In life, there are so many decisions to make. Should I go to college? Should I marry this person? Should I quit my job? And if so when and how?

And so it is with creative work. As is often the case, art imitates life (and vice versa). We are constantly choosing one thing over another. And this can be a real struggle for many of us.

I often hear writers and creatives tell me that they are “stuck” and don’t know what to do. Maybe it’s writer’s block or fear or a lack of knowledge but we often don’t know what to do.

Why is this?

Well, I have a theory about that (as is true for most things):

We often confuse stuckness with inertia. In other words, nothing is holding us back. We simply refuse to move. And if you sit still long enough, your joints start to swell and getting up to move can be pretty difficult (even painful).

So what’s the solution?

Take one small step. The only way to cure inertia is to create momentum. And that requires you to do something very simple:

Do the next right thing.

I had a great chat with my friend Emily P. Freeman about this recently and she shared some thoughts on how to make important and creative decisions when we don’t know what to do.

I hope you love it.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Resources

• Connect with Emily on Twitter
• Read more from Emily on her blog
• Order Emily's latest book: The Next Right Thing