The Next Best Step

Moving with your intuition.

Mar 11, 2026

I woke up the other morning exhausted. I’d been in the trenches all week–strategizing new directions, working on a big website project, recording a podcast, writing two Substacks, all on top of my normal coaching load. It was Friday, the sun was shining, and my calendar was wide open.

But, I didn’t feel that great– and honestly, I was a little mad about it. My brain was fried, my body tired, and my energy felt scattered. Why does this always seem to happen when I have a whole day free?

In an effort to feel better, I asked myself:

Do you want to go for a walk? No.

Back to bed? No.

Write? No.

Work? No.

Get a muffin and coffee? No.

The beach? YES!

So I went. The moment my toes hit the sand, the sun warmed my face, and dogs were running around happy as can be, I slowed down. No more thinking, just feeling. And that’s when the heaviness started to move. Little thoughts began bubbling up: my joy matters, my beingness matters, my aliveness matters, I matter.

I’d forgotten about this part of myself all this week, no wonder I was dragging.

Sometimes the next best step isn’t doing more.

I see this with clients all the time. They’re navigating uncertainty and that strange in-between space of having an idea but not quite knowing what to do next—and so they keep moving but, frantically.

I know this territory well too. We’re holding big visions and figuring out how to bring them to life without running out of our precious resources—time, energy, and money. We want clarity so bad but we don’t always know how to receive it.

Intuition is the guide quietly waiting for our attention. It doesn’t always swoop in to save the day with grand answers or hand over a roadmap. Often it gives us the next best step—one small drop of wisdom at a time. Sometimes it’s simply a quiet knowing that something is right… or a feeling that something isn’t quite aligned.

A client said on a call recently, “I feel like something is brewing just under the surface, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.” I said, “Oh, that’s so cool, I’m thinking that means you’re in flow with your intuition! It sounds like it’s nudging you to keep paying attention.”

INTUITION VS. EGO

Your intuition is your loving inner voice: gentle, calm, present, and wise. It whispers: maybe go here, check that out, try this next. I like to think of it as your most authentic self— the part of you that sees clearly, feels deeply, and knows what you need and deserve without needing a reason.

Your ego is fear based and lives in the mind. It feels frantic, urgent, and reactive—very black and white thinking. It tells you what you should do, spins you in circles, and tries to control outcomes. It’s not really an enemy; it’s just the little self running the show— the one that’s learned how to keep you safe and thinks it still is. But growth invites us to soften and trust a new story line.

Some people ignore their intuition. Others feel it so strongly it overwhelms them. We’re all on the journey somewhere, learning how to listen without letting fear take over.

Intuition speaks up when we stop blocking it. We can create space to receive it through meditation, journaling, time in nature, washing the dishes, taking a long shower, or a simple walk on the beach—basically anything that gets us out of the head and back into the body.

Intuition isn’t about seeing all the possibilities. That’s hope. Intuition is more about what feels true right now.

And sometimes it can be frustrating to hear, too. Not because we’re doing it wrong, but because intuition doesn’t always tell us what we want to hear. It tells us what we need. And sometimes that’s more safety, more space, or more life experience.

Before I closed my vintage shop, I received a few nudges. Moments when I was super open—dating, traveling, living—when I could hear myself more clearly. Maybe there’s more for you. Maybe something else is calling. What could be possible if you closed the shop?

Intuition doesn’t rush us. It keeps knocking until we’re ready.

THE HUMAN DESIGN LENS

In Human Design, your strategy and authority help illustrate how your intuition often connects with you— your natural way of generating movement and making decisions.

For me as a sacral authority, this means my intuition comes alive when I have options to respond to—what I like to call “feeding the gut.” In my creative work, this looks like constantly asking myself yes/no questions: Do I want to say this… or that? Do I want to sound like this… or like this? Do I like this format… or that one?

But my relationship with intuition goes beyond just gut responses. Over time, I’ve also found that certain parts of my design—especially the last two gifts in my incarnation cross—create a kind of inner stability. When those energies are flowing, my intuition feels especially clear and steady.

Not everyone experiences intuition as a gut feeling. Some feel it as an instant knowing, a wave of feeling, a flash of insight in the mind, a pattern that emerges over time, or even a bodily sensation.

Each of us has a unique relationship with our intuition, and getting to know it is surprisingly freeing. Instead of getting caught in everyone else’s drama or expectations, you notice the rich storyline of your own life unfolding.

BUILDING TRUST

I love this line I heard on a podcast:

“Intuition is the sum of all the times you’ve ever trusted yourself.”

Trust is a muscle that strengthens every time you listen to your intuition—and every time you appreciate it working. It carries you beyond the fears and doubts that inevitably arise and into the actions you know you’re meant to take.

I think back to some of the biggest decisions of my life—leaving my small town for college, taking a severance package and walking away from corporate, jumping full time into entrepreneurship without a safety net, opening stores in big cities. Through all of it, I’ve carried a quiet knowing that things would work out, no matter what—and so far, they have.

And maybe that’s what intuition really is: a deep inner trust that your gifts, your direction, your calling, and your most heart-centered desires belong to you. You can trust your own compass.

Entrepreneurship is paradoxical. On one hand, it invites us onto a profound journey of personal growth. On the other, it activates the ego to work even harder to protect us from the unknown. As we move toward what we want, we’re also learning to manage the voice that wants to keep us safe.

I share this perspective to help sharpen our discernment:

Is it our loving instinct guiding us—or our protector trying to control the outcome?

Remember, intuition doesn’t work well under pressure. It works when we slow down enough to listen. Prioritizing that space—even when life feels busy—is often the most powerful thing we can do. After all, it doesn’t matter how fast we’re moving if we’re not moving in the right direction.

If you’re curious about your own relationship with intuition, you could ask yourself:

When do I feel most open, calm, curious, or creative?
When has following a small intuitive step led to something meaningful?
How can I give myself more space this week to receive the next best step?

If you’d like to explore this deeper, we can look at it together through a Human Design chart reading. Understanding your strategy, authority, and the gifts that create your inner grounding can offer powerful insight into how your intuition naturally works.

This just might be your next best step.