You Aren’t the Only One Who Feels Lost in Life

Get good grades in school, attend college, and get a stable job. That’s the mindset society pushes us to adopt.

It can be soul-crushing to feel like our entire life is already planned for us. So, some of us rebel.

I rebelled against society and didn’t do everything that was expected of me. This meant joining the army, dropping out of college, working odd jobs, marketing, and writing.

Just when you think you’ve figured life out, one traumatic event can make you question your direction as well as your purpose.

Everyone Has Felt Lost at One Point in Time

You can be the hardest-working individual who loves to prioritize things, seek advice, stick to a plan — and still feel lost. Everything you wanted to do may start to fall in place, but there’s just one thing.

The feelings of fulfillment and happiness are missing. You can experience a high from different career paths, hobbies, curiosities, etc. The toughest thing is going all-in on one venture and then quitting. Nobody wants to be a quitter.

According to NPR, three in five Americans report feeling lonely, lost, or sad.

No one wants to feel lonely, lost, or sad. A superior mindset would tell you that you’re lost right now, not forever. A confident individual would affirm themselves as worthy of happiness and find their true self.

When our purpose in life seems directionless, we can be crippled by the fear of failure and accept it. Many people are validated by money, the opinions of others, or other external factors. This may blind them to where their true north is.

Once you identify yours, you can map a plan to get there.

We All Go Through Some Struggle

The guy who started their own business starts to lose money, and now they’re second-guessing their ideas.

The gal who wanted to be a full-time artist is struggling to sell her first piece of artwork, and it’s been a year.

The father with three kids working at McDonald’s is struggling to make ends meet.

Every situation is different. We may go through similar troubles, but we’re all struggling. Whether it’s financially, emotionally, or mentally, we're all going through something.

Adversity Does Not Discriminate

You could be the wealthiest person alive but not feel loved or you could be the poorest person alive but be so happy to be alive. Mindset can make or break a person. Mindset determines the direction of your life.

When finding a job, there’s so much adversity we face. Some challenges include:

• Finding a job that pays us enough money to support our lifestyles.
• Finding a job that supports our well-being and takes good care of us.
• Finding a job that makes us feel like we can climb that ladder and get promoted.

To achieve any of these fine goals in the work-world, we’ve got to handle the internal and external problems that come with it.

• We have to get the requirements to apply for a particular job.
• We need to be willing to commit time from our lives to that type of work.
• We have to make sure we can maintain the job and continue pushing through the challenges that come with it.
• We may face the feeling of not being fulfilled enough from the work we do.

Failure is inevitable, and as long as we’re able to look past it, fight through it, and conquer it, we’ll be alright. Don’t give up until you find a better opportunity that’s more worthy of your time.

Don’t allow the anger or sadness of feeling lost to put you in a dark place that you never come out of. Some people never find themselves, and they end up on their death beds with nothing but regret.

Avoid Doing Any of The Following

When you’re lost or scared, you need some way to cope or compensate for it. You can practice meditation, seek inspiration, and reach out to people you love.

Or, you could do the complete opposite and tarnish your chances of ever finding yourself. Avoid these three things:

1. Gambling

We may be dealing with money issues and feel like gambling will fix it.

Casinos, sports betting, or risky stock market options are never a safe bet. You might win 1 out of 100 times, which could lead to losing everything.

When you’re lost, you may be emotionally unstable, and wagering your money in hopes for more is too good to be true.

2. Drinking

Drinking is a depressant and can cause a person to break out in rage and become dependent on alcohol. It can damage relationships and cause a huge dent in your paycheck if you let it consume your life.

When you’re lost in life, 100 times out of 100, drinking won’t fix your problems. You have to confront them yourself and break out of the hole.

3. Keeping Your Feelings Inside

Avoid keeping your thoughts to yourself at all costs. There are people in your life that can relate to your situation and help by sharing their experiences. Never underestimate the power of sharing your vulnerable side.

People are empathetic creatures, and they’ll do whatever they can to help someone struggling on their own. Reach out to your inner circle or call a professional. Someone is always willing to help.

How to Stop Feeling Lost

Finally, we’ve finished acknowledging everything that comes with feeling lost.

So how do we get rid of this feeling? Three methods have worked for me, and I know they can help you, too.

1. Talk to People Who Are Willing to Listen

Friends, family, a significant other — heck, even strangers on Facebook! — are willing to help you. Whether you believe it or not doesn’t matter. You have to force yourself to be vulnerable and ask for help.

No one can help you if you don’t speak up and seek guidance. Someone older than you has most likely gone through similar struggles and can point you in the right direction.

2. Acknowledge What Makes You Happy or Fulfilled

Everyone has something that brings them joy. What do you look forward to? Make a list of every little thing down to the basics that make you happy.

Now you need to execute all of the things on the list that give you drive. Work hard, play hard is the philosophy here. You’ll find yourself, just do what makes you happy.

3. Keep Yourself Occupied

Stay busy! I can’t stress this enough. When your schedule is wide open, you’re prone to doing nothing at all. I’ve been there, and it’s not fun. I feel like I’m not contributing to society, making anything of myself, and losing time.

Based on the list of things that make you happy, pick a couple, and just do them. You’ll see how staying occupied improves your mental health and stops you from overthinking.

The Takeaway

Life is full of unknowns. We don’t have all the answers, but we do know when we’re happy.

• Everyone’s been lost at one point in their life. All that’s different is their circumstances. It takes time to find yourself.
• Adversity doesn’t discriminate. You can have problems even if you’ve “made it.” We all have them, and we can feel lost at any point in time.
• Avoid gambling, drinking, and keeping your feelings to yourself. Open up and be vulnerable because it can turn your life around.
• Talk to people who are willing to listen, acknowledge what makes you happy, and keep yourself occupied. Dig yourself out of the hole one day at a time.

Not everyone finds themselves. Some people never do.

Have hope and take action. Don’t let that be you.