If thinking about your future right now feels overwhelming, I want you to know that you’re not alone. There are, sometimes, many unknown factors about what our future holds that can lead us to have a lot of anxiety when the topic of “what’s next” comes up. 

And it sure does come up a lot, doesn’t it?

When you graduate from high school, everyone wants to know, “What are your plans for the future? What do you plan on doing next?”

When you graduate from college, everyone wants to know, “What are your plans for the future? What do you plan on doing next?”

We’re often not given any space to figure it out and saying, “I don’t know” is seen as the most taboo thing in the world. But what if you really don’t know? What if you actually have no idea what to do next or what the future holds for you?

Unfortunately, most people who feel this way try and rush to “a next” without giving themselves the space to effectively navigate their transition. 

This is totally understandable because nobody likes to be in a space where:

You feel like you don’t know what you’re doing,

You feel lost and aimless because you don’t have a clear plan, 

You feel anxious because you don’t know what tomorrow holds.

There’s naturally this human desire to speed past this weird in-between space and get to a place where you know exactly what’s going on and you feel like you have a solid plan. But my dear friend, things take time, and you have to give yourself the space to go through each season of your life … including your seasons of transition. Here’s how, step by step:

Step 1: Take inventory of the past season.

This is so important because we often like to jump from one season of our life to the next, without taking the time to acknowledge the season that just ended.

• How would you describe the season that just ended?
• What were some of the highlights of this season?
• What were some of the low points of this season?
• What did you learn about yourself? About your desires? About what you want out of life in this season?
• How do you feel about this season coming to an end?

These are all questions to ask yourself as you close out this season of your life. I’m a big advocate of journaling your thoughts. I would highly recommend to grab a journal or use the notes app in your phone to write a brain dump answering these questions. 

Step 2: Remind yourself of your dreams.

When most people think of their dreams, they quickly get discouraged because they start comparing where they are right now to where they want to be. When we have a big dream, we tend to be so focused on how far away that dream feels from our current reality that the dream begins to feel too good to be true.

Don’t let the space between where you are and where you want to be intimidate and overwhelm you. Think about this: from where you are right now, what is the next thing you can do that will take you just one step closer to your dreams? Just one step closer. That’s all you need to focus on. 

Take the time to think about what some of your dreams are. Keep them at the forefront of your mind as you navigate this season of transition. Let them be the North Star that gives you some type of direction to be anchored in, as you figure out what’s next for you. 

Now that you have your North Star and you know what dreams you ultimately want to see come to fruition in your life, take it one day at a time. It’s OK if you don’t have all the answers for your future yet. Focus on the new day ahead of you. 

Step 3: Trust God for your next.

You may not know what’s next, but God does. Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us that God knows the plans that He has for us, and they are not plans to harm us, but plans to prosper us, to give us hope and to give us a future.

When you start to get overwhelmed about the future and all the things you have yet to figure out, remind yourself that God knows your next step and He’s got you. Lean on Him for support and encouragement as you navigate this season of transition. This can look like listening to worship music, listening to a sermon, reading your Bible, journaling to Him or praying to Him. 

Regardless of how you choose to check in with God, make sure you’re intentional about going to Him for peace and reassurance when you need it.