In this motivational talk, Michael Mashkevich shares his personal story of surviving a 2012 car accident that left him in a coma and with a traumatic brain injury. He uses that experience to illustrate a broader truth about major life transitions—divorce, retirement, job loss, burnout, health crises—where people often cling to an outdated version of themselves and become stuck trying to "get back to normal." Mashkevich explains that the turning point comes when the question shifts from "How do I return to who I was?" to "Who do I want to become now?" He outlines three practical steps: (1) conduct an honest audit of where you spend your energy, what you’re curious about, and what you enjoy; (2) build confidence through action rather than waiting for readiness, exemplified by his return to pickleball which provided community and a new identity; and (3) reframe the narrative from asking why the setback happened to asking what you can do with it, turning the trauma into purpose. He concludes by inviting viewers to title the next chapter of their own lives, emphasizing that a new story can begin before a concrete plan is in place. The talk is framed as a call to action to subscribe, comment, and engage with the "Become Again" community.
Chapters
What if the reason you're feeling lost right now isn't because something is wrong with you? What if it's because you're trying to hold on to a version of yourself that's already served its purpose? And I see this pattern all the time in people going through divorce, retirement, job loss, uh, burnout, major health challenges, and other life transitions. Most people spend years Trying to get their old life back. And that's often what keeps them stuck. I learned this the hard way. In 2012, I was in a serious car accident that left me in a coma. And when I woke up, I had lost my short-term memory. I had a TBI. And the physical recovery was difficult. But the bigger challenge was figuring out who I was going to become next. And people talk about healing. People talk About getting back to normal. But what happens when normal no longer exists? And that's where I found myself. For months, I kept comparing who I was becoming to who I used to be. Every setback felt like proof that I wasn't getting back to where I thought I should be. It was hard. And the more I focused on getting my old life back, the more frustrated I became. And here's what I eventually realized. You don't need a coma to experience this, and it can still happen after a divorce, after retirement, after losing a job, after a major health challenge, after years of chasing goals that no longer feel meaningful. Life changes. It's normal. And sometimes you change. And eventually there comes a moment when the question is no longer, how do I get back to who I was? And instead it becomes, who do I want to become now? That shift changed everything for me. The first thing I had to do was get honest about what I still gave my energy to. What was I curious about? What did I enjoy? And what had I stopped doing simply because life got busy? And many of us already know the direction we want to move. We just ignored it for, for years now. And the second thing I learned was that confidence doesn't usually come before action. Most people wait until they feel ready. I did as well. But confidence is often something you build by doing. It becomes something. And for me, that meant getting back into sports. Pickleball became a huge part of my recovery. Not because of the sport itself, but because it gave me community connection and a reason to show up. Every time I stepped onto the court, I was reinforcing that new identity, not the guy recovering from a coma. That's who I, I was before. I was building, building a life again. And finally, I stopped asking one question and started asking another. Instead of asking, why did this happen to me? No, I started asking, what can I do with what happened? And that question changed everything. What once felt like the worst thing that ever happened to me eventually became part of my purpose. And today, I get to help others navigate their own life transitions and discover what's possible on the other side of them. So before I go, I want to leave you with one question. If this chapter of your life ended today, what would you title the next one? Not the plan. No. Not the roadmap. No. Just that one title. Because sometimes the title appears long before the path becomes clear. So if you're in a major transition, transition right now, remember this, your story isn't over. You may simply be entering your second chapter. I'm Michael from Become Again. So if this resonated with you, subscribe and drop your, your chapter title in the comments. I honestly would love to hear it.
