When Life Feels Too Heavy, Take One Next Step

Behind the Scenes: Quick Before You Forget Episode 01 with Dr. Antonio Harrison

There’s a specific kind of exhaustion that doesn’t come from doing too much in one day. It comes from carrying too much for too long.

The mental tabs you never close. The weight you don’t talk about. The fear you keep calling “realism.” The quiet belief that everyone else seems to be doing life better than you are.

And when you’re in that place feeling burned out, uncertain, and maybe a little numb most advice feels either too fluffy to trust or too complicated to start.

That’s why my very first guest on Quick Before You Forget mattered so much. Coach Doc (Dr. Antonio Harrison) didn’t show up with clichés. He showed up with honesty. With lived experience. With the kind of grounded wisdom that doesn’t ask you to be perfect.

And the core concept that came through in this conversation is one you can use today:

You don’t need to fix everything. You just need to take the next step.

That’s it.

Not the full plan. Not the five-year vision. Not the version of you who has it all together.

Just the next step.

Because when life feels heavy, your brain starts trying to solve the entire future at once. And that’s where the spiral begins.

So in this episode, we talk about the simplest, most underrated way to climb out of overwhelm:

1) Rename the feeling: fear vs. nervousness

Coach Doc offered a reframe I haven’t stopped thinking about:

“It’s not fear I’m experiencing, it’s nervousness. Those are two completely different things.”

Fear says: Don’t move. Something terrible might happen.Nervousness says: This matters. You’re stretching. Keep going.

This is a small shift, but it’s powerful. Because when you call everything “fear,” your body hears danger. But when you call it “nervousness,” your body hears possibility.

Action you can take today: The next time you feel that tightness in your chest, say out loud:

“This isn’t fear. This is nervousness.”

“Nervous means I’m on the edge of growth.”

“I can do nervous.”

2) Use your past as proof (you already have the data)

One of the most grounding lines of the whole conversation was this:

“If you listed out everything negative that has ever happened to you… you made it through. You’re still here.”

Your brain will try to convince you that you can’t handle one more thing. But the evidence says otherwise. You have survived things you didn’t think you would survive. You have rebuilt after disappointments. You have kept showing up.

Not perfectly. But consistently enough to still be here.

Action you can take today: Write down 5 hard things you’ve already made it through.

Then write one sentence underneath:

“This is proof I can handle hard things.”

That’s your receipt. Your resilience record. Your reminder.

3) Stop predicting disaster (and make a plan anyway)

This was one of the most practical “take it and use it” tools Coach Doc shared: He described walking one of his athletes through a worst-case scenario spiral… all the way down.

Not to scare him. To free him.

Because once you get to the bottom of the barrel and ask:

“Okay… then what?”

You stop being trapped by the unknown.

You create a plan. And a plan turns panic into power.

Action you can take today: the “Okay, then what?” exercise

Pick the thing you’re afraid of. Then write:

1. What’s the worst thing that could happen?

2. If that happens… okay, then what would I do?

3. And then what?

4. And then what?

Keep going until you reach something true:

“I would take the next step.”

The goal isn’t to be fearless. The goal is to remember: you are not helpless.

4) Remember: connection is medicine

This episode was also a reminder that even in the most divided world connection is still available and life-changing.

Sometimes through technology. Sometimes in a VR headset. Sometimes in a text from your kid. Sometimes in a random line at a coffee shop.

Coach Doc said something so simple and so true:

“Everyone wants to be seen. They want to be heard.”

That’s why he recommends one of the easiest ways to reconnect to humanity when you feel alone:

Give a genuine compliment.

Because compliments open doors. And conversation reminds you: you are not the only person carrying something heavy.

Action you can take today (your challenge): Compliment one stranger today.

Make it specific. Make it real.

“I love your earrings.”

“That color looks amazing on you.”

"You have a calming energy.”

Then watch what happens. Most people light up. Because being seen is rare.

5) The main takeaway: The next step is enough

You don’t need a total life makeover to start healing. You need momentum.

And momentum starts with one small action that proves you’re still in the driver’s seat.

If you’re burned out, lost, or unsure right now, here are a few “next step” options. Choose one:

• Take a 10-minute walk outside without your phone.

• Text one person you trust: “Can I tell you something real?”

• Write down three things you’re grateful for (even tiny ones).

• Put on one song that makes you feel like yourself again.

• Do the “Okay, then what?” exercise and make your plan.

• Compliment a stranger.

That’s it. That’s the work. Because you don’t climb out of heaviness by thinking harder. You climb out by moving one step at a time.

Want to listen to the episode?

This is Episode 01 of Quick Before You Forget  and it’s for the person who needs a reminder:

You are not behind. You are not broken. You're not alone.

You are becoming. And you don't have to do it all today. You just have to do the next right thing...quick, before you forget.

Reflection question (for journaling or comments)

What’s one “next step” you can take today that would make future-you feel safer, steadier, or more like yourself?