The Next Right Thing

New Year’s resolutions are hard.

Statistically, most of them end up abandoned a month or so after New Year’s. I myself have never had much luck with them. They put pressure on us for a huge amount of change in a very, very short time, and personally, I’ve never found that life changes that way.

The changes that have come in my own life, big or small, have come slowly.

They’ve come one page, one morning at the gym, one journal entry at a time.

In the last decade, I’ve traveled to eight countries, written ten books, moved into my own home, worked multiple jobs, started this blog, and finally made something of a start on my career. None of that came out of a New Year’s resolution.

It came from moments.

From working when I didn’t feel like it.

From people supporting, loving, and believing in me, even when there wasn’t a great deal to believe in.

From knowing what my dreams were every single day, not just the first day of the year.

And most of all, from prayer, and from knowing that God had something for me right where I was, whether I could see it or not.

I could not have predicted where I am today five years ago, or ten years ago.

I’ve never been a five-year-plan kind of girl. I know what I want, and I know what I’m passionate about. I love books, I love stories, and I’ve spent this decade pursuing that. I didn’t make a resolution to end up here, I never had more of a plan than to publish my books and to make my living as a writer.

But I took the chances that came my way. I treasured my moments and used them. And I focused on doing the next right thing. Whether that meant writing another page. Or attending another conference. Or seeking out the help I needed.

Or simply being able to appreciate where I was while I built to where I wanted to be.

So this year, I don’t have any resolutions, except to do the next right thing. To take the next step.

And to treasure where I am, no matter what the future holds.

Here’s to 2020!

What are some of your hopes for 2020? Do you have a Next Right Thing in mind?