There is something intimidating about the phrase starting over. It suggests wiping the slate clean, leaving everything behind, and somehow beginning again without the benefit of everything we’ve already learned. But most of us aren’t starting over. We’re starting with experience.
As an author, I would never throw away an entire manuscript simply because a chapter needed revision. I would edit it. I might keep a section exactly as it is, rewrite another, remove something that no longer belongs, or add an idea that makes the entire manuscript stronger. Perhaps we should give ourselves the same permission when we begin to design our next chapter.
You Already Have Something Worth Working With
Those of us who have spent decades building careers, businesses, relationships, and lives aren’t staring at a blank page. We’ve accumulated knowledge, skills, relationships, accomplishments, and wisdom. Some of what we’ve built still fits us beautifully. Other parts may not.
That’s where a life transition can become confusing. We recognize that something needs to change, but sometimes we assume change requires walking away from everything we’ve built. Faced with that choice, it’s easy to keep doing what we’ve always done simply because starting over seems too disruptive.
But there is another possibility. We can edit.
We can keep what still matters. We can revise something that remains important but no longer works in its current form. We can remove something that has completed its purpose. And we can add something that hasn’t had enough room in our lives before now. The question isn’t necessarily, “What should I do next?” It may first be, “What still belongs?”
Remi Didn’t Need a Blank Page Either
Before Remington became the Chief Happiness Officer at Strategic People Solutions, that role belonged to my first Great Dane therapy dog, Beretta. For 11 years, Beretta worked alongside me in businesses, workshops, hospitals, nursing homes, and community organizations. He became part of the identity of Strategic People Solutions and, quite honestly, part of the way many people remembered us.
When Beretta died, I knew there would never be another Beretta. Then Remington came into my life. I didn’t expect Remi to become a replacement for him. That would have been unfair to her, and it would have missed everything she brings because she is Remi.
Some things remained. A Great Dane was once again beside me. The Chief Happiness Officer tradition continued. So did my belief that a dog can sometimes teach us something about leadership and human connection that another PowerPoint slide cannot. But other things changed. Remi brought her own personality, experiences, and lessons to the role. What came before wasn’t discarded. It became part of what came next.
That’s something I’ve been thinking about as I work with accomplished people who are considering their own next chapters. Moving forward doesn’t always require abandoning what came before. Sometimes it means deciding which parts deserve to continue—and in what form.
If you’d like to read more about what Beretta taught me about this idea, I explored it in Leadership Lessons from Remington™: The Legacy We Leave Behind.
Design Your Next Chapter by Editing What You’ve Already Built
When I edit a manuscript, there are essentially four choices I’m making:
Keep what is working and still belongs. Revise what matters but needs to work differently. Remove what has served its purpose. Add what the next version needs. Those are useful decisions for a manuscript, but they’re also useful when we design our next chapter.
A service you’ve offered for years may still matter but need to be delivered differently. A leadership role may still be meaningful, but you may no longer want to carry every responsibility that comes with it. An expertise you’ve spent decades developing may belong in your next chapter, but in a completely different form. And something you’ve postponed because there was never enough time, energy, or capacity may finally deserve a larger place. That’s not starting over. That’s intentional editing.
Remi’s Takeaway
Remi doesn’t need to erase what came before her to create something of her own. Neither do we.
Our experience isn’t something we have to leave behind before we can move forward. It gives us material to work with. The challenge is deciding which parts of that experience still belong in the version we’re creating now. Perhaps your next chapter doesn’t require becoming someone entirely different. Perhaps it requires becoming more deliberate about what you carry forward. You don’t have to start over. You get to edit.
A Question to Consider
If you looked at your work or life as something you were allowed to edit rather than completely reinvent, what would you keep, what would you revise, what would you remove, and what might you finally add?
Before You Decide What Comes Next
If you’re beginning to recognize that something in your work or life needs to change, you don’t have to know exactly what the next chapter looks like yet. But before you decide what to keep, revise, remove, or add, it helps to understand where you are in the transition you’re experiencing.
That’s why I created the Life Transition Profile™. It’s a complimentary assessment designed to help you identify where you are in a period of transition and begin thinking more intentionally about what still fits, what may need to change, and where you want to go from here.
Complete the Life Transition Profile™
You don’t need to discard everything you’ve built to design your next chapter. You can use the experience you’ve already accumulated and make thoughtful decisions about what deserves to come with you. You don’t have to start over. You get to edit.