The Next Right Thing

By Emily P. Freeman: Writer, Listener, Creative Director

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.

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90: Start with this Simple ...

08.20.2019

I talk a lot about the importance of creating space for your soul to breathe. One question I often hear is how? What does it look like to create space for your soul? Practically, on a Tuesday, in the middle ...

The Next Right Thing episodes:

08.20.2019 90: Start with this Simple Rhythm I talk a lot about the importance of creating space for your soul to breathe. One question I often hear is how? What does it look like to create space for your soul? Practically, on a Tuesday, in the middle ...
08.13.2019 89: Come Back With Peace In our last episode I shared about my plan to take a six week sabbatical, but going away to plan, pray, and create is only helpful if you return. Today I'll share about the equally important task of coming back. ...
06.25.2019 88: Come Away for Awhile Is there a difference between a vacation, a sabbath, and a break? How can we tell and why does it matter? Links + Resources From This Episode: Episode 87: Create Space Subversive Sabbathby AJ Swoboda The Power of Introverts: A ...
06.18.2019 87: Create Space Creating space for the soul is part of being a healthy human. For some of us that phrase sounds delightful. But for others, not so much. What does it mean to create space for the soul and why does it ...
06.11.2019 86: Decision-Making with James Bryan Smith The second most often quoted phrase from this podcast is one I didn’t even say. The first phrase people repeat the most is obvious, do the next right thing. Want to know the second most often quoted phrase? Well it ...
06.04.2019 85: Hold Space When Someone Dies Grief descends as a permanent part of our rhythm of life, coloring everything, reshaping the narrative, changing us in ways we would never ask for but there it is anyway. Death changes every part of life, including our ability to ...
05.28.2019 84: A Beginner's Guide to Self-Reflection This is a practice that has changed my life and, I believe if you do it regularly, will change yours as well. Here's a step-by-step explanation of how I reflect on my life and some questions I ask that make ...
05.21.2019 83: Remember What's More Important Than Your Decision Today I’m stepping away from the daily nuts and bolts of decision-making to remind us what it’s all about. Yes, we want to make better decisions. More, we want to make decisions in a better way — but what does ...
05.14.2019 82: Find the Beginning in the Ending Are you facing the end of something but find yourself dragging your feet to the finish line because you aren't sure what will come after? Today I'll offer 3 things to consider just before or right after an ending as ...
05.07.2019 A Blessing for the Mothers Today I’ll offer a short blessing for all the mamas everywhere - both the newest ones, the most experienced ones, the ones who are still waiting as well as those who don’t think of themselves as mothers but they mother ...
04.30.2019 81: Listen to This Before Graduation If you are a graduate, have a graduate, or love a graduate, this episode is for you. It's help for that question people keep asking: So what will you do after graduation? Here are 3 things to remember as you ...
04.25.2019 Bonus: Myquillyn Smith, The Nester Do you have a no mentor? Someone who helps you find both your brave yes and your life-giving no? If you’ve been around here for any amount of time, you know my sister Myquillyn is my No Mentor and today ...
04.23.2019 80: Don't Take Offense If you feel like you don't have enough time in the day, here's one way to open up some space: Refuse to take offense. It's not easy, but it is interesting. Let's get curious about it. Links + Resources From ...
04.18.2019 Bonus: Kendra Adachi, The Lazy Genius Do you prefer to make decisions quickly, acting first and thinking later? This episode is part of a short series we’re doing this month to celebrate the release of my new book, The Next Right Thing. Today's guest is sitting ...
04.16.2019 79: Find Relief From Regret What if you try to do the next right thing but later you look back and realize it wasn’t the right thing after all? What do we do when our next right thing turns out to be wrong? And how ...
04.11.2019 Bonus: Annie F. Downs If you've ever felt unable to move forward because you’re worried there’s only one right answer and you don’t know what that right answer is, today’s episode is for you. This is part of a short series we’re doing this ...
04.09.2019 78: Feeling Stuck? Start Again If you set a goal and haven’t been able to meet it, it doesn’t mean you set the wrong goal. Maybe it means you’re measuring it the wrong way. Instead of starting over, here's how to start again. Links + ...
04.04.2019 Bonus: The Next Right Thing Live Show! Listen in as we gathered in my hometown the night before The Next Right Thing book released into the world! You can now grab a copy of the book wherever books are sold - learn more at NextRightThingBook.com. With special ...
04.02.2019 77: Do The Next Right Thing You never know how your simple next right thing could have an impact on people 100 years from now. Today is the official US release of The Next Right Thing: A Simple, Soulful Practice for Making Life Decisions -- and ...
03.26.2019 76: Create A Simple Morning Routine Where is your fixed point in the midst of life transitions? I want to suggest that fixed point can be found in the morning and it's simpler than you might think. Links + Resources From This Episode: Pre-order The Next ...
03.19.2019 75: Tell Yourself the Truth On Tuesday March 12, 2019, fifty people in six different states were accused by the Department of Justice of playing a part in a major college admission scandal. Our belief informs our action. What we believe will always direct our ...
03.12.2019 74: What's Your Decision-Making Style? We all approach our decisions from our own unique point of view, our own set of personal filters, and a particular posture that’s baked in to our personality. Today’s episode will narrow all of that uniqueness down to three simple ...
03.05.2019 73: Design A Rhythm of Work - Theme Days Today’s episode is all about the one thing I’m doing in my work that is saving my life this year. Links + Resources From This Episode: The Next Right Thing Pre-order Bonuses: Discern + Decide and audiobook for free! Michael ...
02.26.2019 72: Design A Rhythm of Life If we want to make life decisions in a better way, then we can’t wait to start with the decision. We actually need to start with the life. That’s what a rhythm of life is for. I’d love to help ...
02.19.2019 71: Let Time Be Your Friend If you’ve ever felt like you could make better decisions if only you had more time or wished for time to stop just for a while so you could catch your breath, today’s episode is for you. Links + Resources ...
02.12.2019 70: The Best Time to Make A Decision Being a good decision maker has a lot to do with timing. When is the best time to make a decision? Research has some actual answers. Listen in. Links + Resources From This Episode: Do You Suffer From Decision Fatigue?- ...
02.05.2019 69: Tell Someone One life-giving choice I’ve made when I’m feeling overwhelmed with indecision is to decide not to walk through it alone. Links + Resources From This Episode: Episode 49: Collaborate Laura Tremaine's 10 Things to Tell You Episode 33: Gather Co-Listeners ...
01.29.2019 68: If You're Afraid of Making the Wrong Decision If your fear of making a wrong choice is keeping you from making any choice at all, this episode offers 3 simple things to remember. Links + Resources From This Episode: Episode 05: For the Love of Good Change with ...
01.22.2019 67: Wait Now Go So much of our lives are filled with waiting but no one really ever teaches us how to do it. How do we know when we need to wait? How do we know when it’s time to move? There’s several ...
01.15.2019 66: Don't Let the Ending Define the Whole Story When an ending is difficult, it's easy to color the entire reality through the lens of how it ended, whether it's a relationship, a job, a dream project, or a life. The ending does not get to define the whole ...
01.08.2019 65: Take Off Your Crown One question can make the difference between living with all consuming daily stress and a lighthearted sense of hope. Links + Resources From This Episode: The Welcoming Prayer by Father Thomas Keating Things Above Podcast by James Bryan Smith Preorder ...
01.01.2019 A Blessing for the New Year Before you make any major decisions in the new year, here's a 3 minute blessing to start things off.
12.18.2018 64: Acknowledge Your Soul We don’t want to wait until the other side of Christmas to finally pause and say, hello soul. I’ve missed you this month. Instead, we work to create space now. For a few minutes today, we’ll make room, we’ll take ...
12.11.2018 63: Make Room During Advent, it’s true we wait expectantly. It’s also true we’re preparing for an arrival. What does preparation look like for you today? Might it include creating some space? Making some room? Clearing some clutter - and not just the ...
12.04.2018 62: Sit Down on the Inside If you want to find relief from seasonal anxiety, I would love to help. Links + Resources From This Episode: The Quiet Collection for Christmas - Available through 12/11/18 The Ordering of Love: The New and Collected Poems of Madeleine ...
11.27.2018 61: Look Back - How Reflection Can Help You Make Better Decisions Our choices define our lives - not just the ones we’re carrying now about our future, but also the ones we’ve already made in our past. Wouldn’t we do well to bring them to mind and see what they have ...
11.20.2018 60: Start Before You're Ready (PLUS A Big Announcment!) Starting before you’re ready moving even when you’re not sure where you’re going is only possible when you have a next-right-thing mindset. Today I'll share a story from my own life and, in the process, offer what I hope will ...
11.13.2018 59: Find A Quiet Space It’s possible to be surrounded by silence everyday and completely miss the point. It’s also possible to lead a full, loud life and still receive the gifts God has to offer us in the pockets of silent time we can ...
11.06.2018 58: Welcome Silence In 2012 singer John Mayer had surgery on his vocal chords and was ordered not to speak for two months or sing for six. His healing depended on his silence. While his need was physical, perhaps silence is required for ...
10.30.2018 57: Don't Dread Your Weird Life To take action and make a decision requires something of you. But make no mistake — putting decisions off require something too, and that may be even more expensive. Links + Resources: The Prayer of Saint Patrick What's your next ...
10.23.2018 56: Focus on One Focus is hard because there’s both so much going on and often not enough information. When you have a big idea but aren't sure where to start, listen in. Links + Resources From This Episode: Cozy Minimalist Home by Myquillyn ...
10.16.2018 55: Learn to Walk in the Dark There’s a skill to walking in the dark: you have to go slow, trust what you know, and take it one step at a time. After the winds and rain of hurricane Michael knocked out power in the city, we ...
10.09.2018 54: Find Someone to Mother In a world that seems to only value a twisted kind of angular strength, let’s find ways to receive the curves, to be nurtured by God and one another. Links + Resources From This Episode: The Ministry of Ordinary Places: ...
10.02.2018 53: Allow the Present to Be Imperfect The rest from decision fatigue doesn’t descend upon me when my work is finally finished. Instead, it comes slowly as I'm willing to allow the present to be imperfect. Links + Resources From This Episode: Choosing Rest by Sally Breedlove ...
09.25.2018 52: Grow as You Go Decision fatigue can creep into our life for any number of reasons, but one isn’t as obvious as some others. When change rises slow or comes up from behind, it can turn your life a different color so gradually you ...
09.18.2018 51: Choose A Pastime If you are feeling overwhelmed, carrying a heavy decision, or live with what seems to be a growing imbalance between the work you do during the week and the rest you’re supposed to be doing on the weekends, choosing a ...
09.11.2018 50: Go Forward Last year I decided to enroll in grad school. But first, I lost sleep, asked everyone's opinion, and made myself crazy. Here's what happened next. Links + Resources From This Episode: Things Above Podcast The Apprentice Series by James Bryan ...
09.04.2018 49: Collaborate Making the decision to move forward with an idea is hard enough, but one thing that can keep us feeling especially stuck is trying to move forward with a decision alone because we are afraid. When it comes to collaboration ...
07.31.2018 48: Receive the Waiting Time As we continue to make our way through an ever changing set of circumstances, the seasons will keep rolling on, bringing with them both dreaded and hoped-for hellos and goodbyes. You may be holding on to a hopeful vision for ...
07.24.2018 47: Receive One Another When someone around us is struggling, what is our next right thing? Listen in.

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