Encourage readers to reflect on how the book relates to their own life or work and how its lessons could help them.

1. Which concept from the book (possible selves, rumination, attachment, self-compassion, self-affirmation, etc.) felt like something that you could most relate to personally?

2. Shankar continually states that problems arise not simply from change but from the stories people tell themselves about change. Can you think of a time when changing the narrative changed how you looked at a disruption?

3. Shankar writes in Chapter 7 about learning to “hold onto [her] identity with an open hand instead of a closed fist” (202). Is there an area of your identity that may benefit from a similar type of openness?

4. Multiple chapters show individuals becoming less despairing after sharing their fears, grief, and/or shame with others. Where do you turn for support in difficult times?

Prompt readers to explore how the book fits into today’s professional or social landscape.

1. Do you feel that Shankar’s focus on mindset, perspective, and mental strategies is useful in a world where many disruptions occur due to structural barriers such as financial issues, lack of healthcare access, family pressures, and discrimination?

2. Does Shankar’s view of change as a potential source of realization as well as loss seem beneficial on a societal level as well as a personal one? What might that look like, applied to a major change facing contemporary societies?