The Next Right Thing

By with Emily P. Freeman

Personal Journals Society & Culture Religion & Spirituality Christianity

What's The Next Right Thing about?

For the second-guessers, the chronically hesitant, or anyone who suffers from decision fatigue, best-selling author and host Emily P. Freeman helps create a little space for your soul to breathe so you can discern your next right thing in love. Because out of the thousands of decisions you make everyday, chances are a few of them threaten to keep you up at night. If you're in a season of transition, waiting, general fogginess or if you've ever searched "how to make a decision" on the internet, listen in.

4.8

4,255 ratings

Download our free app to listen on your phone

LAST EPISODE

267: How To Handle Interrup...

03.21.2023

Can we escape interruptions? You know the answer is we never will, but we can make partial, imperfect, or even settled peace with them. In this episode, I’ll offer some encouragement for when your life feels like one big interruption. ...

The Next Right Thing episodes:

03.21.2023 267: How To Handle Interruption Can we escape interruptions? You know the answer is we never will, but we can make partial, imperfect, or even settled peace with them. In this episode, I’ll offer some encouragement for when your life feels like one big interruption. ...
03.14.2023 266: On Being A Well by Macrina Wiederkehr Today I'll share words from someone else for all of us to listen to and carry with us and reflect on together. I've chosen a poem by Macrina Wiederkehr, a writer who has been a companion for me for many ...
03.07.2023 265: How to Know What You Want You have a decision to make or a move to discern. You ask a friend to listen and help you figure out your next right thing. And then they ask the question that is as dreaded as it is simple: ...
02.28.2023 264: Let's Talk About Fear Lately, I've been thinking a lot about fear, how and when it shows up, ways it lies and tells the truth, and what it means for us as we do the hard and holy work of making life decisions. Listen ...
02.21.2023 263: How to Human with Carlos Whittaker Today I'm glad to welcome our favorite hope dealer and host of the podcast Human Hope, it's Carlos Whittaker. His brand new book How to Human, just released last month. In it he shares candidly from his own life about ...
02.14.2023 262: For Who You Might Become The decisions we make are evidence of the person who we are becoming. In the middle of our right-now, messy, beautiful, boring, terrifying wonderful lives, it's good to reflect on who we've been, who we are, and who we might ...
02.07.2023 261: Where Trouble Melts Like Lemon Drops: A Story Doing the next right thing is just that -- it's the next right thing for now, not forever. It's the next right thing as far as we understand what is good and right and next. Today I'll share my own ...
01.31.2023 260: Your Next Right Thing Starter Pack After a short break, we're back with a starter pack of episodes to turn to for particular situations, especially for you who might be new here or are looking for helpful, actionable decision-making content. Today I'll share specific episodes for ...
01.03.2023 We want to hear from you! We're on a break! But not the Ross and Rachel kind, this one's only temporary. We're working to create content that meets you right where you are and we'll be back in a couple of weeks. But first, we have ...
12.27.2022 259: What Worked in 2022 On this final episode of the year, I'll share my list of what worked in 2022 as well as a few tips and resources for you if you want to make your own list. Listen in! Want help looking back ...
12.20.2022 258: A Blessing for Christmas Week A blessing for you and yours on this week before Christmas. You may recognize these words from Day 10 of last year’s version of The Quiet Collection for Christmas (2021). I hope they extend a welcome to you on this ...
12.13.2022 257: A Soul Minimalist's Guide for the End of the Year We have a little over two weeks until the end of the year with a lot of potential activity between now and then. Here's the soul talk we all need for the finish line. Listen in. Links + Resources From ...
12.07.2022 BONUS: The Quiet Collection 2022! Surprise! We have a bonus episode to share with you that The Quiet Collection for Christmas is ready and waiting for you -- and we've made it better than ever. Listen in to learn about the changes we've made this ...
12.06.2022 256: A Reading from John 1 At the beginning of the Advent season, it's good to remember the Light. Here's a reflective reading from John 1:1-18, read from The Message version, a translation by Eugene Peterson. Listen in. Links + Resources From This Episode: John 1:1-18 ...
11.29.2022 255: Ask Emily Anything! Celebrating 20 Million What a gift it is to be a small part of your Tuesdays over the last five years! As we celebrate 20 million downloads, we're dedicating today's episode to answering your questions. I'll say some words about why I don't ...
11.22.2022 254: Honest Advent with Scott Erickson Today I'm glad to welcome back to the show author, artist, and spiritual director, Scott Erickson. We'll talk about one of my favorite Advent resources, his beautiful book Honest Advent. I read it last year and of course didn't finish ...
11.15.2022 253: The Enneagram and Decision-Making with Suzanne Stabile Today I'm glad to welcome our favorite Enneagram teacher, author Suzanne Stabile, to talk about the three centers of intelligence and how our stances inform our decisions. Suzanne is a highly sought-after speaker and teacher, known for her personal vulnerability ...
11.08.2022 252: An Unconventional Gratitude If you're feeling pulled in all directions, looking for grounding words but unable to form them, here's a short prayer of welcoming some things we need, some things we want, and others we would rather do without. Listen in. Links ...
11.01.2022 251: Why Sabbath is For Everyone with Ruth Haley Barton Today I'm glad to welcome Ruth Haley Barton to the podcast to talk about an important and often misunderstood spiritual practice: sabbath. Ruth has spent over 20 years as a student, a practitioner and a leader in the area of ...
10.25.2022 250: One Secret to a Light(er) Heart Doing the next right thing won't necessarily protect us from harm, regret, or embarrassment. But hopefully, it can be a practice that keeps us present, moving, and from being too hard on ourselves. Listen in. Links + Resources From This ...
10.18.2022 249: A Former Sign Language Interpreter's Guide to Listening What can we learn about listening from other listening professions? I'm not talking about counselors or therapists, but those whose job it is to hear on behalf of someone else. As a former sign language interpreter turned writer and spiritual ...
10.11.2022 248: Start With Hello with Shannan Martin All the world's a neighborhood and everyone's my neighbor. How to begin to live as such? Today's guest submits it's simple: Start with hello. Today I'm glad to welcome one of my favorite writers and also favorite humans, author Shannan ...
10.04.2022 247: What's Saving My Life (Autumn Edition) It's a question often asked and answered by writers and podcasters alike and it’s easy to see why — it’s simple, it’s direct, and it’s deeply thought provoking. Along with making a list of what I'm learning each season, I ...
09.27.2022 246: The Mindset Shift That's Changing My Work As one season slowly unfolds into the next, I'm paying attention to some of my work and life rhythms and have discovered one thing that's been holding me back from my next right thing. Maybe it's holding you back, too. ...
09.20.2022 245: Voices of Lament with Natasha Sistrunk Robinson and Mariah Humphries Today I'm glad to explore a topic that doesn't usually make the headlines in our newsfeeds but one that certainly deserves some airtime in our souls. We're talking about lament -- what it is, why it matters, and who some ...
09.13.2022 244: When A Public Figure Dies The news of the passing of a public figure can be both sobering and disruptive, no matter how far removed from us they were. How we navigate the loss of a public figure depends on the age of the one ...
09.06.2022 243: How to Move Through Regret The disembodied smoke of regret is nearly impossible to contain, corral, or neatly repackage and conceal. Once it's released, it sticks to the fibers and hangs on for days. Perhaps you can relate. Here is a practice that has helped ...
08.30.2022 242: Are you afraid of choosing wrong? This conversation would be better had face to face and of course one episode won't eliminate the fear of choosing wrong. But it's a worthy conversation to at least begin here, especially considering how prevalent this fear is among many ...
08.23.2022 241: Write What You Know (And Other Life Advice) C.S. Lewis once said to “always prefer the plain, direct word to the long, vague one. Don’t implement promises, but keep them.” What's true for language can also be true for life. Why make something complicated when it can be ...
08.18.2022 240: A Staying Prayer for Parents Many parents are saying a big goodbye to their kids moving out of the house for the very first time. This prayer was written specifically with parents of college students in mind, but of course could apply for any parents, ...
08.16.2022 239: A Sending Prayer for College Freshmen August is a month of change and one big milestone is moving out of the house to live on your own, whether for college, work, internships, traveling, or just because it's time. This one was written specifically with first-year college ...
08.09.2022 238: State of the Podcast 2022 Five years ago this week, the first episode of The Next Right Thing released. In this five year state of the podcast episode, I’m glad to look back at our beginnings and share the importance of marking milestones. I'll ask ...
08.02.2022 237: For When Things Are Changing (with John Freeman) Today I’m eager to sit with John Freeman, my husband and partner for the last 21 years. We talk about some times of discernment and decision-making in our own marriage, how serving on staff at a church for over a ...
07.26.2022 236: For When You Can't Figure God Out What if there is no rush to figure out what we think and believe about everything? What if there's room for our growth and learning to take the time it takes? If you're feeling overwhelmed with the pressure to figure ...
07.19.2022 235: On Grief and Healing with Amanda Held Opelt Doing the next right thing is perhaps most necessary when we find ourselves in the midst of grief and loss. Today I’m glad to talk with author, speaker, and songwriter Amanda Held Opelt. She believes in the power of community, ...
07.12.2022 234: Psalm 23 A reading of Psalm 23 from the following versions: New Revised Standard Version (Updated Edition), New International Version, and The Amplified Bible. This episode is part of the Psalm Summer series. Listen in. Links + Resources From This Episode: Psalm ...
07.05.2022 233: Psalm 121 A reading of Psalm 121 from the following versions: New Living Translation, New American Standard Bible, and The Voice. This episode is part of the Psalm Summer series. Listen in. Links + Resources From This Episode: Psalm 121 (New Living ...
06.28.2022 232: Psalm 103 A reading of Psalm 103, first from the New American Standard Bible, and then from the Common English Bible. Listen in. Links + Resources From This Episode: Psalm 103 (New American Standard Bible) Psalm 103 (Common English Bible) Order The ...
06.21.2022 231: Psalm 91 A reading of Psalm 91, first from the New International Version and then from The Message. Listen in. Links + Resources From This Episode: Psalm 91 (NIV) Psalm 91 (The Message) Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal Grab a ...
06.14.2022 230: Psalm Summer: A Series We’re looking for God in the cracks of our lives, in the wide open spaces of our joys and the painful fissures of our brokenness. For the next several weeks I want to create some space for the Psalms to ...
06.07.2022 229: A Blessing for the Graduates For the most recent high school and college graduates, here's a short blessing for you as you do your next right thing in love. Listen in. Links + Resources From This Episode: Order The Next Right Thing Guided Journal Grab ...
05.31.2022 228: The Good and Beautiful You with James Bryan Smith What is the soul and what is the impact of fame and success on it? Also, how can we cultivate a good and beautiful life with spiritual practices without sinking into judgment or legalism? Today I’m thrilled to talk to ...
05.24.2022 227: Trust the Process with Stephanie Duncan Smith How can you move forward when you feel stuck, overwhelmed, out of control, or like you’re doing it all wrong? My guest today brings simple advice with a nuanced angle inviting us all to trust the process. Stephanie Duncan Smith ...
05.17.2022 226: When Someone You Love is Indecisive Maybe you're not the one who is chronically hesitant but someone you love seems to always struggle with making decisions. What’s the best way to help the indecisive along? How can you help them move forward in the midst of ...
05.10.2022 225: Discerning Your Next Right Thing After High School Today's episode is especially for high school students and those who love and advise them. As my twins prepare to graduate from high school, I've been thinking a lot about our past year and how we've helped them make decisions ...
05.03.2022 224: Naming What Matters in Friendship, Life, and the Kitchen with Kendra Adachi Today's guest is all about helping us to be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't. New York Times bestselling author, Kendra Adachi, shares her five-step framework for transforming every part of our ...
04.26.2022 223: How to Move Through Small Disappointments Whether you're making plans to travel, to be with friends or family, or to host people at your house in your very own neighborhood, chances are you have some expectations for how things will go. So what do you do ...
04.19.2022 222: What's Saving My Life Right Now It's the question Barbara Brown Taylor asks and answers in her memoir, Leaving Church, and one many of us have carried forward to ask and answer as well. The best questions are shareable and re-answerable and today I'll share my ...
04.12.2022 221: Psalm 46 May this simple reading of Psalm 46 be a reflection you can return to as you discern your next right thing in love. This Psalm is a reading from the New International Version. Listen in. Links + Resources From This ...
04.05.2022 220: Our Favorite Yeses When was a time you said yes and were so glad you did? I asked you that question last week and this week we’ll share your answers. We're celebrating your favorite yeses and a few of mine too. Listen in. ...

Older episodes