Drop everything and start over: how to decide?

Sometimes you just want to throw it all away: the job, the city, your whole life, and start again somewhere else. That urge can be an important warning that something needs to change. But it deserves to be heard calmly, not obeyed on impulse.

What to do now

1. Figure out what you want to escape and where you want to go. "Dropping everything" can be an escape from a problem that will travel with you anywhere. Write down exactly what you want to leave behind and exactly what you want to find.
2. Test the new life before moving for good. Spend a few days in the city you dream of, do a small job in the new field, talk to people who already live that life. The fantasy is usually different from the routine.
3. Build a financial bridge. If possible, save a few months of expenses before moving. If not, make the transition gradually, keeping some income.
4. Talk with those who depend on you. Spouse, children, parents. A big decision made alone usually costs relationships. Made together, it gains allies.
5. Settle what's pending before you go. Debts, contracts, documents. A problem left behind tends to catch up with you at your new address.
6. Take what's worth taking. Skills, contacts, reputation, lessons. Starting over isn't erasing; it's transplanting what has good roots.
7. Choose a date and a plan for coming back. Knowing there's a way out, in case it doesn't work, takes weight off the decision.
8. Talk to people who have made the same change. Ask what was hardest, what surprised them and what they would do differently. An hour of that conversation can save years of trial and error.

When it happened to Bairo

Bairo Leandro Gonzalez Martinez has dropped everything more than once. The first time, while still a boy, was a dream said out loud: to live in Brazil. When he arrived, in 2002, he says, with an education company, the dream had come true. Shortly afterward, he decided to leave that company to follow his own path, and paid dearly: he found himself without documents in hand, far from home and afraid.

Later, he moved with his family to the city where his daughter had been born and tried again, with a cosmetics brand of his own. There, it worked.

The most radical new start came after he went broke: six months at home, in front of the computer, learning to build with the tools of his own time.

The path

Not every change in Bairo's life was planned; some were forced on him by life. But in all of them, he carried along what he had learned. He says there are no coincidences, only purpose, dreams and execution. Dropping everything can be the beginning of a better life, as long as the purpose is clear and the execution is done with a bridge, not a leap in the dark.

And if you decide to stay, let that be a conscious choice too, not a surrender. Sometimes the change you need isn't of city or career, but of routine, priorities or company. Before dropping everything, try changing one important thing where you are. If the urge to leave stays strong, it will have passed the test, and the decision will be more solid.

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