Taking the next best step
I read something written by a business coach recently, for the benefit of early entrepreneurs:
Everything is solvable. Focus on what is your next best step.
That jumped out to me because I have spent the last couple of years running into obstacles and becoming overwhelmed and frustrated by them. It can seem like the hills to climb never end and you question if you are capable of hitting the finish line.
I’m sure some of you feel that way about your own challenge, or just about life in general.
But what I’ve learned, ever so slowly, is that - low and behold – everything is solvable. Not usually in the moment that we want it to be and with as little effort as we’d like, but eventually there is a solution. And that becomes a scenario that we know how to take care of the next time.
The list of things I know about business and marketing is 10 times longer than it was last year. And as the list grows larger, so does my confidence that I can solve the next thing standing in my way (and they do keep coming!).
The best part is that when you begin to believe that, it is easier to stay in the right head space when things get hard - to keep frustration and overwhelm at a simmer instead of a boil – and to keep going.
This applies to EVERY aspect of our lives. We can’t learn what we’re capable of when we toss in the towel too soon, if we don’t believe in our ability to just figure it out.
Part Two: Focus on your next best step
Not what step will guarantee a perfect outcome. Not what step is without any risk, or the step that the someone else thinks is best. Of the options available to you right now, and based on where you want to go, choose the next best step and TAKE ACTION.
You are the pilot in charge.
If that doesn’t work out, you will assess where you are and choose your next best step again.
The problem is that we don’t trust ourselves to choose the best action in the moment and to have our own back if it doesn’t work and we have to try again.
Progress is messy. Outcomes are uncertain. But one foot in front of the other is the ONLY way from here to where you want to be.
