Many of us have picked up the belief that by a certain age, a specific milestone, or after a particular experience, we should have it all figured out: Our purpose, our plan, our relationships, our dream, and our mission.
We sometimes fall for the trap of thinking that if we don’t have it all perfectly mapped out, we must be doing something wrong. As if not knowing the whole path ahead meant we’re falling behind. Letting that belief take root can make us feel that everyone else is sprinting toward something while we’re stuck, second guessing every move.
But in reality, no one knows exactly what they are doing. The only difference between those going forward and those who are stuck is who takes action and who doesn’t.
You don’t have to have it all figured out. You just need to take the next right step.
In today’s world, everyone is obsessed with clarity: Of course, it makes sense. We all crave direction and want to know where we’re headed; what it’s all going to mean. But the need for a “master plan” can become a rigid trap.
If we demand total certainty before we move, we stay stuck, calculating. And if by any chance we figure out a “master plan” that sounds good enough, we risk having it all fall apart just because one small detail didn’t go our intended way.
The first step indeed is the most important; not because it defines the whole journey, but because it gets you moving into that journey.
The next step is always the most important one
You don’t need to know the whole journey: it’s impossible to do so. You don’t need to have five years completely mapped out to the detail, you just need to know the next honest step.
Clarity isn’t a prerequisite for action. It’s the reward of it.
Don’t know your purpose? Remove what clearly is not your purpose.
Don’t know your destination? Focus on staying present on the road.
Don’t know where to start? Start where you are.
It sounds simple because it is. By overplanning and trying to have control of everything, we complicate things that are, in essence, simple. The most important step is the next one, and pressuring ourselves to make the perfect decision will only lead to unnecessary stress. If we take a misstep, the next step is going to be to correct it, and that’s it. Giving ourselves the grace to make mistakes and the discipline to correct them clears the way forward.
When you’re stuck in uncertainty, your brain immediately starts looking for answers, but your body and your character are looking for movement. The best thing you can do when you feel lost is to start building momentum again. Set one small promise and keep it, choose one aligned action, and follow through. Focus on the day you’re in: not in the decade you’re not.
You don’t need certainty to move. You need courage, presence, and you need to believe that who you are today is enough to take the next step. Because if you weren’t ready to take it, it wouldn’t be in front of you.
So take it. Not because you’re ready. Not because you’re sure.
But because you’re committed to becoming the man you know you’re capable of being, even if you’re still figuring out exactly what that looks like.