Start over

Starting over isn’t easy, but it’s often necessary.

Around this time last year, I was mapping my way out of tech journalism. It feels almost accidental, but after four years of covering the beat, I found myself growing bored. I opened up about this boredom to a few people close to me at the time.

I eventually leapt from tech reporting to a newsroom focused on conflict and humanitarian crises. It’s still journalism, of course, but everything about it is different: the language, the sources (which you have to build from scratch), your own identity—everything.

One day, a senior colleague asked me why I’d left a “glamorous” beat to cover something so “exhausting”. My response was simple: my interests had shifted. I was looking for a new challenge. This is what I said at the interview that got me the job.

“Starting over can be humbling—it takes a lot of willpower, too,” a friend said these words when we were having a conversation around this topic, and it resonates with me.

Starting over doesn’t mean you've lost your way; it means you've reached a destination, learned what you needed, and now you're ready to explore a new path.

Learning always comes with humility.

And you need a bit of courage to face it all, as well.

Sometimes, we find ourselves stuck on a beat not because we feel fulfilled, but because we’re afraid to start over. We’re paralysed by the “What Ifs?”; What if I fail? What if I’m not good enough? What if people won’t understand why I’m leaving?

It’s even more daunting when you’ve built a reputation, when you’ve worked hard to establish yourself in a certain space, and the urge to leave seems like you’re starting from scratch. People around you may even discourage you, wondering why you’d leave a comfortable, established role for the unknown.

But for me, the real question has always been about fulfilment.

Would I rather stay stuck, unfulfilled, or take the leap and try something new, even if it’s messy and uncertain?

This brings me to Brother Guy Consolmagno, the Pope’s Astronomer. A man with a remarkable career in academia: a doctorate from MIT, teaching at Harvard, and working with the US Peace Corps in Kenya. But after over two decades of success in his field, he decided to start over. At 40, he made the radical decision to join the Jesuits. He left behind everything he had built and embraced a life of humility, even though it meant going back to the beginning as a novice, living among younger classmates. He gave up the career that many would dream of, choosing instead to follow a calling that was far from predictable.

Side note: Jesuits are members of the Society of Jesus, a Catholic religious order founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola. They can be brothers or priests. Brothers live in community and take vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, but are not ordained and do not administer sacraments.

One writer beautifully describes Consolmagno’s journey: His path from Detroit to the Vatican was not linear, nor predictable.

His decision to start over teaches me a few important lessons:

1. Fulfilment Over Comfort: Sometimes, we stay in roles that are comfortable but don’t bring us true joy. The fear of starting over, of stepping into the unknown, can keep us locked in places that no longer serve us. But when you choose fulfilment over comfort, you open yourself up to growth, even if it means walking through a period of discomfort.

2. Embrace Humility: Starting over requires humility. You must be willing to let go of what you know, to accept that you’re no longer the expert, and to be open to learning from others. This kind of humility can be difficult, especially when you’ve built your career or reputation around your expertise. But true growth often comes from admitting that we don’t have all the answers.

3. Courage in the Face of the Unknown: There’s always an element of fear when you’re starting over. You don’t know what’s ahead, and it can be scary. But courage is not the absence of fear; it’s moving forward despite it. Brother Guy took a huge leap of faith, and while his journey wasn’t linear, it led him to a place of deeper purpose.

4. It’s Never Too Late to Start: We often think that starting over is something for the young or for people who haven’t built a name for themselves yet. But it’s never too late to make a change. Whether you’re in your 20s, 30s, or beyond, the urge to follow a different path can be a powerful call to greater meaning in your life.

5. The Value of Restlessness: Restlessness isn’t a sign that something is wrong with us. Often, it’s a sign that we’re being called to evolve, to push beyond our current limitations. That discomfort, that feeling of wanting something more, is not something to ignore—it’s a signal that something bigger is waiting for us.

Starting over isn’t easy, but it’s often necessary. We grow when we dare to embrace the unknown, to step into a new chapter, and to leave behind the comfort of the familiar. If you’re feeling stuck, maybe it’s time to ask yourself the same question I did: Would I rather stay stuck and unfulfilled, or take a chance on something new, even if it’s scary?

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🍿 Things that I have enjoyed recently:

• Recently, I shared my reflections with the Washington Post on the lasting legacy of the late Pope Francis in Africa, with a focus on the dynamic and vibrant role of the church’s youth population across the continent.

• I enjoyed watching Exterritorial on Netflix.