Just Do The Next Right Thing
After yet another not particularly rewarding Saturday during a pandemic, my writing fingers were itching to express myself in some way. I decided I wanted to write a blog but couldn’t settle on the topic. So, I asked one of my good friends to remind me of something that I frequently say, so that I could use that as inspiration. Her response:
“The thing that comes to me immediately is ‘just do the next right thing.’”
She’s right. That is something I say in lots of different situations. With her, it’s often when she’s feeling overwhelmed and can’t see her way out of the situation she’s in. When it seems like she’s made too many mistakes. Or things are too much of a mess to ever get better. Or maybe they even seem absolutely hopeless.
“Just do the next right thing.”
It really is a handy little tool, and one I’m pretty sure I got from Kelly Wilson (as I have many of my best lessons). Is life overwhelming? Can’t see the way out? It can be a little much at those times to contemplate the grand scheme of “what do my values tell me to do right now?” Because in my world, your personal values are what defines what the right thing to do is. Instead, what is the absolute smallest thing you can do right now? What can you do that at least will stop the situation from getting worse?
“Just do the next right thing.”
Sometimes, there’s a concrete thing to do. Be kind to a stranger. Put down the bag of tortilla chips. Apologize. Take out the trash. Or in my case, a lot of the time, keep your mouth shut when you feel like you have a comment that is just dying to be made. Remember that there are some things that once they are done, they cannot be undone. So, unless you’re pretty sure your next move is the “right” thing, you can also try doing nothing for a moment.
“Just do the next right thing.”
And when the whole world seems like a giant mess, and it’s hard to imagine how we will come out on the other side with more peace, and more kindness, and more justice… and it’s hard to see how our own small efforts can change anything… what if everyone made an effort to just do the next right thing? Some of those things will be small. Some will be huge. Some will involve taking a risk, being vulnerable. And, I do believe that they all add up. So, I’m going to press post now on this blog and go figure out what my next right thing is. Join me?
