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Letters of Change

When imagining possibilities feels harder than it should

Published about 1 month ago • 3 min read

Elena Agafonova

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Coach | Author | Happiness Explorer 🌱

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Letters of Change

A weekly space for happiness, self-trust & the art of living well

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Hello and welcome, Reader!

As the year slowly comes to a close, I notice something familiar—both in myself and in the people I work with.

This strange mix of completion and anticipation.
A quiet exhaustion.
And, very often, a surprising difficulty in imagining what could come next.

Not goals.
Not plans.
Just… possibilities.

Some people dream easily. Others struggle, especially at this time of year. And I’ve been asking myself: why is that?

Is it optimism versus realism?
Personality?
Courage?

Honestly, I don’t know.

What I do know is this: when life has been full—emotionally, practically, existentially—imagination often shrinks. Not because something is wrong with us, but because our system is tired.

And tired systems don’t dream big. They ask for safety first.

When “Dreaming” Feels Like Pressure

In the Pathfinder Track of the Next Chapter Journey, there’s a practice I used to call “The 20 Possibilities List.”

And again and again, participants told me the same thing:

“I got stuck at five options.”
“Seven felt like a stretch.”
“Twenty felt impossible.”

At first, I thought the resistance was about fear.
But over time, I realized: it was about pressure.

So I changed the practice to:
​5, 10, or 20 possibilities, whatever feels honest.

Because the number has never been the point.
The meaning has.

Possibilities are not commitments.
They are invitations.

A Case Study: My Own List for 2026

I decided to do this practice myself—gently, without forcing inspiration.
Here are ten possibilities I can imagine for 2026. Not promises. Just doors that might open.

  1. Visit friends and partners in the UK, Spain, Italy, South Africa, Colombia, India, and the USA, to name just a few.
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  2. Open a new business in the UK.
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  3. Start a deeper project around growing with the seasons—the new book A Year of Gentle Transformation is only the beginning.
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  4. Continue adding value to the Next Chapter Journey Tracks and invite more partners into the ecosystem.
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  5. Offer the Next Chapter Journey as a franchise for other transformation coaches, teachers, and mentors.
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  6. Write and publish a book on the transformation of body, mind, and soul, based on practices I’ve gathered over the last 10+ years.
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  7. Open a coaching laboratory—not a school, but a living space for experimentation and learning.
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  8. Build a global platform for coaches and their B2B/B2C clients, based on a shared-ownership business model.
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  9. Finally read books that have been waiting on my list for two years, like Future Files by Richard Watson.
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  10. Learn Georgian and start speaking my fourth language—alongside Russian, German, and English.
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Will all of this happen?
Probably not, at least not in the way I imagine today.

And that’s perfectly fine.

Because this list isn’t about predicting the future.
It’s about allowing myself to have one.

A Gentle Reframe

If you can name five possibilities—that’s enough.
If you can name three—that’s still enough.
If all you can say is “something different”—that counts too.

Dreaming doesn’t require certainty.
It requires permission to be yourself.

And sometimes, especially at the end of the year, permission is the most radical thing we can give ourselves.

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With love,

Elena

And One More Invitation. No Rush 🤍

If at some point you feel that having structure, guidance, and companionship would help you turn possibilities into clarity and action, the Next Chapter Journey Tracks are always open.

They are:

  • lifetime access,
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  • continuously updated,
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  • something you return to whenever life shifts again.

You don’t buy them for a moment.
You buy them for the long run.

And yes, there’s a quiet STARTNOW–30% option if now happens to feel right. Enter this promo code at checkout.

📘 And if your heart leans toward reflection rather than planning,
​A Year of Gentle Transformation—my new book—is there to accompany you season by season, without rushing you toward answers.

Sometimes, the most meaningful change begins not with a decision…
But by allowing yourself to imagine again.

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or

It can be a gift for yourself.
Or for someone who, quietly, is already on their next chapter journey.

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Letters of Change

Gentle support for a life that feels true

Hi, I’m Elena Agafonova — Happiness & Transformation Coach, author of "The Midlife Career Pivot" and "Embrace Change Gently". Letters of Change is your quiet space to pause, reflect, and reconnect with what truly matters. Every Wednesday, receive one story, one insight, and one gentle prompt — a gift for the inner growth, helping you move through life’s transitions with more clarity, courage, and self-compassion. We’ll explore themes like: your pathway to happiness, finding purpose, career reinvention, building true self-confidence. These letters are not quick fixes, but invitations to listen deeply and grow forward — one honest step at a time. P.S. If you don’t see the confirmation email in your inbox, check your Promotions or Spam folders — sometimes quiet letters like these get misplaced. 💌

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