What To Do When You Don't Know What To Do
Some days hit like Florida weather, bright one minute, storming the next, then pretending nothing happened, which is happening right outside of my window as I write this. You might be standing barefoot on your porch with your coffee thinking: Well, what am I supposed to do now?
If you’ve ever hit that spot where it feels like your plans for the day just got ruined, or a day when your motivation packs its bags and sails off into the Atlantic or scampers out across the mountain, and now you have no idea what to do, this one’s for you.
We sometimes call it drifting when this happens. It’s when you're caught in that in-between place when your mood feels foggy, heavy and you simply don't know what to do in that moment. The good news? Drifting isn’t failure. It’s the tide turning, giving you a break from making decisions and letting you meander for a minute.
Let’s talk about what to do when you don’t know what to do… Thorn Ridge style.
Go Outside and Let the World Answer
First rule of Southern stillness: don’t fight it, go with it.
If you’re stuck, take it outside. Feel the salt air stick to your skin, listen to palm fronds scraping against one another in the wind like they approve of your indecision. Walk the beach, the backyard, or the park. If you're in the mountains, find a trail and go for a hike. Movement clears cobwebs faster than overthinking ever could.
Take some time to get your feet wet, whether that might mean walking in the creek or along the beach in ocean foam. Same medicine. Sometimes ideas for forward motion don’t shout, they roll in quietly, like the tide. When they do, you'll know exactly what you should do next.
Clean or Rearrange Something — Change Shifts Energy
It’s metaphysics 101: stuck energy hates movement, because when you move, the energy shifts, and when it shifts it pushes you forward, out of a lack of motivation and into a burning desire to do something great. If you can’t change your life in this exact moment, change your space to get things rolling.
Spray your favorite Thorn Ridge® fragrance mist — maybe Clothesline Fresh if you need inspiration, or Positivity if you want grounded, confident vibes. Open the windows. Move one piece of furniture. Wash your sheets. Move your body, change your space and put on some of your favorite music with the volume turned up while you're working.
Physical motion tells your spirit, “We’re not trapped; we’re transforming.” Plus, nothing says “fresh start” like a home that looks different, while smelling clean and mysterious at the same time.
Connect with Water
You don’t have to be mystical to commune with the ocean, a lake or pond. Just stand near it and it’ll remind you that the water’s been around long before you ever showed up.
Water represents emotion, intuition, and flow. That’s why we’re drawn to it when we’re uncertain. So grab your flip-flops and go find some. Lake, river, canal, even a soak in the bathtub, doesn’t matter. Let the water mirror your thoughts until your mind settles and clarity comes through.
Do the Next Small Right Thing
When you don’t know what to do, don’t make it grand, make it tiny.
Drink a glass of water. Brush a horse. Send a email. Fold the laundry. Tiny actions stack up like seashells or hay bales until you realize you’ve built something.
Personal growth isn’t fireworks; it’s quiet maintenance. It’s sweeping your porch when you feel blah and realizing later that sweeping was the quiet mundane thing you needed to get your motivation back.
Pull Signs from Everyday Magic
The universe doesn’t go silent just because you’re stuck in a rut, it speaks in subtler tones and sends you signs that are meant to help get you on your path and to get you moving forward again. You just have to tune in.
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A butterfly crosses your path? Change is coming. (For those of you who get lots of animal sightings, my book Animal Frequency is filled with their messages if you're interested).
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A song plays that perfectly fits your mood? That’s guidance.
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You see repeating numbers, or keep finding feathers, or smell cedar when no one’s around? Someone on the spiritual plane is trying to get your attention.
Sometimes not knowing what to do means you just have to listen, whether it’s to a mountain breeze or a Florida storm, and in the listening you'll recieve guidance.
Write It Out
Grab a notebook and spill every thought. Don’t censor it. Don’t worry about grammar. Just write the first thing that you think about. Keep going until you feel like you've got it all out. You might jump from topic to topic, and that's okay.
Writing is how you drain the swamp of your mind. Once the murky stuff’s out, the clear water underneath can flow. Sometimes you don’t find the answer, you write your way into it. Go back and read what you just write. What jumps out at you? Do you see a solution to something that has been nagging at you? You just might.
Rest Like It’s an Assignment
Doing nothing isn’t lazy, it’s rejuvenation. It's resetting your self and if you're a go getter who's always working and never sitting still, it's the hardest thing in the world to do.
Seeds don’t grow when you yank them out of the dirt every hour to check progress. Rest, nap, float in the pool, stare at the ceiling fan, listen to cicadas. You’re not behind; work can wait while you’re recharging your creative field.
If guilt sneaks in, spray your pillow with one of our refreshing fragrance mists to relax and calm you. Remember that rest is a vital, necessary part of the rhythm of life.
Trust Drifting
Sometimes, not knowing what to do means life is steering you somewhere unexpected. Maybe it’s time for a new chapter, a new scent, a new season, a new you. Don’t rush clarity; let it arrive naturally, like sunrise over the Everglades or a mountaintop, slow and certain. Allow yourself to just be while you're experiencing a time of drifting. Pay attention to the small things because they could be a sign that will spark inspiration.
The Calm Between
When you don’t know what to do, don’t panic, instead pivot to presence. The mountains and the ocean have the same rule: you don’t have to fight the current or the hills to find direction and you don’t have to have it all figured out. Just be willing to sit in the calm between sunrises. That’s where clarity hides, tucked between the noise and the knowing. So breathe, stretch, and let the moment be enough for now. Out here, from the ridge to the reef, stillness isn’t emptiness. It’s the start of something stirring.
