When you start over, whether at a new job, with a new partner, in a new city, or in a completely different career, the unexpected challenges can start to outweigh the anticipated perks. From a distance, starting over seems like an exciting opportunity; it is a chance to wipe the slate clean, to have fresh perspective and to make a change. But when you actually do get started, with the starting over, you may find yourself faltering. Climbing up a big, new hill seemed like it would be inspiring—and not so steep, rocky, and covered in snakes. Despite the occasional tumbles or snake bites that you may endure, we believe that starting over’s challenges are actually its real perks. Here are the top three benefits to wiping away years of building blocks that you have laid out, and setting down your first block for a brand new project.

1. Humility

If you have been doing something for a while, no matter what it is or how much you care about it, you have inevitably picked up some expertise about that thing. After a decade as a sales representative, it is impossible that you know nothing about sales.

The problem with this kind of knowledge is that it has nothing to do with how good you are or how dedicated you are; it has to do with repetition. Knowledge from repetition is powerfully ego-boosting. It gives you a place in the world and the confidence that you are capable of making a contribution. And you are! For now.

When you start over, that confidence is almost completely wiped away. It is not gone forever, just “out to lunch.” In your new field, job, or relationship, you have to find out that “you can do this” all over again. The experience of having your security blanket of knowledge pulled out from under you forces you to carefully reflect on yourself and your skills. Did you even like sales or did you stick with it because you knew how to do it? Were you good at it or did you know the motions very well? What did you really learn and what can you take with you? A chance to be humble is a chance to learn.

2. Identity

Understandably, we often become wrapped up in our careers or our life roles and confuse them with our identities. People say things like, “I’m a mom,” or “I’m a doctor.” Those can very well be true, but, wait, who are you? It may be surprising to find that, despite all of your hard-earned roles and titles and positions, you have not even had time to really think about who you would be if you took all of those things away. Starting over does exactly that. It takes your identity away, at least the one created by your external relationships. It leaves you with only you. That can be shocking and even horrifying at first, but in the end, you’re much better off for having seen yourself without the fluff. After all, you are all you’ve got.

3. A Break

It is good for your brain and body to take a break. Breaks can be terrifying. You may wake up in a panic, worried about money or time or if there is a point to your life now that you are in between jobs, single for the first time in ten years, or waiting for a new project to take off. A break that is not sanctioned and that you cannot necessarily control (as you can with, say, 2 weeks of paid vacation) is what many hard-working people fear. But a break could change your life. You cannot see the city of Los Angeles from Rodeo Drive, as luxurious as it may be. You have to hike in the hot sun and through the dirt up to the top of a big hill, knowing there could be coyotes, to see the big picture of the city of LA. Without seeing the big picture, you might be stuck thinking that Rodeo Drive is IT. That it is everything. And for most of us, it is a good thing that it is not.

What is your favorite benefit of starting over?

C.E.B. Publicity: Public Relations for Innovators. Visit us at www.cebpublicity.com.