Start Again! How to Shed the Shame and Move Life Forward

The Moment Every Overcomer Faces

There came a moment in every overcomer’s life when they realized a new mindset was required for them to change a dire situation. They had to revise who they were being or becoming to an updated version. They had to leave behind the version of themselves that had become latent and ineffective — the version of themselves that survived… but didn’t really live. The version that tolerated too much, dimmed too often, and apologized for taking up space. That version had to finally be given an expiration date.

Starting Again vs. Starting Over

Starting again is a real thing. I think it's important to distinguish it from starting over, as we can only move from where we are in life. Life isn't an event we can start over. It is also comforting to know that what we did prior to starting again still matters.

If we start a vehicle that hasn't been moving for some time, the mileage starts from that point forward. It doesn't go back to the beginning. And neither do we just scrap the whole entire car and get another one because it's been inactive for a while. It still works with all of its bells and whistles.

When Our Focus Keeps Us Stuck

There are times when people derail due to viewing life only from the lens of the problem. When that focus isn't corrected quickly, we can stay in our problem much longer than we could ever have anticipated.

When life appears too grim to address our problem, the problem doesn't always worsen — our mindset about the problem does, until we are intimidated by the thought of addressing it. So we stay stuck.

Sometimes stuck looks productive because we learn to discreetly put that area of our lives on pause while seemingly thriving in other areas. At other times, being stuck takes us completely out of our momentum, keeping us from fully showing up for our lives in areas that matter.

Resetting Is Not Failure — It’s Honor

It's important to know that starting again isn’t a sign of failure. It’s a sign that you’ve finally learned how to honor yourself and the gift to life that you are.

But there is always the presence of the voice of shame — the constant Accuser. It uses our ego as a playground, our identity as its sandbox. Shame shouts to our souls, “You should’ve known better,” “should’ve left sooner,” or “shouldn’t be starting from scratch at your age.”

Shame convinces us that beginning again is embarrassing — when in truth, resetting is one of the ways we remain consistent.

One sign of spiritual maturity and emotional aptitude is being able to take a tumble and get back up. It's having faith enough to believe in God who has promised us forgiveness and new mercy each day.

Faith, Courage, and Purpose

It takes faith to believe without seeing, and it takes courage to turn the page even when we are a little shaky due to our imperfections.

See, we aren't here to be performative. Instead, we are here to minister to one another through our most meaningful work, utilizing our gifts and talents. And there is no time restriction on this mandate.

The truth is that we can miss some blessings along the way, but the moment we get back in the race, the clock resets itself.

Let’s add some context to this. Ecclesiastes 9, starting at verse 11, says that “The race isn't given to the swift nor the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.”

This verse tells us that our works should not solely be performed for the cause of success or failure. They should be done to fulfill purpose. We win, not because of our high points, but because we stay in the race.

You Are Allowed to Begin Again

Here’s the truth: you are allowed to begin again as many times as it takes.

God’s grace doesn’t run on a timer. He doesn’t roll His eyes at your process — He rolls up His sleeves and walks with you through it.

The self-judging person is actually having a difficult time believing — believing in themselves, believing that they are safe, win or fail, believing they have a secure place in life, and believing in the sovereignty of God to love us no matter what.

When we live outside belief, we are not activating purpose, so we see no results. Our core problem when we become stuck is having a stuck place in our belief systems. Usually, this is followed by living behind and beneath our purpose, which brings us to shame and to the lies it tells us.

Release the Pause

We are forced to either forgive ourselves and our fumble or continue not giving ourselves permission to thrive.

Releasing the pause doesn’t mean pretending it never happened. It means refusing to let it define who we’re allowed to become. It means acknowledging the lessons, blessing the growth, forgiving our losses, and breaking agreement with every narrative that keeps us small and out of alignment with who God says we are destined to be.

When You Start Over Without Shame

When we start over without shame, we rise with clearer boundaries, deeper wisdom, and a softer heart that knows its worth. We rise from a place that honors the person we’re becoming — not the shadows we're leaving behind.

Today, Choose Your Reset

Today, give yourself permission to reset, to rebuild, to reclaim the parts of you that were buried under survival.

Your new beginning isn’t something to hide; it’s something to celebrate. You are stepping into a chapter where you’re no longer apologizing for your healing — you are living in it. Start again by renewing your inner voice to reflect the voice of Christ who is always affirming and validating you. Secondly, pray for your tribe and except the people who are supportive of your reset, even if it is one or two of them. Finally, take your time and

rise again, beautifully.

The world hasn’t seen this version of you yet.