You can always go back. But what if that’s the problem?

“It’s tough out there at the moment.”

“I just can’t see a way forward.”

“Maybe I should go back to what I used to do.”

I definitely hear versions of this quite a lot lately.

And if you’ve been thinking it yourself, I get it.

When things feel uncertain, the familiar can look very attractive.

The career you know.
The work you’re good at.
The environment you understand.

Going back can feel like the safest option.

Even if you don’t really want to go there.

Because at least you know what it looks like.

But here’s the question:

What if you’re not actually looking for a way back?

What if you’re looking for a way forward that you can’t see yet?

I’ve realised I’ve been doing something for years without having a name for it

My career has taken some unexpected turns.

I started as a chemical engineer and moved through management in the pharmaceutical industry, process improvement, production, government-related work, utilities across power and water, defence, and project and programme management.

I’ve worked across private companies, public organisations and a major public-private partnership.

I’ve also relocated twice, to countries that, from where I started, felt almost like the other end of the world.

And eventually, I moved into coaching, consulting and facilitation.

Looking back, there is a thread through all of it.

I look for patterns and processes.

As an engineer, I learned to break a problem down to understand what’s really causing it, then fix it and build it back up in a way that works.

I’ve carried that way of thinking into everything I’ve done.

Working with people adds another layer of complexity — and, for me, a much more interesting and satisfying challenge.

Through coaching and NLP, I’ve become fascinated by the processes underneath how we think, decide, respond and change.

And I’ve always been able to spot connections between things that don’t initially look connected.

A problem in one environment reminds me of something I’ve seen somewhere else. A solution from one context becomes useful in another. A way of thinking that seemed completely normal suddenly looks like just one way of doing things.

For a long time, these were simply thoughts I had.

Then, as I started developing Identity Longevity™ and researching ideas across different scientific and psychological fields, I began putting names to some of these patterns.

One of them became Opportunity Thinking™.

And giving it a name changed something for me.

I could see the process more clearly. And I could help my clients see it in themselves.

The paradigm shift

We often think our experience gives us expertise.

It does.

But it can give us something else too:

More reference points. And more reference points can mean more possibilities.

If you were someone who has built a business and is now struggling, the temptation can be: “Maybe I should just go back to what I did before.”

But your previous career isn’t the only thing you know anymore.

You now know how to run a business. You’ve dealt with customers. Made decisions with uncertainty. Sold something. Solved problems without someone else telling you what to do.

Maybe you’ve learned what you actually care about. Maybe you’ve discovered what you never want to do again.

You are not the person who left that career.

So going back doesn’t have to mean going backwards. And it certainly doesn’t have to be the only option.

When I work with business owners in this situation, we look for a way forward that uses everything they’ve learned, rather than treating their previous career as the only escape route.

Because sometimes the problem isn’t that you have no options.

It’s that you can only see the options that fit the person you used to be.

Opportunity Thinking™

This is why Opportunity Thinking™ is one of the capacities within Identity Longevity™ that I’m interested in developing.

The ability to recognise multiple possibilities and create options that others may not see.

And it isn’t just about careers or business. That’s simply one place where it becomes very visible.

A move. A relationship ending. A business changing direction. A rejection. A failed idea. A difficult period. A completely unexpected opportunity.

Every transition gives you another reference point. Every challenge you work through gives you information.

Every no you collect on the way to a yes can change what you see the next time a door opens.

You don’t have to pretend those experiences were good.

You can simply use what they gave you.

Your win this week

Think of something where you currently see only two options.

Stay or leave.
Continue or quit.
Go back or keep going.

Then ask:

“If there were five possible ways forward, what might they be?”

Don’t decide. Don’t judge. Just make yourself look beyond the two options you already know.

Because sometimes your next opportunity isn’t something you need to find.

It’s something you become able to see.

And that, to me, is one of the most useful things about a longer life and career.

You don’t just accumulate experience.

You accumulate reference points.

And those reference points can give you more ways forward than you realised.

Until next time,

Vered

P.S. You may not need to go back. You may need to look at what you already have through a different lens.