Doing the Next Right Thing

The following landed in my email box this week from one of my favorite authors, Matthew Kelly, in his March newsletter. Matthew is a frequent source of inspiration for me. In GTD, we talk a great deal about "Next Actions", so Matthew's encouragement to do the "Next Right Thing" clicked with me:

Just Do the Next Right Thing

Just do the next right thing. Whether you are struggling to overcome a pattern of defeat, yearning for inner peace, trying to create lasting happiness, wishing to succeed in your career, desperately trying to overcome procrastination, or are battling with an addiction, this lesson holds the key for you. Just do the next right thing. In each moment, just keep doing the next right thing.

You cannot think your way out or talk your way out of these problems. You acted your way into them and you must act your way out of them. You must act in the sense of action, not in the sense of pretense. It is purposeful action that will lead you to become a better version of yourself, and action is the key to progress.

When you get into a funk, just do the next right thing. And keep doing the next right thing. You will be amazed how quickly you work yourself out of the funk if you approach it in this way. Don't worry about next week, next month, or next year. Just do the next right thing and keep doing the next right thing, and gradually you will act your way out of destructive patterns... you must act your way out of it, one moment at a time.

One moment at a time, by simply doing the next right thing, you will move from confusion to clarity, from misunderstanding to insight, from despair to hope, from darkness to light, and discover your truest self.

~excerpt from Perfectly Yourself: 9 Lessons for Enduring Happiness