Where Do I Go from Here?: LifeMapping Your Way from Personal Chaos to Purposeful Calm

by John Trent

Do you feel stuck? Unsure of how to get your life on track? You are not alone!With all the current social challenges facing individuals today, it isn’t unusual to feel stuck. We long to move toward health, freedom, and life, but we are unsure how to get there. This new edition of Dr. Trent’s popular book LifeMapping sees him joined by his daughter, Kari Trent Stageberg. Together they provide an effective method to help everyday people learn to navigate the many detours and distractions impacting their careers, families, and ministries so that they can build a more positive life plan for the future.LifeMapping® is a powerful tool developed by Dr. John Trent that teaches people a creative device called “storyboarding.” It helps us gather key pictures and events of our own life stories. Utilizing the biblical truth that Jesus can and does change our pictures and bring us new capacities, it helps us lay out a map toward an even more positive future. Specifically, you’ll learn how tocreate a clear path to close relationships;turn many pieces into masterpieces;recognize your strengths, successes, and acceptance levels as well as your emotional freeze points and your individual flash points;live authentically instead of constantly worrying about your image;storyboard your positive life plan;practice learned hopefulness; and much more!

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction

246 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 17, 2023

About the author

Dr. John Trent is an award winning author of marriage and family books such as The Blessing.[1] He is the creator of the Lion, Otter, Golden Retriever, and Beaver (LOGB) way of looking at personalities. He is the President of StrongFamilies.com and the Center for StrongFamilies both are organizations committed to strengthening marriage and family relationships worldwide.[2] He and his wife Cindy have been married for 30 years and have two daughters Kari and Laura.

Reviews

[Kate Laycoax · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this book would be great for helping me better myself as I'm always looking to read books that help me improve myself. But really, this is a promotional book for some type of thing called Lifemapping. It's basically some pseudoscience, mumbo jumbo "finding yourself and your purpose" book that doesn't actually have real substance and just was not good at all. If it were as easy as tricking your brain into believing something, we all would be just fine and not need any help at all. There are PLENTY of other self help/self discovery books out there that are so much better and that are actual helpful for someone. I really wouldn't recommend wasting your time with this book.

[Courtney Fraser · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked how you explained change from a Christian perspective and gave visuals of the life mapping. Lie mapping is a new concept for me.

[Corrica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was given an advance copy of this book in exchange for a review. Thank you to the publisher and authors.

This book is naive and toxicly optimistic. Lacking theological depth, this plan only works for those who are so unaware of the realities of life due to extreme wealth or privilege that they can do whatever they want. There are some practical steps or practices people could take to plan their life, but I felt most examples were childlike and surface-level.

[Kathryn]

As Dr. Trent provides in his book "Where Do I Go From Here?" so many of us are at a crossroads in our life. A life realignment, a life readjustment, potentially what might be considered a midlife crisis. With the advent of all the "should do's" in life, we have lost some of our own road map to what is meant to be our life path, our life adventure.

Dr. Trent's book provides a way to step into the very questions so many of us face in a soft manner that allows for ease of creation as well as the ability to embrace what has been in the past as part of that future, even when it doesn't feel as if it still belongs.

Life review and then looking forward using Dr. Trent's technique allows for looking at eight different functions within your life to determine how best to proceed with your future. Four chapters focus on what you have done up to the point of creating your life map; four chapters focus on where you want to go on your future path. Each chapter goes into details about exactly how to do that particular section, including examples and narratives that explain in more detail.

I think my favorite chapter was the Emotional Freeze Points as that is something that effects every moment of my present and future. I also like the idea you can be simple using note paper or index cards so that everyone has the ability to choose to do the exercises as well as having the Digging Deeper questions at the end of every chapter.

This is a Christian themed book, and I believe that anyone who picks up could read it, and benefit from this simple technique to help shape their future, regardless of religious preference. The concept itself is a beautiful way to do something in a forward motion.

Thank you Dr. Trent and Tyndale House Publishers for allowing me to read the ARC in exchange for a honest review.
#WhereDoIGofromHere #NetGalley

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was very excited when the publisher approved me to read an advanced copy of this book as the subject interests me a lot. Always on the lookout for new things to learn, new ideas, and ways to improve myself and my life, I was sure this book would be one that would really click with me, especially since I'm currently at a crossroads of sorts. Unfortunately, such was not the case, and I don't know how to explain why it didn't. I'm sorry about that, fellow readers, I truly am.

As any reader will admit, sometimes we read a book, no matter how good a match it appears to be for us, at the wrong time. This may have been the case here. I found myself frustrated while reading the book, waiting for the author to stop talking about his wonderful idea and just get to it! By the time he did, my interest was gone.

Please don't let me dissuade you from reading the book if it interests you. Look at other reviews and follow your heart.

My thanks to Focus on the Family and NetGalley for allowing me access to a DRC of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own and are freely given.

[Janet Zuercher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely not a quick read, it takes some time and thought to work through this book, as it is the intent. A good, thought-provoking read, and inspirational as well. Thank you #NetGalley #Tyndalehousepublishers #JohnTrentphd #karitrentstageberg for the opportunity to read this ARC and learn all about #LifeMapping and how it can help me.

[Jessica Fouts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Feeling stuck? This book by a renowned expert on self growth takes the concept of storyboarding and applies it to real life. The author's "lifemapping" is a way to live a purposeful life that helps to put our past in perspective, helps to confront our weakness, and helps build on our strengths. Acknowledgment about where we've been, where we are and where we're going drives a hopeful perspective on life. The author incorporates God into all of these steps and does so without being preachy but in a way that is acurate to scripture and for this Christian comforting. A wonderful Christian faith living book! Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for a free e copy for an honest review.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. It gave me a lot to think about as far as my life plan and the benefits and drawbacks I face when making decisions about my life. While I thought through mapping my life plan as I read, I look forward to rereading as I write down and fully develop my lifemap. I love that the book ends with the authors praying over the reader. It gave the book an even more personal touch and made the reader feel confident in what the mapped life might look like. I received a free advanced copy of this book from NetGalley.

[LaShanda Chamberlain · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a breath of fresh air—deeply inspirational, thought-provoking, and filled with encouragement. I really appreciated how the author blended practical wisdom with timeless biblical truths in a way that felt authentic and full of grace.

What stood out to me most was how each step was firmly rooted in Scripture. God’s presence is woven throughout the book—not in a preachy way, but in a manner that felt spiritually rich and deeply comforting. It truly spoke to my heart, reminding me of God’s faithfulness and encouraging me to walk more boldly and joyfully in my faith.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this wonderful book.