Square One.
It’s an interesting place.
On one hand, you have a clean slate. Endless opportunity. Like a jet at the end of the runway, you’re ready for takeoff.
Then again, you have no experience to build off of. No internal compass sending you in the right direction. You’re as wobbly and tentative as a baby giraffe learning how to take its first steps.
Yes, everything about the Square One experience — for better or for worse — is just new.
And we can’t get enough of it.
We are now in an era of peak newness.
As these words are being shared, the world is embarking on a journey into a new decade. And while my thoughts on alcohol-fueled calendar worship are well documented, the scope of newness in the world these days is truly unprecedented.
The way we think, act and organize is all far different than it was when I was in high school. And I wasn’t in high school all that long ago.
These changes are pervasive — stretching from business to politics, from dating to grocery shopping. No matter where you look, cultural conventions have been turned upside down.
There are plenty of explanations for this phenomenon.
For instance, some say technological innovation is driving the change we see. Others say the rise of entrepreneurship is leading the charge.
Neither of these explanations is wrong. But neither is entirely correct, either.
Large-scale innovation has been around for centuries. From the printing press to the automobile, innovations have long shifted the course of our culture.
And entrepreneurship might be having its day in the sun, but it’s been in the shadows for quite some time. Lest we forget, Thomas Edison was an entrepreneur. And his heyday was more than a century ago.
Even the intersection of these two phenomena is not particularly novel. There is a lot of buzz around twentysomethings who rocketed to wealth on the strength of their smartphone apps. But a little more than a generation ago, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs each did the same thing — from their garages, with the personal computer.
So, what’s really driving the accelerating rate of change we’re seeing?
I believe it’s a surge of Square One fever.
Newness is in style now. But it hasn’t always been that way.
In fact, there was a time when starting over was a dirty word in our society. A time where it reflected a step backward. A time where it represented a lack of respect for the sacrifices prior generations had made.
These snubs were significant, as the dominant culture had been built upon the sacrifices these prior generations had made — primarily through consecutive waves of migration.
The first wave of migration brought settlers across the ocean to North America. The second sent pioneers across the land.
Each wave faced down its share of danger. Harsh weather, rampant disease and frontier lawlessness made success far from a sure thing.
Yet, these settlers powered through to provide a better future for their families. They laid the foundation that future generations could build upon.
Whether one was raised in posh Boston townhome or born in a modest farmhouse in Nebraska, they had a leg up on their ancestors. Tossing that advantage away would be sacrilege.
The events of the early 20th century only accelerated this pattern. With two world wars, a financial catastrophe and the growing threat of nuclear annihilation, it’s no wonder that we became more risk averse.
Staying the course was no longer the safe thing. It was the only thing.
Yet, gradually, the outlook improved. The economy grew. The threat of global-scale conflict shrank. And society evolved to tap into the power of the imagination.
Newly empowered generations began to shed the shackles of risk-aversion. They started to test the waters of Square One.
This process took a few generations to really catch on. But by the turn of the Millennium, it was nearing critical mass.
By that point, many who had seen the calamities of the early 20th century firsthand had passed on. And the ascendant generations were starting to assert themselves.
The dream of the house with a white picket fence was no longer ubiquitous. Neither was the image of getting a gold watch after 50 years of work for the same company.
Trying something new was not only possible, it was probable.
And now, it’s expected.
I’ve experienced Square One plenty of times in my life. But the most drastic instance came when I switched careers.
I knew that I was done with the TV news industry. But I had no idea what I would do next.
After all, I had gone to school to become a news producer. And I had spent three years in the business. It was Plan A, B, C, D and E. There was no plan F.
And to top it all off, I was moving to Dallas. A new city that offered plenty of opportunity, but one that I had no direct experience in.
I wasn’t standing on Square One. I was clutching onto Square One for dear life.
Ultimately, I weathered the storm and found a path forward. And I’ve continued to explore new ventures since then — including Words of the West.
But as I think back to those early days in Dallas, the thrill of newness was equaled by the terror of uncertainty. There was no guarantee that everything would work out. Far from it.
Many of us have been afflicted by the same fear. No matter how much we try and play it cool, the concept of starting over terrifies us.
So, we find strength in numbers. We rally around shared events, like the turning of a calendar. We package the events of our lives into measured boxes — months, years, decades — and create artificial nostalgia. We make absurd resolutions to ease the pain of diving into something new.
Yet, in our zest to roll with the pack, we lose focus. We forget why we wanted to start over in the first place.
And when we lose our why, we tend to lose our way.
My why was clearly defined when I switched careers and moved to Dallas. I wanted a job with that better supported a healthy lifestyle. Even as my future got murkier, the goal remained crystal clear.
That goal — along with some good fortune — got me through the maelstrom. It helped me accept newness and emerge from the experience stronger.
But my experience doesn’t need to be unusual.
In fact, I firmly believe that the same principle I followed can apply to anyone.
So, as we explore Square One, let’s consider reasoning behind our choice. Let’s make sure we’re striving for our goals, instead of arbitrarily rolling with the pack.
For it is only when we proceed with purpose that novelty becomes more than a gimmick.
Let’s make change we can believe in.