One of the skills most critical to goodness and fulfillment in your life is the willingness to start. Think about it. Everything in your life that means something to you – whether a great friendship, a loving bond, rewarding work, or your accomplished state of fitness – all required you to start again and again even after sorrow, disappointment, and failure.

Look around your life at what you value. Imagine if you never started again after heartbreak or after loss. Take a chance on something. Be curious. Join that group. Read that book. Start that business. Contribute to your community. Let “willingness to start” be one of the essentials that you take with you along the winding course of your life.