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The Tamsen Show

The 4 Shifts You Need to Start Your Next Chapter

02 Mar 2026

Transcription

Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

0.031 - 18.594 Tamsen Fadal

Okay, TAM fam, right now is your time to take care of you. Yes, I know the New Year's resolutions are behind us, but this is the time. You should be doing this all the time. And who better to help you do it with than the top voices in well-being on Audible. We all want to feel better, but we're busy, right? And sometimes self-care cannot be a spa day.

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So maybe it's about getting your brain back, sleeping through the night, feeling more confident, whatever it is. Here's what I love about the Audible Wellbeing Collection. It's practical, it's supportive, and it's right there when you need it. Whether you've got 10 minutes in the car or maybe a walk around the block. I listen every morning during my morning walk and I love it.

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I look forward to it every day. There's an entire selection from bestselling authors like Brene Brown or Jay Shetty, Master Nutrition with Chef Jamie Oliver. You can hear nature sleep sounds from the sleeping world or get on top of your finances with Rachel Rogers. Plus, you'll find all the best parenting guides like Raising Good Humans at your fingertips.

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Kickstart your well-being journey with your first audiobook free when you sign up for a 30-day trial at audible.com. Membership is $14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime. Listening to the top voices in well-being sounds like self-care to me. Audible. There's more to imagine when you listen. Hey, everybody. Welcome back to The Tamsen Show.

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Well, today I decided I really want to talk about reinvention. I've been thinking a lot about it, but I have to be honest with you. I don't love the word reinvention. I'm only using it because I knew it would catch your attention. But reinvention I don't think is actually what we're doing here. What we're really talking about is rewriting. adding to your story, growing into your next chapter.

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Because we're not starting over from scratch. You're not starting from nothing. You are bringing every lesson, every scar, every win with you. The difference is now you get to decide which parts of that story still belong and which ones you're ready to leave behind. And that's really exactly how I've lived the last few years. And I never could have imagined it.

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I walked away from a 30-year career as a news anchor, built a media company, produced a documentary called The M Factor, Shredding the Silence on Menopause, and I'm working on my second one about perimenopause right now. I wrote a book that became an instant New York Times bestseller. And I started this show.

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And somehow in the middle of all that, I found myself at the center of a community of more than 4 million women across social media. So my life, needless to say, looks completely different in a relatively short amount of time.

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And while your goals may not be the same as mine, the need for rewriting, for creating your next chapter is something so many of us are facing at every age and every stage of our lives. Here's the good news. You don't have to start from scratch. You don't need to burn it all down and rebuild.

Chapter 2: What does reinvention mean in the context of personal growth?

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For years, I told myself I was only valuable as long as I was at the news desk. My whole identity was built on being Tamsen the anchor, the journalist, the news anchor. And when I walked away, I didn't feel like I lost a job title. I felt like I lost me. Maybe you have your own version of the story.

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Maybe it's I'm the caretaker, or I'm the person who has it all together, or I'm the attorney, or I'm not the type of person who's going to take a risk. The problem is when we let those stories play on repeat, they can become a cage, and we kind of shrink ourselves to fit into them perfectly. And the longer we stay there, the harder it feels to imagine a different ending.

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Here's what I want you to try. I want you to take five minutes at any point this week. I don't care if it's when you get up, when you go to sleep, in the middle of the day. And write down three old stories that you're still carrying, the ones that feel like a weight. Maybe it's something a parent said. Maybe it's a label you picked up in school.

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Maybe it's a role you've been playing for so long you don't even know you're playing the role anymore and you don't question it. And I'm not judging you, and this is not so you judge yourself. That's not what it's about. It's about getting those stories out of your head and onto paper.

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Because when you can see them, and I'm a big fan of writing, and when you write them and they're in front of you, you start to realize, wait, this isn't the truth. This is just some stupid script I've been following. Neuroscientists call it cognitive diffusion, creating a space between you and your thoughts. And that space is the first step to rewriting your new story.

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Here's a simple way to try it. The next time that old loop shows up, maybe it's I'm too old or I never stick with anything. Instead of getting dragged into it, I want you to add two words in front of it. I'm having the thought that. So it goes from I'm too old to I'm having the thought that I'm too old. Do you hear that difference there?

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The first one sounds like it's a fact, like that's what it is. The second one reminds you it's just a thought. It creates that sliver of distance between you and the story. And in that sliver, you have a choice. You can decide if it's a story you want to still keep carrying or one that you're ready to put down in a chapter you're ready to put away.

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Once you start to create the space, the next step is to decide. Once you start to create that space for yourself and some openness, the next step is to decide who's the person you're becoming. I had no idea. I call it, though, your next chapter identity. And I want to be clear. You're not going to know it right away. It's not about throwing out everything that came before.

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It's about looking at the parts of you that still fit, because there's probably some awesome ones that still feel true that you love, and bringing those with you, carrying them forward, while letting go of the parts that may not serve you anymore. When I left my career as a news anchor after 30 years, I was terrified. I had no other idea of what I would do in my day.

Chapter 3: How can you identify and let go of outdated labels?

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It didn't feel glamorous. It didn't feel life-changing. It just felt like a commitment. Here's what happened. One video turned into a week. A week turned into a month. And before I knew it, that little promise I kept to myself opened the door to building a community of over 4 million women writing a book and starting this very show. None of it came from a giant leap.

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It came from one small repeated action. And that's really what I want you to see.

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Chapter 4: What techniques can help create distance from self-doubt?

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Maybe your next chapter self is someone who speaks up at work. It doesn't mean delivering a speech tomorrow. It means making a comment in one meeting. Maybe your next chapter self is someone who finally prioritizes their health. Doesn't mean running a marathon. It means going for that 30-minute walk after dinner or before you go to work. Every small action is a little breadcrumb for your brain.

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Because again, it tells your nervous system, this is who I am now. And the more evidence you gather, the less it feels like you're pretending to be somebody you're not, and the more it feels like the truth. I have to be real though. It's one thing to start showing up differently for yourself.

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It's another when you start showing up differently in front of people who think they already know who you are. That fear is real. Because now you're stepping into your next chapter, and not everyone around you is going to like this updated version of yourself. Some are going to keep holding on to the old story. She's the quiet one. He's the dependable one who never takes risks.

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She's the news anchor. That's all she can do, right? When I left TV, I cannot tell you how many times people introduced me as Tamsen from the news. Even after I'd built a company, produced a documentary, written a book, it didn't matter. To them, I was still the person I used to be.

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And to be honest, sometimes it made me question if this new identity was real or if everyone was like secretly waiting for me to fail and crawl back to my job. Here's what I learned. You don't need everyone to believe in your new chapter. You just need to keep practicing it long enough that it becomes undeniable. And that starts with you.

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Here are a few ways to navigate that fear because a lot of people say, how do I reinvent myself? I think there are a lot of answers to that question, but here's where I think it can start to take root. I want you to expect resistance. Doesn't mean you're wrong. It just means that people are adjusting.

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Their brains have filed you under a certain label, they think this is what you do, and it might take time for them to rewrite that file. But that has nothing to do with your decision. Two, anchor to your why. Even if you feel wobbly, even if you're not exactly sure what your why is, you do know somewhere there in your gut, you've gotta listen to it.

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Just because somebody made a comment, I need you to remind yourself, why did I start this? For me, every time somebody says, I miss seeing you on TV, I go back to my DMs that I get from women saying your videos are helping me feel less alone. I know my why. Number three, let the results do the talking. You do not need to convince people with explanations.

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You don't have to have it perfectly figured out. You don't have to argue. You just got to keep showing up. Consistency of those actions speaks louder than anything else ever could. Here's the truth. The fear never fully disappears. I have it every day. I wake up at night in a sweat sometimes. I just do. But courage isn't about waiting until you don't feel afraid.

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