Navigating Uncertainties in Life? Here’s How to Get Unstuck and Move Forward with Making Decisions

When we're navigating uncertainties in life, why do we expect ourselves to always know what to do?

In this episode, I’m sharing honest reflections on how to make decisions, especially when the stakes feel high and clarity feels far away. 

If you’re navigating uncertainties in life and are afraid of making the wrong move, if you’re overthinking every step, or if you’ve ever wondered whether you’ll miss what God is trying to say… this one’s for you.

We’ll talk about:

• Why practice matters when making decisions
• What to do when God gives you just enough light for the next step
• How to look for arrows, not just answers

When you're navigating uncertainties in life, whether you're finding your calling, trying to get unstuck, or just making big decisions, you don’t need to know everything to move forward. Just the next right thing.

I’d love to hear from you. If you're new here, this is personal growth for introverts and anyone who needs to move from dreamer to doer.

Email me at thedrivenintrovert@shepact.com.

Let’s grow together.

Thanks for being here! If you'd like to support the show, please visit buymeacoffee.com/remiroy to give a one-time or monthly gift. 

And if you can’t give financially right now? A rating, a review, or simply sharing the show with a friend goes such a long way.

Thank you for being here. I see you. I appreciate you.

Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hi friend, welcome back to the Driven Introvert Podcast. If you're new, this is another episode in the decision-making series, and we're walking through the book The Next Right Thing by Emily Freeman. We're currently in chapter 5 of this book, and it's titled Look for Arrows. And I want to start with a quote in this chapter. Emily starts with a quote, and I want to read this quote because I think it's very crucial. Quote, Sometimes the circumstances at hand force us to be braver than we actually are. And so we knock on doors and ask for assistance. Sometimes not having any idea where we're going works out better than we could have possibly imagined. And this is a quote by Anne Pichette from the book What Now. Today we're talking about making decisions and how to process our emotions, our feelings, and our understanding of how to choose, especially when it's hard, especially when there's a lot at stake, especially when we need to make the right call. We need to make the right decision. All right, let's get into it. You're listening to the Driven Introvert Podcast, the place to be for dreamers, doers, and entrepreneurs who are ready to birth the dreams, callings, and ideas the Lord has placed in their hearts. Do you sense that God is calling you to step out and do something new, but you're held back by fear and uncertainty? Do you struggle with believing that you can do great things because of your quiet, reserved, and introverted nature? Welcome here. I'm Remy Roy, your host and founder of ShePact.com. I'm an author, an entrepreneur, a creative, and a committed tryer. I'm here to help you get on stock and make progress on your God idea. Let's go. Emily starts this chapter by talking about the importance of practice. And this is something I've talked about on this podcast before. If you go to the very, I think, second episode in uh on the podcast where I spoke with Coach Anna McCoy, we talked about the importance of practice. When you want to get good at something, how do you do that? You practice. You try it, you fail, you figure out what works and what doesn't, and then you do it again. That's the same principle. No matter your industry, no matter your age, no matter what you're trying to do, you get better by practice. So I love that Emily asked this question in the book. Why then do we think that when it comes to making decisions, we should just know what to do? Like out of the blue. You're just supposed to know the right thing to do. Just like everything else, you make better decisions by making decisions, not by thinking about making decisions. That's where the practice comes in. You don't make decisions only by thinking about them. You don't make decisions by skirting around the issue and never deciding. You make better decisions by making them. Over time, you get better at understanding the circumstances around a decision. You learn how to think about it, how to reframe it, how to weigh options, and then how to choose a direction. The more you do it, the better you get. She also mentions that God gives us a faint vision of things before he gives us the fuller picture. If he ever gives us the fuller picture anyway. The idea of practicing being open to trying things is very important. I talk about this all the time on this podcast. If you listen, you know I'm a try. I say that often. It's a crucial principle for my life. The ideas God gives, the things that come to you, they they don't come fully processed, right? They rarely arrive fully formed. It's a vision, it's a vague idea, something not fully shaped, it's a bit ephemeral. You don't quite understand it yet. And that's where the discipline is. Even when you don't understand, step out and begin to feel it out. Try to make sense of it. Do that with hope, not with fear, not with overwhelm or chaos. Take steps, move forward. If you're a chronic hesitator, overthinking every single thing and not being able to take a step because you're afraid of making the wrong move. The only way to get better is by making decisions. Emily talks about something really crucial when you are in uncertainty and you have to decide. That feeling of not knowing, not understanding, it can induce panic or fear and a lack of settled, like you just feel unsettled. That's only one side of the coin, however. There's another way to look at it. There's another way to look at when you find yourself in a place where you don't quite have all the answers, and that is to look with the eyes of hope and possibility. I believe there's an excitement that can come if we let ourselves go there. There's an excitement that can come from doing something new, something that is untested, you know, treading uncharted waters, so to speak. There is an excitement there, and there's a tiny bit of hope, if you allow it, that can begin to emerge. She quotes from the book again, What Now? She says, What now? You know, that question of what now? What do I do now? It's not just a panic-stricken question tossed out into the dark unknown. What now can also be our joy. It's a declaration of possibility, of promise, of chance, so to speak. It acknowledges that our future is open and that we may well do more than anyone expected of us, that at every point in our development we are still striving to grow. End quote. I love this. I love this so much. When I look at my own situation right now, I'm taking a huge step with Pod Ground, which is the company I'm starting. For me, it's a declaration of possibility. I don't quite know where it's going. I don't always know how. Sometimes I don't even know exactly what I'm doing, to be honest with you. But I love that it is pregnant with hope and possibility. The future is open and anything is possible. I tell you, there is excitement there. That's why it's important to be open to what the future may bring. If you only go by what you already know, what you've already done, your possibilities are limited. But when you open yourself to what's possible, you open yourself to anything God may bring your way. It is mind-blowing what can happen. This chapter, like I said, is called Look for Arrows. And I think this is an important part of this whole thought around just being open to possibility. Emily shares a family story in this chapter. Her husband, who used to be a youth pastor, he reached a point where he knew it was time to move on. But he didn't know what was next. Like move on to what. Why? Because God knows us better than we know ourselves. We think I just need a new job. But he may be showing you something even deeper than that. But over time they figured it out. There was no single lightning bolt, kind of answer, but God dropped little hints, and she calls them arrows, and opened the door here, a step there, and things began to come together. What this tells me is be less fixated on the one decision and be more open to what might be possible. Like being open to what God might be trying to tell you. The next step may not be what you expect, but it can lead somewhere unexpected and amazing. So if you're in a place where you need to decide and you're fixated on that one thing, maybe it's time to loosen your grip a little bit. I'm not saying be indecisive or throw caution to the win, but prayerfully consider that this moment may be more than about the decision you're trying to make. Maybe God is showing you arrows, is pointing in different directions. It may not be where you thought you'd go, but make space for that and see what is possible. When I got the idea for Port Ground, I was actually focused on something else in the podcast space still, but it was something totally different. I asked my sister to pray with me because I needed to decide whether whether to I needed to decide whether to move forward on that particular project, and I did move on it. I laid a lot of groundwork, I talked about it publicly, I did all the things, but God was leading me in a different direction. So you might ask, why didn't he just tell you not to do that first thing? One thing I've realized is every step matters and none of it is wasted. God knows exactly what he's doing. There are nuggets and seeds planted that will bring up something else in the future. So be diligent with the ideas he gives and the crossroads he allows. Because as you begin to dig deep and figure out what to do, he's planting something in your heart. Trust me, follow through. So in this episode, we're talking about the unexpected things that can happen when you open yourself to possibilities while you consider a heavy decision. Sometimes it's not about the decision itself, it's about what's possible in the moment of transition. Anything, anything is possible. And that's the joy and amazement of being right there. So there are two big things Emily says here. I quote, if you have a big decision hanging out in your soul, maybe one that has to do with faith, vocation, or relationships, perhaps your next right thing is to take a break from your front and center search for answers and look around for the arrows instead. Listen to your personal desire, laugh, take a walk, make some plans, and hold them loosely. That's important. Take notes along the way. And when you start to worry, because the temptation will come, don't do it behind a closed door. Let someone in to sit with you without pushing them away. End quote. I think it's important really to slow down. That idea of slowing down when you have to make a big decision, it's very crucial. Make space even for questions that don't have answers yet. A lot of times we just want the answers. We just want the answers right now. I need to know what to do right now. But a lot is possible if we just let ourselves breathe. So I want to encourage you. Whatever is on your heart that you're frantically trying to solve, hold it loosely. I like the idea of making plans but holding them loosely. And I think that's where practice comes in. If you are constantly just waiting and never make any plans, you're not practicing making decisions. Make a plan. Make a plan, begin to move on that plan, but hold it loosely in case there might be something totally different that God wants to sort of bring your way. But don't be frantic. Trust God to lead you through the process and to open your eyes to what you need to see, things you may be missing that could change everything. All right, Emily ends her chapters with a practice. And this chapter, the practice is called Move On With Your Day as Normal, she says, and I quote, in his book Hearing God, Dallas Willard shares that when he asks something of God for direction or clarity in some way, he states it simply in prayer and then devotes the next hour or so to housework, gardening, driving about on errands or paying bills, things that keep his hands busy but his mind open. Today's practice is to share with your friend Jesus directly the question you've been carrying and then move on with your day as normal. It could help to remember these words also from Dallas Willard. I've learned not to worry about whether or not this is going to work. I know it does not have to work, but I am sure that it will work if God has something he really wants me to know or do. This is ultimately because I am sure of how great and good he is. Isn't that beautiful? Like it doesn't have to work exactly the way you think it should, but it will be great because God's in the details. I love that. So she ends the practice with this, I quote, as you simply do the next right thing in front of you, wash the dishes, write the email, read the chapter, have the conversation, pay attention not only to what's happening on the outside, but to what is moving on the inside. Look for arrows, not just answers. If God has something to tell you and you continue to place yourself before him, he won't let you miss it. End quote. And that's the fear we sometimes have. Am I gonna miss God? Am I gonna miss my calling? Am I gonna miss my destiny? There's a big scary question sometimes. But trust God. He'll make sure you get it as long as you're moving in his direction. And that's my encouragement for you today. If you're in a season of decision making, I pray that you feel the peace to pause, the courage to trust God, and the boldness to look for arrows, not just answers. Alright. Thank you so much for listening. If there's something on your heart that you're trying to figure out, I would love to talk with you or pray with you about it. Send me an email at thedrivenintrovert at shepact.com. Alright, thanks so much for listening to this one, and I'll see you in the next one. Bye. Thank you so much for listening. If you enjoy this conversation, please take a moment to follow or subscribe to the podcast. I'd also love your feedback on this episode. You can scroll down on your app and click write a review. I'd love to read your takeaways from this conversation. As always, don't forget to take courage, trust God, and go pursue your big ideas. See you next time. The Dream Introvert is produced by ShePack.com and Remy Roy. Want to ask a question or share a comment on a future episode? 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