I'm Emily P. Freeman and welcome to the next right thing.

You're listening to episode 278.

This is a podcast about making decisions but also about making a life.

If you struggle with decision fatigue with chronic hesitation or if you just need a few minutes

away from the constant stream of information and the sometimes delightful but distracting

hum of entertainment, you're in the right place for discerning your next right thing.

A quick note to invite you to stay tuned at the end of the episode for an invitation

for me to you.

I want to hear your voice on the podcast, so stay tuned for that.

But now onto today's episode where I have a few ideas for you.

If you find yourself at a crossroads in your life and you're asking the super common

and also slightly terrifying question.

Now, listen in.

In her book What Now and Patchet writes this, what now is not just a panic stricken question

tossed out into a dark unknown.

What now can also be our joy.

It's a declaration of possibility, of promise, of chance.

It acknowledges that our future is open, that we may well do more than anyone expected

of us, that at every point in our development, we are still striving to grow.

I first found a copy of that little book at the library in the spring of 2013.

We were living in a major What Now moment as John was leaving his job and we were stepping

into a season that we didn't really know and couldn't define.

...