At the age of 33, many individuals find themselves at a pivotal point in their lives where they may be seeking clarity and direction.
Whether it’s related to career choices, personal fulfilment, or overall life goals, finding your own path can be both challenging and transformative. Having direction in life gives us a purpose and this is a key attribute to our overall mental and emotional wellbeing.
In this blog post, we will explore six positive strategies that can help you navigate this critical phase with optimism and purpose.
By focusing on self-reflection, goal-setting, and embracing new opportunities, it’s possible to embrace this chapter of life with confidence and determination.
So, if you find yourself unsure about the next steps to take at 33, read on to discover empowering strategies that can guide you towards a fulfilling and meaningful future.
1. Write Down All Your Goals - No Matter How Big Or Small
Writing down your goals has many theraputic benefits and can be a great aid for helping you find the direction you need. No matter how big or small or bizarre the goal might be.
If you want to learn to Scuba dive, write it down. If you want to beat a 5k time, or start a coding course. Whatever it is, writing down goals can actually set you on the path and give you a sense of direction. It doesn’t have to be a career goal or relationship goal.
You will find that the more goals you write down the more your mind will start piecing together your next steps in life.
Pick a few goals that you deem to be the most important to you, that you’d love to explore and achieve. The ones that really speak to you and ignite a fire in your belly.
The next step is to write out a plan of action. The idea here is not to have a complete step by step, you start small.
What’s the first step you are going to take to get you closer to achieving your goal? And go from there. Once you are on a new journey, you will feel more and more like you have direction.
If you’re unsure where or how to start writing your goals, check out Mind Tools post on Personal Goal Setting. There is a great step-by-step guide you can follow and lots of helpful tips.
2. Try Out New Hobbies
The benefits to having hobbies are endless. For our mental wellbeing and emotional health, and depending on the hobby we choose, it could benefit our physical health and bank balance if you create something you can sell. Win win!
But hobbies also allow our brain to switch off and enjoy the task at hand. This is the perfect strategy if you find yourself constantly overthinking about your lack of direction.
We can become so consumed by what’s not going right in our life that we forget to actually switch off those thoughts. Giving our restless minds a break. You deserve it.
But, that’s not all hobbies are good for. They can actually provide some direction to our life. You never know what is going to come of your hobby or who you might meet through doing it. Keep an open mind and if you’re not sure where to start with this, read A New Hobby In Your 30s Is Life Changing.
3. Say YES To New Opportunities
Opportunities are exciting but also daunting. And that can be the reason we often turn down a new opportunity. Because we are scared of the unknown and actually saying ‘yes’ to them is another matter entirely.
But new opportunities can quite literally change our life in an instant. It could be a promotion, a new job, a business opportunity, even a new partner in life. And change- when it is good, can ignite a fire in us helping us find the direction we have been lacking in life.
So don’t dismiss opportunities because they feel scary or unsettling, embrace the new adventure and enjoy the ride!
4. Talk To Your Friends
You’ll soon start to realise that no one really has their life figured out. Sure someone people might have an idea of where they want to go next in a career, or a friend that is on the marriage and baby path.
But I challenge you to find someone that has ALL areas of their lives going in the direction they had planned.
Conversing with other people that are also experiencing a lack of direction in their 30s may not solve how you are feeling, but it should make you feel better to know that you’re not alone.
And when you are having moments of feeling down about not know the direction your life is going in, you can turn to them because they will understand. And vice versa.Neither of you might have the answer but you’ll be a source for comfort and understanding.
5. Remind Yourself
This is just a phase, even if it feels like a ridiculously long phase that’s never going to end. It will. Because life is constantly changing and moving.
You might meet someone at your favourite coffee shop, move to a new country and start a family. You could make a new friend and start a business together. The possibilities of your future are endless, you just have to believe it! Even though you’re struggling to find direction, it doesn’t mean life stops.
Now is the perfect time to take a moment and remind yourself how far you have come. And how much you have achieved and how much good you have in your life.
It’s also the ideal opportunity to take a moment to reflect on what has driven you in the past? What did you love doing and how did you get there? It might not be relevant now because that stage of your life is over, but it could provide useful insight into figuring out your next destination and it’s a great strategy to use when you’re lacking direction.
6. Travel With Purpose
Whilst I would never recommend travelling to escape from your problems, I do believe conscious travel can help us when we are feeling lost or lacking direction.
By conscious travel I mean travelling with purpose. Not just to spend 4 nights clubbing in Ibiza. Though that could be fun. I mean taking yourself outside your comfort zone and experiencing different cultures, meeting different people and pushing your boundaries.
Firstly it gives your mind a break. Planning your travels and being on your travels keeps your mind distracted. You can find yourself completely immersed in this new world and you’ll release lots of happy endorphins- ideal for a usually unsettled mind.
The new experiences and surroundings we find ourselves in can inspire us and inspire new ideas, new thoughts and the creativity our mind craves.
Secondly, when we are lacking in direction, it can make us feel stuck in a rut, but travelling makes us feel alive again. It’s certainly not the answer to all your problems, but it can really get the brain thinking differently- just what you need.
It doesn’t have to be a month long travel for you to reap the benefits. A long weekend in a new city with lots of activities planned can be ideal to give you a reset.
Life is always going to challenge us. But there is something about being in your 30s that seems to make everything feel that little bit harder.
Maybe it’s the realisation that we are not going to be young forever. Or maybe it’s because we keep finding new wrinkles or grey hairs so now we are dealing with that too!
But by embracing these strategies, you can approach this pivotal phase with confidence and resilience, setting yourself on a path toward a fulfilling and meaningful future. The direction in your life may not come immediately, but this is the first step towards your next future. And that’s exciting!
Amber