I really hope this is true.

All joking (but am I joking?) aside, I don’t think anyone really knows what the hell they’re doing. Even the most successful people out there are just doing their best. They do take risks, and they aren’t afraid of failure. Most of them failed many times over before they had anything that caught a spark. Truthfully, all of them still make errors and missteps to this day – whether we’re paying attention or not, it’s happening.

I say this to point out that though we put some of these humans on pedestals for what they’ve accomplished or produced, they are still just that – humans like everyone else. I think we really hurt ourselves, and them, by not allowing for their humanity. No, not all of us will be Oprah or Bill Gates or Brene Brown. We can’t be. The world wouldn’t work too well that way. But you don’t have to achieve fame or massive wealth in order to make a difference. You certainly don’t need it to be happy.

Maybe you’re saying, yeah, okay, but I’m not even close! I can’t figure out what I’m doing in this moment, let alone how to progress through my life in a meaningful way. I get that feeling, trust me. The truth is – and it can be difficult to integrate this truth – you don’t have to have anything figured out beyond this moment. You live this moment as fully as you can, and then the next. And if you keep on progressing that way, you’ll move forward while hardly realizing it. If you can stay connected to the here and now, rather than stuck in regrets from the past or anxiety about the future, you can let it all unfold as it should.

In order to do this, you have to let your intuition guide you. This isn’t easily done – perhaps you’ve never learned to connect to your inner self, or perhaps you have been separated from it over time. Life has a way of testing us and our knowledge of ourselves.

I don’t think that the problem lies in not knowing what we’re doing. I think the problem lies in clinging to the idea that we should.

I mean, think about how much you could get done if you just did the next thing that feels like it’s correct for you. Think about how much time you spend worrying about not knowing, caught up in your mind and spiraling instead of taking forward motion.

You don’t need to know, you just need to act. This feels really scary, taking action without knowing what’s ahead or how what you’re doing will turn out. Remind yourself that even if you think you know, we never really know! We cannot predict the future. If we can loosen our grip on this idea, the idea that we can somehow ensure a certain outcome, we can get out of stuck positions more quickly. We can also enjoy the process a lot more.

So guess what? None of us know what the hell we’re doing. It’s okay. Those who pretend they do, know least of all. It’s just a defense mechanism, born of the insecurity that they don’t know. Roll with the flow, listen to your inner knowing, and do the next right thing. That means right for you, not “right” as society might define it. Get into your body and out of your head. Don’t think, just do. The doing is the hardest part but also the most rewarding.

No one who I know really knows what they’re doing. The happiest of them readily admit to that, and live in the moment in a state of curiosity, play, and wonder. We are here to experience the journey of our existence, not fritter it away with overthinking, anxiety, fear, and resistance. What path will you choose today?

You’ve got this. Moving into action and freeing yourself from the idea that you have to “know” anything might feel very foreign, but nurture your sense of self-trust and intuition. Then, just do it! We can get stuck in self-development and never actually use it. It’s a subtle trap. Let’s all admit to ourselves and each other that we are on a mysterious journey and then enjoy it already!

I may not know what I’m doing, but I know that I love you. Be kind to yourself.