Feeling lost in life? Me too. Actually, the more I speak about this topic with friends and family, the more I realise that the majority of people feel lost in life. It’s just, not everyone is so open about it. It can be difficult to navigate your way through this world, especially if you had planned a future that has not come yet. Perhaps you had a career in mind, a topic to study at university, or thought you would be in a relationship by now. Whatever it may be, I know it can feel frustrating to feel lost. I have been feeling lost for the past couple of years. This ‘lostness’ has come about in different ways, but more recently, I have found myself really questioning everything I am doing and the path I am taking. I have researched extensively on how to overcome this feeling and have found multiple things that work for me, that will hopefully work for you too. Here are multiple ways on how to find your way when you feel lost in life.
Journal
Journalling is a great way to get everything out of your mind onto paper. For me it is like decluttering the mind. You may not be used to journalling and there are a few prompts you could ask yourself. For example: ‘How am I feeling today?’, ‘What are my three favourite things to do in my spare time?’, ‘If I could succeed in anything, what would I do?’.
When I was feeling completely unfulfilled with my life and my career, I decided I needed to take action. The only issue was that I did not know what I actually wanted to do. Then I came across a Youtuber called Struthless. When I needed tips he provided some great ones. He would ask question such as, ‘If I only had 6months, 5 years, or 10 years to live, what would I do with my life?’. This could be anything from career, travelling, spending more time with family etc. It helps you really think about what you prioritise in life and what you would love to do. Another question he asked was ‘If I couldn’t fail, what would I do?’. I wrote all of the things down that I’d do if I wasn’t afraid of failure. Questions like these can really help you find some sort of idea on what you might want to do in the future. They are great questions to ask yourself when you are feeling lost.
Get out of your comfort zone
In addition to this, if you are feeling lost, you need to get out of your comfort zone. By this I mean try some new things and meet new people. For example, try some new hobbies, join a run or fitness club, join an art club, learn a technical skill. It can be anything. Why do you need to do this? Because if you are feeling lost, meeting new people and learning something new may help you find the spark that is missing. It may be difficult at first, but it is a great way for you to grow in your life.
Mindfulness
The reason I have added this section is because feeling lost in life can be an emotionally draining feeling. If you are anything like me, you might spend months over-thinking whilst feeling lost. It can be a difficult to deal with. That is why I think practising some sort of mindfulness is essential. Whether this be praying, using an app (such as calm), or meditating. Those times away from the thoughts are essential to give your brain and mental capacity some rest. I know it can be extremely hard navigating life, but it is not worth losing yourself over.
Change your mindset
To me, this is an extremely important thing to do. You need to change your mindset on life. A lot of the time people feel lost due to things like comparison, or living on a timeline. For example, thinking you would have achieved certain milestones by a certain age. Or perhaps you have changed your mind on what you thought you wanted to do. You need to stop thinking that success and goals are achieved by a certain age and cannot be obtained as you get older. You need to stop thinking that you are unworthy because you may not be in a relationship. Or perhaps you do not have the career you want right now. You need to start looking around and seeing this part of your life as a journey. Not everything is going to be straightforward. There will be bumps along the way. You need to change your mindset and realise that it is okay to feel this way. It is okay to have a some uncertainty about your life. It is okay. Once you change your mindset into a more positive one, you may start to feel a bit more free within. I won’t lie to you, there may be some bad days, but you need to understand that there is always a light at the end of a tunnel (as cliche as that may sound), it is true.
Final thoughts
It’s okay if you feel lost in your life, everyone does at some point in time. If you are reading this, just know you are not alone in the thoughts. Everything will eventually work out for you.
Written by Hannah 🙂
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