Whenever you feel stuck or overwhelmed, one of two things are almost certainly true: 1) you don’t know exactly what you’re trying to accomplish, or 2) you DO know what you’re trying to accomplish, but you don’t know the very next step to take to get there.

Having clearly articulated (written) goals can help you overcome the first.

But even in the presence of clear goals, overwhelm can still find ways in.

It’s a skill—which means it’s something you can practice—to live with a vision for the future while being fully in the present.

I don’t think I need to tell you how helpful a daily mindfulness practice can be when it comes to this. Be as Yogananda encouraged, “actively calm and calmly active.”

And consider advice commonly offered in many addiction recovery programs: “Do the next right thing.”

How to know the next right thing?

Know that your answers are already inside yourself, from big goals to tiny steps.

Trust yourself. Follow your own light. Let it guide you to do the next right thing.