Take the Next Step

Trust the Next Step

Some moments in life make you want to press fast-forward. The in-between stretches, the uncertainty, the waiting—if you could just skip ahead and see how it all works out, you’d breathe a little easier. But the truth is, there is no fast-forward button. There is no skipping ahead. There is only the next step.

I know this because last year, I lived it every single day while my mom was sick in the hospital. It was sudden, acute, and completely consuming. Her inpatient treatment stretched across eight months, moving through hospitals and care facilities, and when she finally came home, the hardest part was still ahead—ten more weeks of recovery under my roof.

If you’ve ever been a caregiver for a parent, you know what I mean when I say it shakes everything. It’s disorienting to go from being someone’s child to being the person who makes the hard calls, who sees them at their most vulnerable, who carries the weight of decisions that no one wants to make. And in the middle of it all, I could have lost myself in the what-ifs. What if this setback changes everything? What if she never recovers fully? What if I can’t keep up with my own life while helping her through hers?

But when life hands you something too big to hold all at once, you learn quickly: the only way through it is to trust the next step.

The Hardest Part of Trusting the Next Step

The hardest part of trusting the next step is balancing two things at once—holding a positive vision of the future while staying completely open to how it will actually unfold.

Because let’s be honest, it’s almost never the way we think it will go. No matter how much we plan, how carefully we map it out, life will throw in a twist or a turn, a complete detour when we least expect it.

I didn’t know what the next six months of my life were going to look like when my mom got sick. I didn’t even know what the next six days would bring. But I could count on the 3 p.m. doctor update. I could count on showing up. I could count on doing the best I could with the step right in front of me.

That’s the only guarantee any of us really have.

Leadership is Built One Step at a Time

People like to think of progress as a clean, straight-line path—point A to point B, a perfectly aimed arrow landing directly on the bullseye. But in reality? Progress is much smaller than that.

Leadership isn’t about making one big move that changes everything. It’s the cumulative effect of all the tiny, sometimes invisible steps in between. It’s the sleepless nights. The squeezed-in priorities. The days where it feels like nothing is moving forward—until suddenly, you look back and realize how far you’ve come.

You can’t see the full picture when you’re in the middle of it. But if you stay in it, if you keep showing up, if you trust that the process is unfolding even when you don’t have the whole map in front of you—that’s leadership.

OK, Let’s Play

The future unfolds one step at a time. The best thing you can do is take the next one.

Ready: Pay attention to where your focus is. Are you fixated on the uncertainty ahead, or are you fully present in the moment you’re in right now?

Set: Look back at your own journey. When was the last time things worked out in a way you didn’t expect—but in hindsight, it all made sense?

Go: Take action. Move forward, even in the smallest way.

• Write down one area of your life where you feel stuck, and then break it down into just the very next step.
• When you feel overwhelmed, stop and take a deep breath. Reset your focus to what’s right in front of you.
• Instead of trying to control the outcome, practice staying curious about how things might unfold.
• When doubt creeps in, remind yourself: You’ve navigated uncertainty before, and you’ll do it again.

The Next Step Is Yours

Wherever you are, whatever you’re facing, the next step is always yours to take. And when you trust the step in front of you, you’re already in motion.

You don’t have to know exactly where the path is leading. You just have to be willing to walk it.
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Hey there! I’m Blair Bloomston, author of UPLIFTED WEEKLY and your friendly consultant, facilitator, and game-based educator on-call, bringing a passion and penchant for all things play (I’m also alliteratively all-in). As the founder of Leaders Uplifted, I help leaders like you tap into creativity, connection, and confidence to make work feel less like a grind and more like a game. Keep reading with me— I’m here to be your business best friend. Let's go!