Reinvention starts with one honest sentence: “This isn’t working.”

Admitting a situation has failed is harder than it sounds, because saying it out loud removes your excuse for staying. As long as it stays unnamed you can keep hoping it improves on its own. The sentence fixes nothing and only ends the pretending, which is the first thing that has to go. Everything after it is easier than getting to it.

Say the sentence to one person, or write it down where you will see it tomorrow. Be specific about what is not working rather than generalizing about your life. Then wait a day before deciding what to do, since the admission is enough for one evening.