Steps to Rebuild After a Collapse (Explaining the Venn Diagram)

This diagram is a field map. It’s not meant to be inspirational wallpaper. It’s meant to show how rebuilding actually works when life has caved in: you don’t “fix everything” in a straight line. You cycle between three jobs—Stabilize, Clarify, and Rebuild—and the overlaps are where most of the real progress happens.

How to read it

Each circle is a job you have to do after collapse.
The overlaps are where jobs collide and reinforce each other.
The center is the engine: small daily forward motion built from all three.

The three circles

1) Stabilize (Body, Basics)

This is the “keep the lights on” layer. Stabilize means getting your body and your basic life supports back into something workable.

Sleep, food, hydration, meds (if applicable)
Showers, laundry, clean clothes
Money triage: what must be paid, what can wait
Small routines that reduce chaos

Translation: You can’t build a new life on a fried nervous system.

2) Clarify (Truth, Closure)

This is the “stop the mental bleed” layer. Clarify means naming what happened accurately—without bargaining, rewriting, chasing rumors, or outsourcing your anxiety to other people.

What actually happened (not the fantasy version)
What is under your control vs. what isn’t
What needs closure paperwork-wise (accounts, contracts, assets)
What story you’re telling yourself that keeps you stuck

Translation: Clarity is a form of relief. It turns fog into a map.

3) Rebuild (Skills, Identity)

This is the “new structure” layer. Rebuild means reassembling daily life and identity in a way that fits who you are now—not who you were before the collapse.

Work and income: job hunt, resume, applications
Skills refresh: training, certifications, reps
Identity shift: owner → worker, provider → applicant, etc.
New systems: calendars, habits, boundaries, workflows

Translation: Rebuild isn’t “back to normal.” It’s “forward to workable.”

The overlaps (where the real work lives)

Stabilize + Clarify = Boundaries & Triage

This overlap is where you stop bleeding energy.

What drains me fast?
What triggers loops (rumination, checking, chasing answers)?
What must be handled today, and what can wait?

Key move: reduce exposure to chaos while you regain footing.

Clarify + Rebuild = Direction & Discipline

This overlap is where clarity turns into motion.

What’s the next right step?
What does “good enough” look like today?
What do I stop doing because it keeps me stuck?

Key move: your plan doesn’t need to be perfect—it needs to be executable.

Stabilize + Rebuild = Capacity & Support

This overlap is about honest limits.

What can I actually handle right now?
What does my energy budget look like today?
Where do I need help, tools, or a simpler approach?

Key move: you don’t rebuild by willpower alone—you rebuild by matching the plan to your capacity.

The center: Forward Motion (Small Steps Daily)

The center is the whole point: small daily forward motion.

When you stabilize, you can move.
When you clarify, you stop wasting moves.
When you rebuild, your moves start stacking.

This is what “rebuilding” looks like in real life: not one heroic leap—just daily steps that keep you from sliding backward.

How to use this diagram (a simple daily checklist)

Stabilize: What’s one basic body/basics task I will do today?
Clarify: What’s one truth/closure task I will handle today?
Rebuild: What’s one skill/work/identity step I will take today?

If you can answer those three questions, you’re not stuck—you’re rebuilding.

Close

One line I’m keeping:
Small steps, daily, beats collapse’s gravity.

One boundary I am setting:
I will not demand “complete clarity” before I take the next step.

One step for tomorrow:
Pick one action from each circle and do the smallest version of it.

Godspeed.