Start from Scratch

It isn't very often that we get things just right on the first try. Usually the first draft of an essay, the first attempt at solving a puzzle, or even the first day at a new job doesn't turn out exactly the way it should. That is to be expected--we are learning things as we go. Perhaps you can take a step back and look at what is worth keeping and what needs to be changed. Unless you are lucky (or have low standards) making something that you can be proud of is an iterative process.
Sometimes the first attempt leaves so much to be desired that there is almost nothing to salvage. It's better to forget that it ever happened, sweep it under the carpet, and start again at the beginning. This week I tried to write an article for an engineering organization where I am a member. I wrote a first draft which I thought was pretty good. However, it came back with so many corrections and objections that I decided that it would be easier to start from scratch. That is, instead of changing a few words ir sentences, it would be easier to write a completely different article.

The idea of "starting from scratch" comes from the world of sports. Scratch was the starting point that was literally scratched into the ground. The boundary line in cricket and the line across which boxers would face one another were referred to as scratch. Eventually, the starting point of any race became known as "scratch". The term is also used in sports where weaker contestants are given a handicap. In a footrace, a contestant given a handicap would get to start five yards closer to the finish line. The stronger runner would have to start from scratch.

Over time the phrase took on the more general meaning of starting from the begninning. When you start from scratch you start without any previous work to build upon.

Starting from scratch doesn't have to be associated with failure; it can also be a sign of perseverance. When calamity, or diasaster strikes, some people lose everything. Imagine the people whose homes were knocked down by the earthquake in Haiti, or swept away by the tsunami in Southeast Asia. We can try to imagine but the attempt comes up short. The people who are able to endure the loss of their livelihood and family members and somehow not give up demonstrate that the human spirit is a lot stronger than it sometimes appears.