How to Start Over When Things Don’t Go as Planned

If I'm honest, the cover of this journal is a little misleading.

The title says:

21 Guided Journal Prompts for Self-Love & Authenticity
Coach Kala Simmons, MSW, Certified Master Life Coach

Sounds pretty official, right?

There’s just one problem.

There are no prompts inside.

No guides. No carefully crafted questions. No beautiful pages designed to walk you through some profound journey of self-discovery.

Just me.

And a whole lot of blank pages. 😂

Two years ago, I created this journal in Canva. I took my time writing 21 carefully crafted prompts... Questions I genuinely believed would help someone slow down, think deeply, and get a little more honest with themselves.

I was excited.

I had created a book.

A personal guide.

Something I could put into the world.

Then it arrived.

Blank.

I'm still not entirely sure what happened. Maybe I got the print measurements wrong. Maybe I missed a step in the formatting. Maybe I simply didn't review the final product as thoroughly as I should have.

Whatever the reason, the excitement I felt when that journal arrived was quickly replaced by something much more familiar:

Disappointment.

And then defeat.

At the time, I didn't realize I was doing something I'd done many times before.

I was taking an imperfect outcome and turning it into a failed dream.

You see, this had become a pattern for me.

I'd pour my heart and soul into a relationship, project, idea, or plan. I'd carefully craft all the pieces. I'd imagine what it could become. I'd make sure it was everything I'd hoped it would be.

And then…

Something wouldn't go according to plan.

Maybe the relationship didn't become what I thought it would.

Maybe the project didn't take off.

Maybe the opportunity didn't materialize.

Maybe the thing I'd spent so much time building simply didn't look like the picture I'd created in my head.

And somewhere between “This is going to be amazing” and “Well, that didn't work,” hope would quietly turn into resentment.

Then came my inner mean girl.

You know the one.

The one with the smirk.

The one who doesn't even have to yell because she knows exactly where to press.

See?

Why did you think this was going to work?

Who told you that you could do this?

Maybe this just isn't for you.

And instead of asking, “What can I do differently?”

I'd decide:

“I guess it wasn't meant to be.”

So that journal went into a drawer.

For two years.

Not a single page touched.

Not one prompt written.

Not one thought scribbled into the margins.

It simply sat there collecting dust because it hadn't worked out the way I'd originally intended.

Let's be clear: I'm sure it wasn't the first idea that didn't fly.

I've had plenty.

Some made it off the ground.

Some never left the runway.

Some I tossed into the air with the excitement of possibility, only to watch them come crashing back down.

But this one?

When it smacked the pavement, I quietly walked away.

A lossful intent.

Another dream filed away with all the other things that didn't quite become what I imagined.

Until today.

Today, I found that journal again.

And ironically, I wasn't looking for a journal.

I was looking for somewhere to jot down some ideas.

My brain was full. I needed somewhere to empty it.

And there it was.

21 Guided Journal Prompts for Self-Love & Authenticity.

I opened it.

Still blank.

And for the first time, I didn't see a failed journal.

I saw a blank page.

A starting place.

Maybe it wasn't what I originally intended it to be.

Maybe it never will be.

But perhaps that doesn't mean it has no value.

Perhaps the blank pages are exactly what I need now.

A place for a new goal.

A new vision.

A new dream.

A new version of the story.

And that realization made me wonder:

How many things have we abandoned simply because they didn't happen the way we planned?

How many ideas are sitting in drawers?

How many dreams are buried underneath disappointment?

How many versions of ourselves have we quietly given up on because the first attempt didn't look like we thought it would?

We are so quick to call something a failure when sometimes it's simply…

unfinished.

Maybe the relationship didn't work.

Maybe the business idea didn't take off.

Maybe the first launch flopped.

Maybe the plan fell apart.

Maybe you didn't become who you thought you'd be by now.

Okay.

And?

That doesn't mean you can't begin again.

You don't have to resurrect the original version.

You don't have to force yourself to finish something that no longer fits.

And you certainly don't have to pretend the disappointment didn't hurt.

But you can take what remains and ask:

“What can I create from here?”

Because sometimes the dream doesn't need to be revived.

Sometimes it needs to be reimagined.

And sometimes the thing you thought was the end is simply an invitation to start differently.

So, today, I'm writing in the journal.

Not the way I originally intended.

Not according to the carefully crafted prompts I once created.

Just me.

My thoughts.

My ideas.

My messy, untamed, unfiltered brain.

And maybe that's a little more authentic than what I designed in the first place.

So if you're reading this and something immediately came to mind—a journal tucked away in a drawer, a business idea you've abandoned, a project you stopped believing in, a dream you've convinced yourself is no longer possible, or even a part of yourself you've left untouched for far too long...

Consider this your nudge.

Pull it back out.

Open the drawer.

Turn the page.

Start again.

It doesn't have to look like you originally imagined.

It just has to begin.

Because a blank page isn't proof that the story failed.

It means there's still room to write it.