When the rules change, what stays steady?


Elena Agafonova

Coach | Author | Happiness Explorer 🌱

Letters of Change

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

Hello and welcome, Reader!

Sometimes change arrives quietly.
And it arrives like... LinkedIn updating its rules overnight, or when you are anything but prepared.

This week, I was reminded of something essential:

Resilience isn’t about staying calm. It’s about staying connected to your Why.

When the goalposts move

For weeks, our Next Chapter Journey LinkedIn page sat at 95… 97… 99 followers.

The magic number was 100 — the requirement for enabling a LinkedIn Newsletter.

I imagined it:
✨ our Letters of Change reaching more people
✨ supporting midlife professionals navigating transitions
✨ building a little corner of gentle transformation on LinkedIn

And then — finally — 100 🎉.

But… no newsletter option...

A tiny line in LinkedIn’s guidelines had changed:
“Minimum 150 followers required.”

Was I furious?
I’m kidding… but yes, just a little.

At that moment I felt the full human spectrum:
disappointment, irritation, doubt, and then...a spark.

My Why.

I wanted to bring more clarity, hope, and direction to people going through tough transitions.
I wanted to make the Letters of Change more accessible.
I wanted to serve.

So I took a breath.
And I started again.

I invited my network.
Friends invited their connections.
Coaches shared it forward.

Within one week, the page went from 100 to 150.
And still — nothing. No button. No option... No newsletter...

But then, this Sunday morning, with the same number of followers +1…
the option appeared.

As quietly and unexpectedly as change often does...


The real lesson wasn’t about LinkedIn

It was this:

You can’t control the timing of change. But you can stay connected to your reason for moving through it.

Because when the “why” is strong:
- you find courage you didn’t know you had,
- you stay focused even when frustrated,
- you reach out to others,
- you keep going.

Resilience isn’t about pushing harder.
It’s about remembering why you started.

My insight for this week

When the rules change (and they will), emotions rise (and they will), and timing makes no sense (it rarely does)…

That’s resilience in real life.
Not perfect. Not heroic. Not linear.
Just human.


💛 A gentle prompt

Think of a goal you’ve been working toward.

Now ask yourself:

What is the deeper “why” beneath this goal?
The one that makes the effort meaningful?

Write it down.
Return to it when things shift unexpectedly.


What about you?

✨ Take the free Next Chapter Journey Quiz and discover discover how you meet change (Explorer, Pathfinder, or Pioneer)?

🤗 If you are ready to start your journey and want to walk this path with others, join our growing community for encouragement and connection!


🫶 Help someone navigate their transition

If a friend or colleague is currently facing a transition, share this letter with them.

The right story always arrives at the right moment.


With warmth,

Elena


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Letters of Change

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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