Clinical course in multiple sclerosis (MS) is difficult to predict on group and individual levels. We discuss the topographical model of MS as a new approach to characterizing the clinical course, with the potential to personalize disability progression based on each individual patient’s pattern of disease burden (eg, lesion location) and reserve. The dynamic clinical threshold depicted in this visual model may help clinicians to educate patients about clinical phenotype and disease burden, and foster an understanding of the difference between relapses and pseudoexacerbations. There is an emphasis on building reserve against cognitive and physical decline, encouraging agency among patients.