Navigating Your Next Chapter

Navigating Your Next Chapter: Create a New Beginning by Redefining Your Purpose

Have you ever wished that you could start over and give yourself a reset or a do-over with your life experience? You can! Navigating your next chapter is a way to redefine your purpose and live your best life, no matter where you find yourself right now.

Bill Gates found college “uninteresting,” in his own words. He stated that he had a good experience at Harvard University but was considering leaving because he was afraid he would miss out on the computing revolution.

With this motivation, he dropped out of college after just two years. What would the young man who wasn’t quite 20 years old choose for the next chapter of his life? He and his longtime friend, Paul Allen, founded Microsoft in 1975. That was a wise move. In early 2024, Microsoft became only the second company to reach a market cap of $3 trillion.

You don’t need Bill Gates’ or Paul Allen’s youthful vision to find fulfillment in a new venture.

Anna Mary Robertson Moses, a mother of 10 with no severe painting experience, took up the hobby regularly when she was 78 years of age. Known as Grandma Moses, the American folk artist became an international star with her paintings of rural farm life.

Jeff Bezos started Amazon as an online book-buying destination when he was 30. Bezos was a successful hedge fund vice president when he decided to risk everything he had on a new phenomenon called the Internet.

Cookbook author and chef Julia Child didn’t start cooking until her late 30s, and her first book wasn’t published until she was 50. She co-founded the American Institute of Wine and Food in 1981 and expanded the global awareness of cooking for the average person.

Vera Wang was an accomplished figure skater, competing in the 1968 US Figure Skating Championships. She turned to fashion when she didn’t make the US Olympic skating team. Wang became the youngest editor for Vogue magazine and later worked with icon Ralph Lauren.

She became an independent bridal wear designer at 40 when she couldn’t find a wedding dress she liked. In 2020, the fashion icon’s global bridal design business was valued at $270 million.

“Colonel” Harland Sanders, who only attained the rank of Private in the US Army, is known as the face and founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken. He opened his first restaurant at age 50, leaving behind occupations such as insurance salesman, steam engine stoker, and gas station operator.

When he was 69, Sanders began to find success selling franchise rights for his secret chicken recipe. He traveled the United States, often sleeping in his car, aggressively marketing what would become a global billion-dollar fast food company.

What do a college dropout, former hedge fund employee, failed figure skater, and fried chicken king have in common? They each redefined their purpose and passionately pursued their visions. They did this even though the future was uncertain, and some had little experience in the fields they were entering.

Whether you want to move onto a new career, retirement is right around the corner, or seek more personal purpose and fulfillment, starting a rewarding new stage in your life is possible at any age. That’s what this course will help you do.

Understanding Your Current Chapter by Determining Your Dissatisfaction

Think back to your school days. Do you remember scoring poorly on a test you thought you had aced? You were confident of your knowledge of the subject matter but performed miserably. It was a dissatisfying experience.

You were so upset at the subpar performance that you started studying harder. You paid more attention in class. Homework assignments were no longer taken for granted. Your extra efforts paid off. The next time you had a test on the subject, you did exceptionally well. This shows how displeasure can lead to good things.

It also explains why you shouldn’t ignore feelings like dissatisfaction. Your values system gives you a wake-up call when you are not content. It tells you you need to make changes if you don’t want to continue experiencing unhappiness.

Facing displeasure can lead to more success and meaningful experiences in your professional and personal lives. Let’s look at a few self-assessment techniques that identify areas where you can focus your attention to enjoy a better experience. They reveal opportunities for beginning the next fulfilling chapter of your life.

Keep a Dissatisfaction Journal

You can do this digitally or using a small notebook. Record frustrating moments of discontent that happen throughout your day. List the emotions you felt and what caused them. Do this immediately after you experience frustration so you get all the facts written down.

Spend time each week going over this information. Look for patterns in your discontent. We often repeat behaviors that may or may not create good outcomes, so seeing patterns can help you stop those behaviors.

Make Time-of-Life Comparisons

How do you feel about your quality of life now? Give it a number on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the best possible experience. Next, reflect on your past. What score would your life have earned a month ago, a year ago, and five years ago?

Suppose your quality of life has been up and down. Were there any major changes that caused a significant drop in satisfaction? What did the happiest times look like? When you were at your lowest points, what identifiable and predictable behaviors, people, or experiences triggered your dissatisfaction?

Identify what happened when you were pleased and unhappy. You might find that certain people, locations, or situations trigger your discontent. You may realize you caused the behavior that led to the negative experience. What can you do differently so you enjoy more positive emotions?

Ask Yourself, “Why Not?”

Think back to your earlier life goals. What did you want to accomplish at this point in your life? How many of those goals have you completed? If you haven’t achieved a particular goal, ask yourself, “Why not?” Be honest with your answer.

Is there a fear keeping you from taking action, perhaps a fear of failure? Do you experience more discontent from not pursuing your goals or from failing when pursuing them?

Monitor and Protect Your Time

How do you spend your time? Be truthful. If you aren’t sure or only have a vague idea (I work and then go home), you may need to track your time for a few weeks or longer to get a better idea. The more detailed you are with this process, the better the information you will receive.

You can perform this at the end of each day or even several times throughout the day. Write down everything you did and how much time you spent doing it or start and finish times. Don’t miss anything. Small actions that only occupy a little of your time can deliver significant results, good and bad.

Are you investing too much time in habits, people, or experiences that don’t lead to positive emotions? These may deliver a short-term emotional boost, but the eventual repercussions they cause are powerfully negative. Time is a resource that can never be replenished, so use it wisely.

Compare Your Personal and Professional Results

Do you find your personal life satisfying but hate your job? Perhaps you love going to work but dread going home. In either case, is that how you want to live?

Many people find fulfillment and purpose when living a balanced life. We don’t mean equal times spent at work and home, but a balance that leaves you feeling good about both areas. If you aren’t satisfied, how can you create more harmony between the two biggest parts of your life?

Navigating Your Next Chapter Includes Knowing What You Do and Don’t Do Well

Recognizing and embracing your personal strengths is a pivotal step towards personal and professional fulfillment. Your strengths are your unique assets that can help you overcome challenges, boost your productivity, and reach your goals more efficiently. By aligning your actions with your strengths, you can pursue your passions and embark on a more fulfilling journey.
Reevaluating your purpose involves a deep understanding of your weaknesses and areas for personal development. By acknowledging these aspects, you can uncover your strengths and identify key areas for improvement. This self-awareness is a powerful tool for shaping a more fulfilling life path.

What Failures Frustrate You the Most?

The areas for improvement that matter most to you are related to your values. Your most frustrating failures bother you because they matter. Reflecting on your biggest regrets and most impactful failures can help you identify weaknesses that need addressing to improve your life.

Revisit Your Discontent

Look at the information you compiled at the beginning of this module. You opened your eyes to your life’s dissatisfaction. It might not be surprising that discontent can come from areas where personal improvement is needed.

Consider someone who excels in financial management. Their strong skills in budgeting and money management often lead to financial health, which in turn contributes to their contentment and fulfillment. This illustrates how strengths can pave the way to success and satisfaction.

On the flip side, it’s important to recognize that the most frustrating, unsatisfying aspects of life often hold the greatest potential for personal growth. By allowing your discontent to highlight these areas, you can start to address the weaknesses that may be hindering you from living a life of purpose.

Use These Strengths Assessment Tools As You Begin Navigating Your Next Chapter

There is an app for everything, at least in self-improvement. Some apps can help you uncover your strengths and positive attributes. Here are a few of the top strengths assessment apps and websites.

• VIA Character Strengths Assessment
• The Strength Deployment Inventory
• CliftonStrengths
• Personal Swot Analysis Worksheet (MindTools)
• StrengthsFinder
• MyStrengths

Look to Your Heroes and Role Models

We just discussed how dissatisfaction can take you to a good place. It reminds you of your values and identifies where they are unmet. That information can be used to make changes. A similar process can identify potential areas of growth.

Our heroes usually have abilities we don’t have. There is a sense of longing. We wish we could do the things they can do. Take a look at the people you admire. Which of their abilities would you like to embrace? How would you like to be more like them?

This self-assessment relates to your values. You may wish you were more proficient in something important to you. Additionally, it can point out changes you need to make to experience a greater sense of purpose. It helps you formulate a game plan for navigating your next chapter of your life.

Ask for and Receive Input from Others

Positive thinking is great. Maintaining upbeat thoughts can help you through tough times. However, this form of positive thinking can also have unintended negative consequences. Cornell psychologists Justin Kruger and David Dunning proved this.

The Dunning-Kruger effect describes an inaccurate perception many people suffer from. They often overestimate their abilities. This is not true of everyone, but it is a trait of many who suffer from incompetence.

These individuals routinely think they are much better than they actually are and sometimes believe they are exceptional. On the other side of that effect are high achievers who consistently underrate their abilities. This leads them to work harder because they believe they can be better, even though they are already more skilled than most. Know that you can have, do, and be anything you want in your life experience by manifesting your goals and dreams into reality. This all begins when you decide that navigating your next chapter is the best decision for you.

This natural tendency of inaccurate perception is why you should seek input from others to assess your strengths and weaknesses. Don’t just ask the opinion of one or two people. Look for the consensus among coworkers, friends, and loved ones. They often give you a truer sense of your abilities and areas for improvement than you can do for yourself.

Preparing Mentally and Emotionally for Significant Life Change As You’re Navigating Your Next Chapter

Any significant change you make in your life will require an emotional adjustment. Since you will be taking action to create a different reality, you may have to deal with emotions you don’t often encounter.

The same thing happens mentally. A new mindset is adopted, and different thought processes take place. The following tips can help keep your heart and mind from fighting the change you want to create.

Predict Emotional Issues

Think about a time you experienced significant change. What emotional issues did you face, if any? Past experiences can prepare you for future change.

Invest in Yourself As You’re Navigating Your Next Chapter

How can you improve on the weaknesses you discovered earlier? What skills, tools, or resources can make your changes easier?

Silence Your Inner Critic

Your inner critic fears change and will try to convince you to resist it. Prepare in advance and ignore this constant, negative self-talk.

Record Your Thoughts

Journaling can help you manage your emotions. Documenting the actions and behaviors that lead to negative emotions gives you insight into how to avoid those triggers in the future. It also allows you to process the feelings without judgment.

Ask for Help As You Go About Navigating Your Next Chapter

When your thoughts and emotions threaten to derail your efforts to make change, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Talk to a friend, loved one, counselor, or other mental health professional.

Get a Mentor

Consult someone who has made the change you are attempting. Their experience is invaluable. The right mentors can prepare you mentally and emotionally for potential setbacks and other negative experiences, as well as help you to move forward with grace and ease into being the person you want to be.

Identifying your dissatisfaction can help you find areas for much-needed change as you take action with navigating your next chapter.

You are surrounded with opportunities to start a new life chapter. A few methods for spotting these include:
• Keep a dissatisfaction journal.
• Compare your satisfaction at different life stages.
• Ask why you have yet to achieve some of your big goals.
• Monitor how you spend every minute of your day.
• Compare your personal and professional life results.

Leaning on your strengths will allow you to improve all aspects of your life. To find your strengths:
• Consider which of your failures frustrates you the most.
• Revisit the dissatisfaction you discovered in the first part of this module.
• Look to your heroes for inspiration.
• Get input from others.
• Use a strength assessment tool.

Preparing for change lessens its impact on your daily life. To help you prepare:
• Try to predict emotional issues you might face during this transition.
• Invest in yourself by prioritizing self-improvement.
• Ignore the negative input of your inner critic.
• Journal your thoughts.
• Ask for help.
• Get a mentor.

I’m bestselling USA Today and Wall Street Journal author Connie Ragen Green, helping you with navigating your next chapter of your life and loving every moment of your journey.