I think I feel lost at least once a month. Nothing is going right, I’m in a bad mood, and I can’t see a way forward. I start to question everything and don’t see any good answers.
Feeling this way is nothing to be worried about. Actually, it’s quite normal and it can happen for any number of reasons. The feelings are often the same. Feeling lost, empty, and unsure of where you’re going. Usually this is a sign that something needs to change.
Let’s take a look at what can bring on this feeling of despair and how you can handle it.
1. Having a bad day
Nothing is going right, you’re stuck, you can’t focus, you’re just off. This may be brought on by all sorts of things like failure or fatigue or relationships or life in general.
What’s important in this situation is to notice that this feeling isn’t your typical state. You’ve got a plan, you know where you’re trying to go and maybe its just taking its toll. Tomorrow will be better. This is one of the few situations where you don’t need to take any drastic measures.
How to handle it? In this case, you can just chalk it up to a bad day. You’ve been thrown off your game, so just give yourself the day to recover and rediscover yourself. Get back to it tomorrow.
2. Lacking confidence in your decision
Sometimes we make a decision, a choice on where to go in life, but it’s not turning out the way we hoped. We immediately begin to question that decision and dread if we made the right one. Fear consumes us.
This sort of thinking immediately takes a toll on you. You start to doubt yourself, you start to lose confidence, and you become uncertain of the direction you are going. The thing is, no matter your decision, such doubts usually creep into your mind at some point or another.
How to handle it? We all question our decisions and have our doubts, but we can’t let them stop us from the path we’re on. If we’ve made a decision, we need to realize it’s not going to be easy. Having doubts is normal, but stick it out and see where it goes before you think about giving up.
3. Wandering for too long
Now things are getting serious. You’ve never really put too much thought into your life and how you wanted it to go. Instead you just wandered and drifted along, letting life deal your cards, without any initiative.
Once you start noticing this, you immediately feel lost. You’ve gotten comfortable with the life that’s been given to you, but you’re not happy. You start to feel like life is a little empty. You can’t figure out how you ended up where you are.
How to handle it? It’s time to take a stand. Start to understand what you want in life, what will make you happy, and begin to move in that direction. Taking action is the only way to pull yourself out of your wandering ways.
4. Being too busy for what you love
Life can kick you down to the point where you can’t do what you really want to. You have no time for passion or the things that truly excite you. Instead you’re drowned by work and responsibilities and things that you don’t enjoy.
You understand what you love and what you would rather be doing, but you’re not finding the time to do it. You know what you want, but you can’t have it. You feel defeated.
How to handle it? Seek balance in life. There’s always going to be an endless list of things to do, but if you prioritize what’s important to you, you’ll be much happier. Try to be strict with your time and give yourself the outlet you truly need.
5. Lacking in purpose
On the other hand, maybe you just don’t know what you want from life. You have a good job and friends and family, but you’re lacking in purpose.
This is where you start to question life itself. What’s the meaning of life? Why am I here? What is my purpose? When these questions start to arise, you’ll realize that it may be time to discover who you truly are.
How to handle it? Start searching for the things you love. Try new things. Look for what makes you feel alive. We often say we don’t know what our passions are, but if you look a little closer, you may be surprised.
6. Distracted, unfocused, and overloaded
Maybe its not that you can’t find purpose, but that you have too many things that would fit the bill.
You want to do it all. You’re overwhelmed with choice and so you get nothing of substance accomplished. You look at your normal day and say, did I even do anything of value today? Where did the day go?
How to handle it? You may need to cut things out of your life. We can handle a lot, but not all at once. Pick a way forward to focus on and accomplish it. Then you can move on to the next one. How can you make these decisions? Trying asking these 4 questions.
Not until we are lost, do we begin to find ourselves.
The good news is, even though you may feel lost or empty, you may finally be waking up. Having these feelings is a signal to start understanding and thinking about your life. It’s normal to have these thoughts and it can also be a blessing.
If you’re feeling lost or empty, try to understand what is causing it and take action. It may be the best thing you ever do.