Letting Go of Who You Are to Become Who You Want to Be

In a profile on Massimo Bottura, the Chef behind Osteria Francescana, rated one of the best restaurants in the world, Bottura comments on Italian culture:

In Italy, you have a very deep culture about food, a deep culture about artisans, you can easily lose yourself into nostalgia. And with nostalgia you don’t evolve.

I’m breaking my past to rebuild it through a contemporary mind.

Whether it be the Roman Empire or the Italian Renaissance, Italy’s been at the center of the world stage many times throughout history. There’s pride that comes with that. While tradition and nostalgia have its purpose, it can hinder progress. As Bottura said, “it’s easy to lose yourself in nostalgia and with nostalgia you don’t evolve.” Bottura didn’t let tradition and nostalgia stop him from creating something new and innovative. This is the mindset that propelled his restaurant to the pinnacle of the culinary industry.

For awhile, I took pride in a few of my previous accomplishments. But the ego, the nostalgia, impeded my development. It held me back from asking for help. It held me back from taking risks. It held me back from who I wanted to be.

With the help of this blog, I’ve had to break free from my past, and rebuild myself from the ground up. I learned that sometimes you have to let go of who you are to become who you want to be.