The Next Right Mile Begins With a Choice

Some moments in life quietly invite us to choose with intention. They don’t demand clarity all at once. They simply offer an opportunity to be present and decide how fully we want to engage.

This weekend, I experienced one of those moments.

I was in Santa Barbara, standing along the track at Westmont College, watching my daughter compete in her first ever college track meet as part of a Division II program. It was a 70 degree Saturday afternoon. Blue sky. Calm air. A setting that made it easy to slow down and stay with the moment.

She ran the 3000 meter race. There was no spectacle or production. Just a start line, a steady rhythm, and the choice to step in and participate. In many ways, it reflected how life often unfolds when we stop waiting for perfect conditions and begin engaging with what’s already here.

What made the moment especially meaningful was how naturally this path had unfolded. Aspen was a competitive dancer throughout high school, not a distance runner. Running entered her life gradually. We ran the Chicago Marathon together a couple years ago. We shared a few Austin half marathons along the way. Last fall, she was invited to join the Division II Westmont College cross country team. This spring, she was invited to run track. Each step arrived as an invitation, and each invitation was met with openness.

Standing there, I was reminded that we rarely need a complete picture of the future to move forward with confidence. Often, clarity grows as we take intentional steps and stay present to the process.

A 3000 meter race invites rhythm, consistency, and presence. It rewards staying connected to yourself and trusting the pace you’re running. The same is true when we begin authoring our future. Direction takes shape through engagement, not delay.

What stayed with me had nothing to do with time or placement. It was the way she showed up. Calm. Committed. Fully engaged. She wasn’t striving to become someone else. She was living into who she is becoming, one step at a time.

That is what authorship looks like. The future isn’t something we uncover all at once. It’s something we write through the choices we make today. The moments we lean into. The invitations we accept. The pace we choose to honor.

You don’t need a perfect plan to begin. You don’t need certainty to move forward. You only need the willingness to engage honestly with the moment you’re already in and choose your next mile with intention.

That is the heart of the 10 Year Letter. It isn’t about predicting where you’ll be in ten years. It’s about aligning who you are today with who you’re becoming, one intentional choice at a time. When you write from that place, clarity follows action and direction emerges naturally.

So here’s the question worth sitting with. If your future were written one mile at a time, what would the next right mile look like for you?

And if you’re ready to slow the pace, get intentional, and begin authoring what comes next, the 10 Year Letter process is here to support that journey. Not as a destination, but as a starting point. A way to write forward with clarity, confidence, and trust.

Because the future doesn’t begin someday.

It begins the moment you choose to write the next line.