There’s something sacred about starting over. Not the polished, Instagram-ready version — but the raw, scary, messy beginning. The one where you lose people. The one where you lose yourself, only to find her again.
I’ve started over more times than I can count! Sometimes this came by choice and sometimes by force which included losing jobs, friendships, locations and sometimes even myself. Every ending carved out a space I didn’t know I needed. And every beginning demanded that I show up as more of me than I ever had before.
The Journey
No one talks enough about the in-between. That space where you’ve left what no longer serves you but haven’t yet stepped fully into what’s next. It’s lonely. It’s uncomfortable. It’s stretching. And it’s the place where transformation begins.
In that space, I met a version of myself I’d never taken the time to know. She was bruised, but not broken. She was tired, but still hopeful. She was ready, even if she didn’t feel ready. That version of me is who built She Arrived — a movement born not from perfection but from the ashes of reinvention.
The Power of ‘I Am’
One of the most life-changing things I ever did was start replacing my doubts with declarations.
“I am successful.” “I am worthy.” “I am more than what I’ve lost.” “I am allowed to change.”
These aren’t just words — they’re anchors. When everything else felt shaky, those statements reminded me that I was still here. Still capable. Still becoming.
The Discomfort Is a Gift
Let me be honest: it didn’t feel like a gift. Discomfort felt like a betrayal. Like, “Why am I losing people when I’m finally choosing me?” But what I came to realize is that discomfort is information. It’s a divine invitation to rise, to shift, to shed.
And yes — some people will fall away when you rise. That’s okay. Not everyone is meant to walk every part of your journey. Let them go with love. Make room for the ones who see your glow and don’t flinch.
The Shift to Gratitude
In the thick of starting over, I found myself constantly focusing on what I had lost — the relationships, the stability, the identity I had wrapped myself in. It’s human to focus on the lack. We’re wired to scan for what’s missing, what’s not enough, what’s wrong. But when we live from that place too long, we begin to believe that our life is only what’s gone.
Gratitude taught me otherwise.
Gratitude whispered, “Look again.”
It reminded me that even in the chaos, I still had breath. I still had hope. I still had the courage to begin again. And that’s not nothing — that’s everything.
Gratitude doesn’t erase the hard stuff, but it softens it. It makes space for joy in the midst of uncertainty. It shifts our energy from scarcity to sufficiency — from “I don’t have enough” to “I am enough.”
Now, every morning, I make space for thanks. Not performative gratitude, but deep soul-stirring appreciation, even for the smallest things. The sunlight through the window. A laugh that finds me unexpectedly. A text that reminds me I’m not alone. Gratitude roots me in the now. And from that place, everything grows.
Learning Yourself
Starting over is an opportunity to meet the woman you’ve been silencing. It’s in the stillness. In the tears. In the small wins that nobody claps for. In the mirror when you whisper, “I’m proud of you” even when you don’t fully believe it yet.
This journey taught me that self-discovery isn’t a destination — it’s a lifestyle. You’re always unfolding. Always arriving.
So if you’re starting over…
I see you. And I want you to know that starting over is not failure — it’s faith. It’s choosing to believe that who you’re becoming is worth the risk. And she is.
Because you’re not going back.
You’re not shrinking.
You’re not apologizing for outgrowing what used to fit.
You’re becoming.
You’re rising.
You’re arriving.
And when she arrives — Everything Changes.
Written By: LaKisha Watson, Founder of She Arrived
