For the past three years, I’ve helped my youngest daughter’s drama teacher write speeches for her students as the new school year approaches. Last year, we worked on eighteen! It’s something I genuinely enjoy. It challenges me not only because I have to come up with debatable arguments from the topics we’re given, but also because I often have to write from a perspective I don’t personally agree with or know much about.

One of the speeches I wrote last year argued that “quick solutions are the best solutions.” One of the points I made in that speech was that sometimes the best way to move forward is simply to do something. Just start.

I’ve noticed this message echoing in my own life recently.

This past year, I’ve had trouble sleeping, something you might recall me mentioning before. It’s a big deal to me as I’ve not felt like myself at all, I’ve been exhausted, and I just seem unable to solve it. I’ve tried multiple medications, some more helpful than others. About two weeks ago, the medication I was on, the one that seemed to finally work, suddenly stopped helping, with no clear reason why. While trying to figure out what had happened, I discovered that I had iron overload.

After some research and consultation, I decided to manage it by donating blood. This wasn’t a decision I took lightly, and when the blood bank told me that they had an oversupply of A+ blood and couldn’t accept my donation without a referral letter, I felt defeated and even asked, “So when do I give up?”. Getting the letter wasn’t a problem; I was tired of all the hurdles to jump over.

Last Friday afternoon, I sat in the donor chair, finally able to do something. And as the blood flowed from my arm, I could feel a quiet sense of relief wash over me. Maybe not because of the act of donating itself, but because I wasn’t sitting still anymore. I wasn’t just waiting and wondering. I had done something. That mental shift alone helped me sleep better that very evening.

I don’t know if we’re on the right track yet. But I know this: sometimes, the breakthrough isn’t solving the problem — it’s deciding to move.

There are times when the bravest thing we can do is keep going in the same direction, holding the line. But there are also times when we need to do something different, even if we don’t know whether it’s the “right” thing. We just need to take a step. Any step. Because motion itself can be healing.

Today, my Facebook page turns five years old. I still remember pressing “Publish” — heart racing, wondering what I had done? I had sat on the unpublished version for weeks, trying to make everything “just right.” It never was. It still isn’t. It just is — and I love it.

Over the past five years, I’m proud of my consistency in showing up: online socially, in my running, and through these newsletters. But I’m also proud of the moments when I chose to be brave. When I tried something new or took action toward something uncertain. Those moments, too, have brought purpose, excitement, and a sense of relief.

When was the last time you acted even though you weren’t sure it would work? How did it feel?