5 Ways Forward: Simple Shifts for Happier , Calmer, More Intentioal Life

Across 31 relatable topics, you'll find over 150 practical, psychologically informed ideas for handling the situations that tend to trip us up—from overthinking and people-pleasing to difficult conversations, motivation, boundaries, relationships, disappointment, and knowing when it's time to move on.

The book is organized around five parts of life:

You. Your People. Your Day. Your Life. And When Life Gets Hard.

Each topic is intentionally short and easy to use. Open the book to what you're dealing with today, read five possible ways forward, and choose the one that makes sense for you.

There are no complicated systems to master. No expectation that you'll overhaul your personality, follow a perfect morning routine, or become an entirely different person.

Instead, 5 Ways Forward is built around a much simpler idea:

You can trust yourself to choose your next step.

Maybe that's saying the thing you've been afraid to say. Setting the boundary. Making the phone call. Asking for help. Trying something differently. Walking away. Starting again. Or simply deciding that today, you're going to do one small thing that moves you in the direction you want to go.

You don't need to have everything figured out before you begin.

You just need your next useful choice.

There is almost always another way forward. Find yours.

Sometimes You Don’t Need a Whole New Life. You Just Need a Way Forward.

Life has a way of leaving us stuck in places we never planned to be.

Maybe you're overthinking a decision you know you need to make. You're struggling to set a boundary, have a conversation you've been avoiding, or figure out whether it's time to hold on or let go. Maybe nothing is terribly wrong, you just know something could be better.

5 Ways Forward: Simple Shifts for a Happier, Calmer, More Intentional Life is about what you can do next.

After more than 20 years of helping people navigate relationships, uncertainty, change, confidence, loss, work, and the complicated business of being human, Dr. Colleen Mullen has learned something important: we rarely need someone to tell us exactly what to do. What we often need are a few good options that help us see the situation differently.

That's what this book gives you.