The Next Step
The Next Step
You don't have to plan out your whole life in order to simply take the next step.
“You don’t have to plan out your whole life in order to simply take the next step,” I say to the junior in high school, almost in tears after her careers class made her feel pressured to know exactly where she wanted to be in ten years.
“You don’t have to plan out your whole life in order to simply take the next step,” I remind my college friend as he debates whether he should run for a leadership position which would require a gap year from college.
“You don’t have to plan out your whole life in order to simply take the next step,” I say to my own exasperated face in the small mirror on my desk, after I’ve spent my entire morning running circles in my head about which job offer to accept.
I’ve said these words many, many times. To large groups, to small groups, to individuals. To students, teachers, parents, and peers. Over and over, I see so many of us afraid to take the next step in our lives, overthinking every decision, and selling ourselves short as a result. I’ve even said these words to myself. Yet, you know who is the worst at taking them to heart? It’s me. I'm the worst. And that’s why I’m going to start writing about it: taking the next step with humble confidence.
Now, I suppose you’re thinking to yourself “why would being bad at something qualify you to write about it?” It’s a fair point, but here’s what I’ve noticed: sometimes, when folks become experts, it can be hard to help others learn because it’s easy to forget how you learned what you learned, especially if it’s been a long time since you learned it. I’m not discounting the experts. Lord knows we need them. Life is best lived with both expert mentors, who are years ahead of us, and peer mentors, who are right beside us. My goal in the coming weeks is to offer you lessons learned in real time.
I’m not here to tell you what to do—I don’t know how to do that, and you wouldn’t want me to. My hope is, instead, to ask the right questions so that you can decide what you need to do and have confidence that the next step is the right step for you.
If you’re like me and are often overwhelmed by the many decisions, big or small, we face in our day-to-day lives, I’m inviting you to join me in the pursuit of peace, confidence, and purpose in our decision-making. We’ll talk about decisions anywhere from choosing a college to choosing your friends, filling your free time to filling your heart.
Thank you for joining me as I embraced complexity, but now, I'm taking the next step. If you know someone else who's struggling with stagnation, I hope you share this with them to join us on this new season of real-time exploration. I’m looking forward to learning together.
Where do you most often get tripped up when making decisions? Let me know in the comments below or connect with me (@miriamrosah) on Twitter or Instagram.