Redefining New beginnings
Redefining New Beginnings
The undo button
New beginnings are a taboo in today’s world. Why, you may ask? Because to start afresh, it is given that one must fail. Now it’s no news that failure is a word which is often associated with shame, guilt, incompetence and in everyday terms, disappointment. The undo button is no doubt out of question, isn’t it?
But what we as a society fail to see is that as criticised as failing is, it is inevitable and inescapable. People are often blamed for being ‘such a disappointment’. For the heinous crimes of not scoring above 90% in an exam, not getting a promotion at work, or having to scrap a project and start over, society can label you a disappointment without as much as thinking twice. While failure may not be preferred by anyone, it is not possible for any human to give 100% all day everyday for the entirety of their lives.
Unrealistic expectations
We are often subjected to societal expectations that can exceed the bounds of reality and practicality. This is because expectations is a word that describes a standard not built on accurate facts or personalised feedback. It’s rather a product of the group biases of our community or figments of information that come together to create a rigid opinion. The word opinion itself tells you a lot about how expectations aren’t tailored to you or your career, your interests or your competence but are merely opinions of someone who gets to decide whether you are a failure in their eyes or not. Now, I wish we could change people’s minds but that too seems almost impossible. Once a rigid expectation is formed there’s really nothing that can be done to counter it as we have limited to no control over others and their views of us.
The difficulty here is that most people get labelled a ‘failure’ or a ‘disappointment’ for merely gaining experiences that help their development as an individual. Each failure leads us to a new fresh start which will ultimately contribute to a much larger picture of our lives which an observer and his judgement could never encompass.
Escaping monotony
But here’s what’s often overlooked — new beginnings aren’t always the dramatic turning points people expect them to be. More often than not, they’re quiet decisions. A shift in mindset. A choice made after days, maybe months, of discomfort that’s hard to explain to others. They don’t always come after failure, either. Sometimes, they come from a simple realisation: that something has to change. We need to take ourselves more seriously and realise that judgement is going to be met at every cross road. It is our decision whether to do what’s best for our progress or to demean ourselves by taking someone’s opinion for a fact.
Even if you put aside the concept of new beginnings, even small shifts of mentality or lifestyle can be met with judgment. There’s this underlying assumption that starting over means something went wrong — that you weren’t good enough, strong enough, focused enough. But that’s not always the case. Sometimes, starting again just means you’ve outgrown a version of yourself. It’s less about loss and more about the striving to be better and do better even if it means quitting routine and monotony.
The line of success
The problem is, most people aren’t taught to see change that way. We’re used to measuring success in straight lines — the uninterrupted kind that moves from one achievement to the next without detours. So when someone takes a step back, switches direction, or even pauses altogether, it tends to be seen as inconsistency, or worse, instability. But in reality, these shifts often take more self-awareness than society can comprehend far be it validate and understand.
Conclusion
So despite what you’ve heard all your life, starting from scratch is not a sign of being a failure or an inconsistent person. Let’s do for ourselves what society could never do. To fail takes ample courage but to create new beginnings in this world of expectations and labels is the real challenge to overcome. So let’s press undo and give ourselves opportunities for new beginnings.
