Feeling Lost in Life? Find Yourself With These 10 Tips
If you’re unsure of who you are or what you want to do in life, it can be difficult to feel happy. Or, you may even feel like something is wrong with you.
Many things can make you feel lost in life. Sometimes it is easier to brush these feelings off instead of taking a closer look at what might be causing you to feel that way.
Have you just gone through a traumatic experience such as the death of someone close to you? Have you just made a huge life decision? Or, perhaps, it’s a bunch of “smaller” things that have built up over time and you’re feeling burnt out.
It’s completely normal to feel this way. It is also completely normal to want to not feel this way. A large study shows that having a sense of purpose leads to living a longer and healthier life. It makes sense that you too want to find your life’s meaning.
So what can you do to feel better? Here are 10 tips, tricks, and strategies to help you when you’re feeling lost in life.
1. Feel Your Feelings
Ignoring your emotions can do more harm than good. Feelings are normal and valid. Sometimes it helps just to notice and acknowledge the emotions that are coming up around feeling lost in life. Do you feel angry at yourself for not having a direction? Or sad about a chapter of your life ending? Take the time to get clear.
Here is a helpful guide on how to feel your feelings.
2. Journal Your Thoughts
Journaling regularly is a great way to keep track of how you feel and why you feel that way. Looking back at what you wrote while you were at the height of feeling lost in life may help you gain an understanding of what was really going on. On the flip side, looking back on what you wrote while you were feeling happy can help you remember the activities or people that make you feel like yourself.
Check out this blog post from Healing Brave for 18 journal prompts to help you get in touch with your feelings. Or you can take a look at this post for 21 journal prompts to help you find clarity.
3. Practice Brain Dumping or Mind Mapping
If journal prompts feel intimidating, this practice is for you.
Set a timer for 5–10 minutes. Now, write out every single thing that comes to mind. It doesn’t have to make sense at all. Once the timer is up, take a look at your list. Do you see any kind of thought patterns?
You may realize something has been on your mind that you weren’t even aware of consciously. That could be the thread you pick up and follow to find your purpose in life.
4. Be True to Yourself
It is easy to feel lost in life if you’ve spent too much time trying to become someone you’re not. So notice when you are holding back your true self out of fear you won’t be accepted.
Use techniques like mindfulness and self-acceptance to get more comfortable being your true self. It may be uncomfortable at first but can save you a lot of heartache in the long run.
5. Volunteer
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” — Mahatma Gandhi
Volunteering your time may not give you all the answers to life’s questions, but it will do a few things for you.
- It will take your focus off of yourself. If you’ve been feeling lost for a while, you may be in a neverending spiral.
- It will help you have a bit of fun. This can help ease feelings of anxiety or sadness that can come along with feeling lost.
- You may meet new friends or find a new community. Finding people you connect with is so important to feeling like you have a solid foundation in life.
6. Get Out of Your Head
Getting out of your head and into your body can help you feel more in touch with yourself and less lost in life. This is especially true if you are experiencing emotions like anxiety or anger around feeling lost. These are often held as tension in the body. (Think clenching your teeth or your shoulders!) There are many studies confirming the mental health benefits of getting out of your head and into your body through yoga, exercise, dance, and more.
7. Find Your “Flow”
When was the last time you “lost yourself” in a good way? Maybe you were reading a book and the next thing you knew, you finished it in one sitting. Or, maybe you turned up the music and had your own personal dance party without a care in the world.
Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi coined the phrase flow to describe this experience.
Next time you feel off track, try putting yourself into a state of “flow.” Also, pay attention to what activities allow you to enter a flow state. An easy way to feel less lost in life is to spend as much time as possible doing those things!
8. Write Your Own Obituary
Though this can make you uncomfortable at first, writing your own obituary can be a life-changing experience. To try it out, think about how you would like to be remembered. Then, spend 5–10 minutes freewriting on what your life would look like if you lived it to the fullest. By letting your mind wander, you may realize where you need to go next in order for you to achieve your real goals.
This 2021 study claims that this technique can deliver a greater sense of acceptance, appreciation, and awe toward the possibilities of living the life one envisions.
Also, death anxiety is a real thing and could be partly to blame for your feeling lost. Trying to race to find yourself before it’s too late is something many people struggle with. Putting too much pressure on yourself to find your purpose can be causing you to chase people, goals, and work that are causing you to feel lost.
9. Trust The Process
This infographic created by Anna Vital of Adioma illustrates how many entrepreneurs, founders, and creatives found their life directions at varying ages and points in their life.
If you are feeling lost because you don’t have it “figured out” by the age you thought you would, take a step back. Remember that you have the power to change your life at any time. It is never too late to chase your dreams. So don’t keep yourself stuck in a situation you don’t like just because you think it is permanent. It’s not!
10. Ask Yourself Why
You may keep asking yourself WHAT you want, but try asking yourself WHY you want it.
For example, do you want to move somewhere new but you can’t figure out where? Start asking yourself why? What are you missing where you are that you want?
The more detailed your answers are, the more you’ll understand your needs. This exercise will also help you understand the areas of your life that may be causing you to feel lost. Maybe you chased a career or built a life that gave you what you wanted, but didn’t satisfy the real reason why you wanted those things in the first place!
Final Thoughts
When you realize that you’re feeling lost in life, try not to be overwhelmed by anxiety. It feels scary and uncomfortable and lonely, but these feelings can lead to amazing and rewarding changes in your life.
Using these tips, hopefully, you can embark on saying goodbye to feeling lost and hello to your newfound self. If you want more tips on how to transform your life into the one you want to live, check out my book Life Hacks: Simple Steps to a Healthier Life.
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