When we think back to how school was designed for most of us, the goal in each class was to strive for the right answer. Math, science, language, and history classes all designed to arrive at the right answer.

Yet as many of us look at our own worlds today, the situations we face where there’s one right answer are few and far between. How to raise kids, how to take care of an elderly family member, where we want our career to go, what we want to focus on for our health and wellness, and any other priorities we have are not questions we have a “right” answer to. Because there’s no “right” answer sometimes we procrastinate or overthink how to take a step forward. We feel a sense of paralysis because there’s truly no one right answer.

In our growth journey, feeling 100% confident we’re on the right path is rare. We may trick ourselves into believing we’re 100% certain but reality is there’s typically another variation of the path ahead we’re considering. Our journey doesn’t have just one correct answer which challenges us to move forward even though we won’t have 100% certainty.

In our growth journey there are going to be many correct answers. We may think that since we took a job that didn’t work out it may have been a “wrong” answer but really it may have been a needed step in the process to finding the job you love. A relationship that didn’t amount to what you expected may not have been the wrong step but just a step you needed to take to find out more about the relationship you’re looking for. An injury working out isn’t necessarily a sign you are taking the wrong path but instead may be feedback for getting on an even better health and wellness path.

The idea of us making the right or wrong decision is too limited of a perspective. We must quit being so worried about the decision being perfect and all the stars aligning. Sometimes we just need to worry about making a decision that directionally has the profile of helping us grow.

We don’t have to have everything figured out. Directionally we should have a good idea of where we’re going but all the details don’t have to be clear. If we wait for all the details to be clear, we’ll keep waiting. We just need to keep moving forward one step at a time and if we directionally start to feel slightly off, we pivot. We adapt. We make tweaks. But we keep moving forward even when our path isn’t completely clear.

Let’s face it, our growth journey is difficult and at times it’s hard to know what to do next. Know that the light on our authentic path is often dim or dark but as we work to take one step forward, we continue to turn on lights along the way. The path still isn’t exactly clear but as we move directionally where we need to go and make the tweaks we need to make, progress can become abundant. We grow. We learn. We adapt. And most importantly, we keep finding ways to progress on our authentic path.

Many of us struggle with not having clarity on all the details of our next step. We must be resilient through this hesitation to keep taking our steps forward. If you find yourself hesitant with your next step because you don’t have all the details, consider reflecting on some of the questions below.

*Does this decision align with where I authentically want to invest my time and energy?

*Am I open to exploring this knowing I will most likely need to pivot along the way?

*Is this decision aligned with my core values?

*Is this decision aligned with what I am prioritizing in life currently?

Take your step: take a few minutes and reflect on an area of your life where you feel stuck because you don’t have the clarity you feel you need to move forward. First, give yourself grace and understand in your journey you’re typically not going to have that complete clarity. Second, use the four questions above (and others that connect with you) to start debating which small step you want to take forward. Each step you take will shine a little more clarity on your journey, but it takes the courage to start your step without complete clarity.