Are you sure you’re remembering that right?

At my business school, food was included. And it was good.
One of my favorite memories? The chocolate mousse. I loved when it was mousse au chocolat day (as they say in Switzerland 🇨🇭).

So, when I returned to campus recently for my reunion, I was ready. I ate my dinner, walked up to the dessert bar with nostalgic glee, and… huh. Mousse day, yes—but this mousse? It was Ovomaltine (Ovaltine to the non-Swiss amongst us).

Nothing against Ovomaltine, but I am a dark chocolate person. This wasn’t it. I turned to my classmates: “Did they change it, or do I just remember it wrong?”

Nobody knew for sure.

I kept hearing that same refrain over the weekend.
Different classmates, different memories, all of us slightly uncertain if what we remembered was real or just… the version we’d carried with us.

And therein lies my message today:

In change—personal, professional, or planetary—it can be so easy to reflect back with rose-tinted glasses on what used to be. And worse, to catastrophize what's coming (thanks, negativity bias).

But what came before probably (most certainly) wasn’t exactly how we remember it.
And what comes next probably (definitely) won’t be what we imagine either.

I’ve been through more changes than most. Nearly every one brought nervous-system chaos in the middle of it—but every single one turned out better than I predicted.

That’s not because I knew what I was doing. It’s because change has a way of opening new doors, often in directions we never could’ve anticipated. (I'm sure it helps that I operate under this principle.)

Has change prompted you to flesh out a new venture?

If you're building something new (or wanting to) but not sure what the next step is, I've built something for you!
Startup by Design is coming soon. It's designed to give you approaches to move forward with confidence. Reply back and I'll share more.

Are you leading through change at work?

I’m building ambiguity leadership tools.
I’m looking for a few leaders to give early feedback — and for teams to prototype later this summer. ​Reply back and let’s chat!

And for everyone, try this:

➡️ Choose a vivid memory that involved other people.
Ask someone else who was there to tell you their version of the story.
Then share yours.
Notice: What details are different in their telling than yours?
Key: Don’t try to align stories. Just notice the differences with curiosity.

➡️ Then, look at something that's currently in flux.
I know you've got something, because, well, hello 2025.
In fact, take something that riles you up.
I'm sure you've got a bunch of worries about it. Set those aside for now.
Instead: I encourage you to answer this question: What good could come of it? (Genuinely.)
Key: List at least three positive things that could happen as a result (don't let yourself judge their likelihood.)

There’s more than one way to look at the past—and more than one view of what’s next. Loss creates opportunity. That day in Switzerland? I passed on the sugary mousse and walked to the local chocolate shop, where I had the most delicious dark chocolate truffle.

I didn’t need the memory—I shaped something better. And that’s the point: the future isn’t something we wait for. It’s something we get to create.

I’m so glad you’re here! Thank you for joining me in this corner of the world where we’re committed to imperfect sideways steps that get us moving. Together, we’ll make all the sideways, backwards, and forward steps we please until we’re exactly where we hoped to be. Subscribe here:

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The Liminal Dispatch

Thoughtful insights, smart experiments, and a touch of mischief delivered Fridays. I’m Amy Bonsall—sharp questioner, creative nudger, architect of brave experiments, and liminal guide. I help high-achievers navigate the space between what was and what’s next. I’m a former IDEO exec, Harvard Business Review author, and coach to ambitious humans making quiet (and not-so-quiet) shifts. Each week, I send a short note to help you move forward—with clarity, momentum, and just the right amount of mischief.