The Satisfaction of a Restart

Few things satisfy more than the feeling that you’ve still got it.

Whether you’re an athlete who’s untimely injury forced you out of competition, a 40-something parent headed to the gym for the first time since your twenties, or an unproductive writer recovering from a pandemic that robbed your motivation, undermined your mental health, and made you question your love for the craft, nothing instills more confidence than the first sign of former success.

In spite of all the challenges you faced, and without the rhythm you should’ve had, you still managed to be you, and that’s awesome. But the best part about it all is this—you get to climb again.

Everything was so easy when you were on top of your game. The motions you used were effortless, your decision-making was second nature, and your response time was unbelievably fast. You weren’t a person back then; you were a machine. But it’s not like that anymore.

Now you have to climb your way back. And you have to discipline every part of you that would rather do a million other things.

Sure, it’s frustrating at first—knowing that a task was so easy before and now it takes all your strength just to do it at an amateur level. But you know what? That’s the beauty of it.

The struggle makes it fun. The growth makes it rewarding. The achievement makes it inspire.

You didn’t just beat the challenge once and call it a day. You had the audacity to do it all over again. And there’s nothing anyone can say to take that away from you.

That’s the satisfaction of a restart. 

Yeah, we all run into problems sometimes—life has a habit of getting in the way—but that doesn’t mean you can’t start over.

All of us go into crisis mode so quickly these days. We think the choices we make are set in stone, that veering from a path means we’ve fallen off completely.

Nothing is further from the truth though. 

Second, third, and fourth chances are more common than you think. All you have to do is commit to being better, then you’ll most likely get that opportunity.

Look, I know I’m getting real cheesy here, but this stuff is cliché for a reason—because it’s true. So who cares if things aren’t the way they used to be? We’ll just have to make the now even more special.

I say it’s time to climb again, man, and I hope you’re down to do it with me. No, not because we have something to prove, but because it’s about time we acted like who we are. 

I want the satisfaction that comes from making art again, and I’m sure you have your own project that comes to mind too.

So whatever that is, don’t let it go. Commit to it, nurture it, and I’m sure you’ll be just as happy as you were back then, if not more.

-Drew

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Photo Credit:

• Andrea Piacquadio — Pexels