Psychologists now know that a “growth mindset” is one of the greatest predictors of a fulfilling life. And yet only children are at ease with the discomfort necessary for growth — the rest of us are chronically resistant to stretching ourselves in the very ways that push us to transcend the lesser versions of ourselves. Emerson knew this when he contemplated our resistance to change and wrote: “People wish to be settled; only as far as they are unsettled is there any hope for them.” How is it, then, that we bestir ourselves to grow?

In 2005, actor and director Joseph Gordon-Levitt founded hitRECord with his brother — a global creative community and independent multimedia production company, uniting artists from around the world on a variety of projects. The endeavor’s first decade has produced a wonderland of magical collaborations, including the fantastic Tiny Book of Tiny Stories series, but none more wonderful than Iterations — a beautiful and bewitching musical film created by artists from Hungary, Cyprus, Scotland, Canada, and the United States, with enchanting original music by Irish singer/songwriter Sarah Daly, better known as Metaphorest.

The artists were tasked with interpreting the theme of “The Road” and this musical journey was the result — a lyrical story of our incremental growth as human beings and the iterative nature of self-transformation.

Have you seen my old self?
I think I must have lost her
I wonder if I cost her
Her life?

Have you seen my second self?
She seems to grow younger
More delicate than ever
But never better

I’m an experiment
Each trial is a test
Constant recalibration

I am recycled cells
I learn to like myself
more with each iteration

Where is my restore point?
I found an old sore point
All disjointed
My file corrupted

Where is my replacement part?
I need another new heart
The other one’s beat was
Interrupted

I am recycled cells
I learn to like myself
more with each iteration

I’m an experiment
Each trial is a test
Constant recalibration

Complement with Susan Sontag on rereading as rebirth and some timeless ideas for self-refinement from the wisdom of the ages.