I'm Emily P. Freeman and welcome to the next right thing. You're listening to

episode 3.22. I'm an author, a spiritual director, and an occasional

workshop leader.

I live in the Piedmont of North Carolina with my family,

and through my work I've helped thousands of spiritually thoughtful people

overcome decision fatigue so that they can discern their next right thing

in faith, work, and life. If you struggle with decision fatigue or with chronic

hesitation or maybe you just need a few minutes away from the

constant stream of information and the sometimes delightful but distracting hum of

entertainment well then you're in the right place for discerning your next right thing.

This is a phrase that's been used by Mother Teresa, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr., Theater

Roosevelt, Elizabeth Elliot, and Anne Lamotte just to name a few.

It's a guideline for living in Alcoholics Anonymous and has become a common catchphrase

for coaches and athletes in boardrooms and corporate motivational speeches.

So I obviously did not come up with the concept of doing the next right thing, but I've been

holding it close for decades now and it's slowly

changing my life. Five years ago on this very day, Tuesday, April 2nd,

the next right thing book released into the world.

It was based roughly on the first 30 episodes of this very podcast, and now that book has

sold over 100,000 copies copies and it's still going.

As a way to mark the moment, I thought I would share today five decision-making principles

from the next writing book that I still use every

...