I should never be the navigator on a trip. I am prone to misadventure. I don’t know if it’s in my DNA or if it’s poor decision-making. For this reason and also because of my lack of sense of direction, I should ride in the back. Always.

However, when Ryan and I went to Ireland in 2019, my options were to drive the little stick-shift car on the opposite side of the road OR to be the navigator. It was a no-win situation.

Within about 30 minutes of leaving the airport and entering the city center of Dublin in rush hour traffic I had successfully navigated us onto train tracks with bars on either side that wouldn’t let us exit.

Those few minutes on the train tracks were some of the longest in my life.

Thankfully, my husband has the cooler head and apparently mad “manual transmission on the other side of the road” skills. We stayed the course and found an exit without killing ourselves or anyone else.

And speaking of pressure, here we are at the cusp of a new year. This poor year has a lot of performance pressure on it. Maybe, like me, you have been grappling with how to feel emotionally about the new year. Maybe you need to make some decisions about your life, your family, your work, and are struggling in light of all of the tumult of the last 12 months.

I have a simple formula for us.

When in doubt, I do two things. I prioritize caring for my soul and caring for my body. Every day I focus on those two things above everything else, and I wait. I wait to get off of the bloody train tracks and into some clarity and purpose and peace again.

When I wrestle incessantly for answers or worry about not being able to make a decision, I don’t get any traction. I just feel bad. It doesn’t speed up the process I must go through.

If you are struggling with indecision, or really with anything else, focus on these two things this week.

1. Care for your soul.

Choose one activity to do every day before you get into your normal tasks. Pray. Read an uplifting book. Read a scripture. Meditate. Listen to worship music.

1. Care for your body.

Choose one activity that makes you feel good physically and is also good for you. Take a walk. Take 10 deep breaths. Eat a healthy breakfast. Stretch out your muscles.

The waiting and indecision times are when we are most susceptible to believe lies about ourselves or fall into discouragement. When we focus on these basic, life-giving practices other good things follow. Calm follows. Peace follows. Good decisions follow.

I hope this helps you this week and through the beginning of this new year.

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