As you progress down your chosen path you may find yourself stalled, not making the progress you had hoped for.  Or perhaps you decide you are going in the wrong direction.  Maybe you don’t know what course you should be on.  There are many times you will be pondering what should you do next.

You don’t want to become passive and do nothing.  Paralysis by analysis keeps you from taking action.  Since you don’t feel confident about exactly what you should do, you may not do anything.  Another response is to distract yourself with inconsequential activities.  Unless you remain proactive, you will drift aimlessly.

Not knowing what to do next can be very frustrating.  Doing nothing only exacerbates your stress level.  Doing nothing prolongs the amount of time spent in an impasse.  The longer you remain in limbo, the deeper your frustration becomes.  Without corrective action, your attitude will sour, making things seem worse.

You might be in a position where you need to take a break to collect your thoughts or do some reassessment.  This is much different than passively waiting for circumstances to change.

When you are stuck, here are three steps that can help get you moving: think, plan, and act.  Thinking enables you to understand why you are in your current situation.  This awareness is essential in order to avoid repeating any behavior that got you stuck.

What action or inaction brought you here?  You must know what happened.  If you don’t have any idea what transpired, you are not paying attention.  Be honest in your assessment.  Don’t make excuses.  Your objective is to learn, not to defend yourself.

Where do you want to go next? What is your goal?  Has your goal changed?  Obviously, if you don’t know where you want to go, it’s impossible to know what you should do.  Not having a destination is typically the underlying reason for doing nothing.

When your goal changes or you lose interest in your current goal, you will find yourself wondering what to do next.  Again, you need a direction before proceeding.  Projecting into the future may be overwhelming.  If this is the case, pick a short term goal.  It’s less vexing and it will be just as effective in getting you moving.

Once you figure out what happened to get you where you are and you recognize where you want to go next, you are ready to put together a plan.  Your plan will be step by step directions to get you to your destination.  Make your steps as small as possible so they are easily accomplished.  A plan doesn’t even have to have all the steps, only the first ones.

What should you do next?  Act on the first step from your plan.  It’s that simple.  Action is the key to moving forward.  Until you act, nothing happens.

When you wonder what you should do next, remember you are the one who has to come up with the answer.  Use caution when asking others for guidance.  Everyone has an opinion and will offer it when asked.  Unless someone is where you want to be, their advice may not be helpful. 

Not knowing what to do next is a normal experience.  Even the most driven, focused, and motivated individuals have to deal with this.  There is no need for alarm.  It’s simply an opportunity to look at your map or ask directions and then get back to your journey.

NOW AVAILABLE:  "Dare to Live Without Limits," the book.  Visit www.BryanGolden.com or your bookstore. Bryan is a management consultant, motivational speaker, author, and adjunct professor. E-mail Bryan at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or write him c/o this paper.  2008 Bryan Golden

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