The Next Edit - Issue # 51
Try before you buy....or jump
đ§ One Big Idea
High achievers are often very comfortable making big decisions.
Take the promotion.
Leave the company.
Sell the business.
Retire.
What tends to feel much harder is uncertainty.
We want clarity before we move.
A fully formed plan.
A guarantee that the next version of life will feel right immediately.
But most meaningful transitions donât work that way.
They are discovered gradually.
Which is why the Iterate phase of the EDIT Method matters so much.
Because the goal is not to have all the answers before making a change.
The goal is to stay curious enough to test what might fit before blowing up your life entirely.
Because the truth is, we are often wrong about what we think will make us happy.
The thing you fantasized about may feel empty in practice.
The thing you dismissed may become deeply meaningful.
Testing out your ideas using small low stakes experiments helps give you information and keeps you moving forward.
Thatâs why iteration matters.
It removes the pressure to perfectly predict your future.
Instead of asking:
âWhat is my forever plan?â
You begin asking:
âWhat can I learn from trying this?â
That shift changes everything.
Especially for people who built careers around getting things âright.â
Life transitions are not linear projects.
They are lived experiences.
And the people who navigate them best are usually not the people with the clearest plan.
They are the people most willing to adapt as they learn more about themselves.
đ ď¸Try This
What is one thing you have been thinking about and want to try?
How can you create an experiment to test it to see if you like it and it fits into your vision of the future.
Ask yourself:
What am I curious about?
What energizes me?
What have I never had time to explore?
What could I test before making a permanent change?
Then pay attention:
What gives you energy?
What drains you?
What feels meaningful?
What feels performative?
You are gathering data now â not locking yourself into an identity.
For example:
You love your job, but want to make time for other things.
Could you try reducing your workload or hours for a period of time to see what it is like and start to do the thing you think you want to ?
Could you try consulting instead of quitting completely and see how that goes?
You think you want to spend your time âgiving backâ
Can you try talking on volunteer work
Can you become a mentor inside or outside your company ?
You think you might want to pivot and switch careers
Can you take a class that will help build your resume in the new area?
Can you build your network of people in the new area to learn more about it?
You think you want to reconnect with a passion project
Can you experiment with a new routine to make time for it?
Find low stakes ways to try your ideas and iterate on them by paying attention to what you learn when you do.
âď¸The Final Edit
See you in âthe next editâ
Andrea
