Do The Next Right Thing

A little phrase a potential client shared a few months ago has stuck with me: Do the Next Right Thing. 

That was her constant mantra, she said, after she quit a high-paying, secure job and started her own business, which became incredibly successful.

I like it because there’s an action in there, Do, and a direction, Next. When you’re facing a mountain of uncertainty and a task that can seem overwhelming at times, staying focused on “doing the next thing” is helpful and comforting. It allows you to stay honed in on that next step instead of thinking about the much larger and perhaps scarier task, such as creating a new business from scratch.

Running Toward Empty

It reminds me of a powerful story another entrepreneur shared with me many years ago. He runs ultramarathons – any distance longer than a marathon – and I was so curious why, with no running background, he decided to do them. 

He explained that his mind is always going, going, going, thinking, thinking, thinking. He can’t relax on vacation or at home because he can’t “turn his brain off”. But during an ultramarathon, when his body and mind are pushed to their absolute limit, the only thing he can think about is his next step. There’s no room for any other thought in his mind. 

“It’s my escape,’’ he told me of running the grueling races. 

That fascinated me and made a lot of sense, too.

Avoiding the What Ifs

I used to “what if” myself to anxiety and insanity: What if I don’t get this job? What if I never meet someone? What if I can’t get pregnant? What if, what if, what if. It can drive you crazy and paralyze you.

Fortunately, with wisdom, maturity and practice, I’ve cut down significantly on the what ifs in my life and started to focus on the what is. The Do the Next Right Thing focuses on what is. 

Certainly, some could quibble with the use of the word “right” as it can be subjective and hard to determine. But as any successful entrepreneur will tell you, failure or doing the wrong thing, will put you on the track to doing the right thing. 

Do and Next are the keys 

At a recent breakfast meeting with a friend to seek advice about a business idea, he remarked: Congratulations, you’re overcoming one of the biggest obstacles to getting something done: inertia. 

So as I continue my somewhat frustrating job-seeking journey and work toward my business idea, I keep telling myself: Do the Next Right Thing. I’m thankful to have it to hold onto. 

The image for this blog was AI generated.