EDITION 10

Sometimes life sends the right lesson twice.

(Or a couple more times, depending on how well you're listening, right?!)

Last week, we dove into the magic (and discomfort) of starting again—stepping away, letting go, choosing beginnings over old comforts.

Truth is, just because something feels comfy doesn’t mean it’s still good for you.

This week, without planning it, I found myself catching up on Naval Ravikant’s interview with Chris Williamson. I’m only halfway through (so these are living thoughts), but there was a moment so synchronous with what we just explored, I had to hit pause and share it with you.

It was a conversation about pride—how pride is the enemy of learning, how it convinces us to cling to what we know rather than risk being wrong, how it traps us at the “local maxima” instead of nudging us to climb toward something greater, messier, and more real.

Pride is the enemy of learning … People who are still stuck in the past and have grown the least are the ones who were the proudest … Pride prevents you from saying ‘I’m wrong.’ It keeps you trapped in local maxima, as opposed to going back down and climbing up the mountain again.

Naval Ravikant

What’s a “local maxima”?
It’s the comfortable plateau you get stuck on—good enough to stay, but not your true highest potential. Sometimes you have to leave it (even risk looking foolish) to reach a bigger, wilder peak.

It’s so easy to stay put when you’ve built something—anything—on a foundation of being “right” or “successful.”

You become known for a thing, comfortable in a particular circle or role, and then pride whispers (maybe a little too confidently):

Don’t risk looking foolish. Don’t admit you were wrong. Don’t start over; you’ll lose what you have. You don't really want to look like a fool, do you…? You’re too old/ young/ late/ early…

But here’s what most of us haven’t woken up to:
The cost of pride isn’t just stagnation. It’s compounding “stuckness”—accrued over months, years, paid in missed opportunities, the slow drain of time, even love.

The catch?

This price is perpetually re-paid until you’re willing to look like a beginner, to say, “I was wrong,” or simply, “I’m ready to start again from zero.” Aka, "I'm willing to look like a fool."

Gif by grownish on Giphy

We call this going “back to zero,” but as Naval points out, zero (if you choose it) is actually the launchpad for creativity, reinvention, and real growth.

Think of the artists, entrepreneurs, and seekers you admire—the ones who keep showing up, willing to be seen as foolish now for the chance at something greater later. The ones who start over, again and again, who refuse to get stuck at a plateau when there are real mountains left to climb (and summit).

The truth is, pride is holding you back from what could be the most wondrous moments you have yet to experience. And it's not really the act of starting over that's scary—it’s the fear of looking like a “numb nut” (to borrow my own favorite phrase) in the eyes of “them” for a little while. In reality, what we risk by refusing to move is so much greater: a slow fading into irrelevance, boredom, or regret.

So this week, I’m asking myself (and you):

• Where in my life am I defending a local maxima out of pride?
• What am I too proud to let go of—even though it’s no longer working for me?
• If I was willing to look foolish for a season, what mountain might I finally start climbing?

MINI INVITATION THIS WEEK

The next time you feel pride has you stuck in the mud, remember:
Starting over isn’t the cost, it’s the opportunity.

Every mountaintop worth reaching begins at the bottom—with the courage to let go, get it wrong, and keep going anyway.

Here’s to all of us willing to risk the climb, look a little lost and foolish, and start again—for the chance at something wilder, deeper, and truer to who we really are.

That’s all for now.

Until next week!

Always light,

Shanna "happy to look foolish" Lindinger

P.S. If you know someone ready to let go of a plateau and risk a new mountain, forward this along. Your encouragement might be the sign they need to take that first, “foolish” step.

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WILDER ESSENTIALS

What's  On Shanna’s List of Things Right Now

▶   Thinking Spot: Coastal path walks with the pooch

▶   Podcast pick: The Rich Roll Podcast

▶   Current read: The Mountain Is You by Brianna Wiest

▶   Writing setup: MacBook Pro + simple notebook and pen

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It is never too late to be what you might have been.

― George Eliot

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