what to do when you don't know what to do

 Figuring out what to do with our one wild and precious lives; that seems to be a universal eternal quest.What a beautiful gift we have, the questions. But sometimes the questions seem so dense and impenetrable that they seem to turn us away from the very things that bring the wildness and preciousness to our life in the first place. We get stuck in a loop asking 'what next?' We think we are far removed from our own answers. We become disillusioned, and when the going gets really tough we get tired of asking the question, and so we stop. Yet the questions are our lifeblood, and the questions raise the quest.So instead of letting the questions push you aside, can we learn to invite them to come along for the ride, step by little step. If you you are struggling to know what to do next- with your life, in your job, in your relationships, remember that there is always the invitation to do the simple things; and as you are doing the simple things, you can ask for some clarity; for that next elegant step that would be good for you to take.The ‘Simple Things’ list is beautifully individual and remarkably universal:Journal. Go for a walk. Spend time with an animal. Walk along the beach in bare feet. Star-gaze. Have a bath. Sit in silence on your mat. Exercise. Mend a bike. Bake a cake. Garden. Paint. Sing. Dance. Scribble. Sit some more. Write a letter to someone you admire. Help a stranger. Share your lunch. Share your knowledge. Share your joy.The challenge is this: the simple things are often labelled as ‘procrastination. They can be seen as keeping you away from the thing that think you need/ should to be doing. Do enough of them and some may even deem you as wayward, lazy, unfocused, unsettled, misguided. But what if we flipped all of that? What if deep in the heart of the simple thing there was a clue or a signpost which has the capacity to carry you onwards, into your own deep clarity of knowing what to do next. The simple thing then becomes a map.There is one secret ingredient though which you’ll need to apply, consistently. It's the raising agent otherwise known as intention.Our intention is what refines our action. Without intention our actions can indeed fall in towards procrastination, but by focusing our intention we start to be able to use the action of it, the doing of it, as a way into the deeper knowing of what to do next. The answers are within us and our intention takes us there.That may sound abstract but I suspect we have all experienced this. Head in a muddle- go for a walk and later the idea pops in the shower. Frustrated and annoyed? Dance that dance and the anxiety dissipates too. In the space of the doing we make room for the next step to reveal itself.So here’s the little practice:Next time you are feeling stuck, take your question on a walk or to the bath or to the trees. Kneed it into the dough or onto a canvas. Dance it out. Scribble it out. Plant it deep in the veggie patch and watch it evolve.And the added bonus is this: Piece together enough simple things- the walks, the wanders, the star-gazing, the frenzied nights at an easel, the shared meals, the shared gestures, the secret letterbox goody drops, the silent moments on a mat- and it makes for a pretty wild and precious life- filled with moments of intention and questions and evolutions- intentionally.…If you want to take this #toolsforthriving practice to your journal, here are a few steps.Step One.Make a list of the questions you are carrying with you. Keep going. You likely have many.Step TwoIn a different coloured pen circle the questions which are really niggling. The ones that are waking you at night or the ones that are particularly entrenched.Step ThreeMake a list of your go-to simple things. (they are likely free or inexpensive, easily accessible and things that bring you joy)Step FourDo that thing! As you are doing it, bring just one of the questions you have circled with you. There is a discipline to this to keep our intention, and attention, focused on that question. If you find your thoughts going astray, bring them back to the question. As you are doing the ‘thing’, you can internally ask for clarity or insight. And for your next step.Step FiveJot down any next steps that come to you. It may not be the obvious thing. You may think of a person you have not been in touch with for a while- maybe that person has a clue for you too. Or you may think of resource which will available to you which you have not thought about for a whileStep SixTake action quickly on the thing that popped. Write that email that day. Phone that person as soon as you can (this is the key difference and way to utilise the thing- otherwise the circle of questions will spin and spin.Step SevenRepeat for another question. This is a practice as much as a process.#toolsforthriving

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