Before The Map Unfolds

Original illustration in my poetry book created by Fatima Seehar.

While my 9–5 job continued to drain me, I kept waiting for a clear plan to appear before I made a move to leave. I thought if I could just map out exactly what I’d do next, I’d finally feel safe enough to leave. But that plan never came. I mean read this poem and this poem.

So I stayed. And the longer I stayed, the more dis-ease I felt.

As I wrote this poem, I began to think beyond the need for a clear plan. I started loosening my grip on certainty and letting the possibility of trust take its place.

The following poem is from The Quiet Awakening: Dare to Dream:

Before the Map Unfolds

It feels like I should have a clear map to begin.
I wait for directions, for certainty, for a paved road.
But maybe the road appears after I start walking.
Maybe the first step
has always been
the only one that mattered.

/////

Looking back

Now that I’ve left the 9-5 (and did it without a paved road) I learned that progress doesn’t depend on a clear plan. It is so rare to have a plan with all the next steps clearly defined anyway.

What creates progress is taking the a step forward. One real, aligned action. No matter how unsure I’ve felt in other life events, it’s the starting that shifts the energy. Trust also shifts the energy. Trusting your intuition. Trusting your inner-knowing. Trusting that the first step you take matters even if the the map hasn’t unfolded yet.

We often delay action with the belief that we need more information, more certainty, more prep. But like¹James Clear says: “The best way to learn is often by taking action.” That’s what moves the needle. That’s what shows you the next step, and the next step, and the next step.

The path doesn’t build itself before you walk it. You build it by walking.
Clarity comes after you begin—not before.
Start and trust.

1. Writer and speaker focused on habits, decision making, and continuous improvement. Author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, Atomic Habits.