I hear this all the time.
“I don’t know what to do next.”
In coaching conversations.
In business groups.
Even from my own mouth, if I’m paying attention.
And on the surface, it sounds true.
Like you’re stuck.
Like you’re missing something.
Like you just need more clarity before you move forward.
But lately, I’ve been seeing it differently.
At the beginning of this year, I joined a business accountability group.
There are about 15 of us, all working toward our own goals, supported by the same mentor.
Each month, we:
- set a goal
- break into smaller groups
- check in regularly
- and commit to taking action
There’s no complicated strategy.
You just do what you say you’re going to do.
Sounds simple, right?
But here’s what’s interesting.
Four months in…
and some of us are still saying the same thing:
“I don’t know what to do next.”
“I don’t know my priorities.”
“I don’t know which task to choose.”
These aren’t beginners.
These are established, capable women in business.
And depending on the day… that sentence still slips out of my mouth too.
During one of our calls this week, someone said it again:
“I don’t know what to do next.”
And I felt myself cringe a little.
(Not my most compassionate moment… but honest.)
Because my coaching brain immediately thought:
That’s not true.
It’s not that you don’t know.
It’s that you don’t want to decide.
Because deciding means:
- you might choose the wrong thing
- you might waste time
- you might fail
And failure feels uncomfortable.
So your brain does what it’s designed to do.
It keeps you safe.
It offers you a way out:
“I don’t know.”
And the moment you say that…
you’re off the hook.
No decision.
No risk.
No discomfort.
But also…
No movement.
What I found interesting in that same conversation was what happened next.
Another woman in the group stepped in right away and said:
“Okay… so how could you choose just one of those five options to start with?”
Not the perfect one.
Just one.
That’s it.
That’s the shift.
It’s not about knowing the right next step.
It’s about being willing to choose a next step.
Because every time you try something:
- you learn something
- you get clearer
- you build trust with yourself
Even when it doesn’t work the way you hoped.
And if I’m being honest…
Feeling uncomfortable because you tried something and it didn’t work
feels a whole lot better than feeling stuck because you never chose anything at all.
So the next time you catch yourself saying:
“I don’t know what to do next…”
Pause for a second.
And ask yourself:
“What would I do… if I had to choose?”
Not forever.
Just for now.
You probably know more than you think.
You’re just being asked to decide.
