To the part of you that’s scared of the unknown

Do you ever catch yourself worrying about the future so much that it feels heavy in your chest? Like, what if I never figure it out? What if I mess this up? What if I fail?

I’ve been there. Honestly, I’m still there some days. I changed career paths not too long ago, and even though I know I’m now on a road that makes me happy, I still wake up some mornings wondering, “Did I make the right choice?” It’s scary to start over, and it’s even scarier to step into something new when the outcome isn’t guaranteed.

But lately, I’ve been asking myself a different kind of “what if”:

“What if it actually works out?”

What if I land in the kind of place I’ve been dreaming about—with good people, good work, and good conditions? What if this risk turns into the thing that changes everything for me?

And maybe for you, it’s not about a career change. Maybe it’s school. Or money. Or just that quiet, restless feeling of not knowing what comes next. Whatever it is, you’re not weird for feeling uncertain. You’re human.

Here’s something that’s helped me: instead of trying to plan out the whole future, I just focus on the very next step. One class. One job application. One saving goal. One honest conversation. It doesn’t solve everything, but it makes the unknown feel less overwhelming.

And when you take those small steps, don’t forget to notice the tiny wins. They remind you that forward is a step, no matter the pace.

So if you’re standing in the middle of uncertainty right now, I hope you know this: you don’t need to have it all figured out today. You just need enough courage to take the next step and enough hope to believe that good things can still find you.

Always rooting for you,

-Golie from MANI