They say "you can never go home again". There's a fear that you can't get back the things you leave behind.
For me, while I relish the nostalgia of coming home to familiar things and people (and worry about having missed important moments), it's not the absence of "home" that I fear most. Rather it's getting too comfortable in old habits and ways of thinking/acting - and of losing momentum.
There's a certain gravity in the comfort of home - even if it's never the same as when you first left it. And if allowed to linger without a sense of urgency and discipline - it can be hard to escape it.
Instead, I try to use home as a springboard. Like a swing I go back only to measure how far I've come, and to be pushed higher and faster than before.
Given that I both enjoy being comfortable at rest (i.e. I'm lazy) and have enormous appetite for forward momentum (i.e. I'm also ambitious and hungry to fulfill my potential), It takes a lot of self-awareness and intentionality to ensure I lean into the latter and avoid getting trapped by the former.
The real question that intrigues me now is: is it possible to marry the best of both worlds? Can I bring the hustle, access and insights I've won through hard work (and good fortune) into a setting that is just a little more comfortable and closer to the people that really matter - my family?
So therefore it isn't about coming home again, but rather creating a new kind of home that has the comforts of family with the texture and potential of much bigger, better things.
