure. It hurt my sense of identity as a writer. It was that realization that I needed to learn from the experience that brought me back to start over and come back stronger.

Sometimes, starting over is a rebirth. Yes, you might be taking 10 steps back, but it will push you 20 strides forward.

Besides, everyone loves a comeback story.

Have you ever needed your own personal renaissance? Please share it in the comments. I'd like to hear about it.