If you are feeling lost in life you should know you are not alone and it is totally normal. In fact, for me personally, I have felt ‘lost’ at various points in my life but now I have figured out that this ‘lost’ feeling can actually be turned into something really positive and exciting.
Feeling lost in life and especially in our 30s can really impact our mental health. It can put a stop to us moving our life forward in a direction, but sometimes we have to experience this feeling in order to make changes. And although change can be scary, it’s also necessary, especially when we’re feeling lost or lacking direction in life.
If you are looking for some sprinkles of inspiration on how to help yourself when you are feeling lost you have taken the first step. From someone who has experienced this feeling many times, especially in my 30s, here are my top tips to get you feeling back in control of your life and heading in the right direction.
8 Ways To Help Yourself When You Are Feeling Lost In Life
1. Write Out Your Goals
Feeling lost can be overwhelming, thoughts are racing through your mind about your next steps and which direction you should take your life in. This can be daunting, and it’s impossible to separate and categorise your thoughts in your head. Therefore you should write down all potential goals and ideas you have. it doesn’t matter how crazy or wild they seem. It’s much easier to sift through thoughts when you can see them written on a page. You can put them into lists of importance or pros and cons to help you figure out what REALLY matters to you. This is the very start of the process in building up to your next step in life, and that’s thrilling! You will also immediately feel better by writing your thoughts down.
If you haven’t yet, read our post, 3 Reasons You Need To Write Down Your Thoughts for even more advice on the benefits of journalling and how transformative it can be, especially when you’re feeling lost..
2. Start A New Hobby
I am a big advocate for enriching your life with hobbies. There are so many benefits depending on the hobby you choose; learning something new, being creative, meeting new people, bringing in additional income. Hobbies encourage personal growth and development which is ideal when it comes to feeling lost. You also never know where a hobby will lead you; a career change, a new business, a new partner. In additional to all of this, they are a healthy distraction for when you are feeling down about life or a little lost. As they promote lots of happy endorphins and it’s time well spent.
If you are looking for some hobby inspirations, check out this post; 5 Hobbies You Need To Have In Your Thirties, you never know what you might start next!
3. Be Kind To Yourself
We could all do with being a little kinder to ourselves. When our thoughts are negative they can often spiral out of control and we all know that negativity breeds negativity. The first thing to do is not to blame yourself for feeling lost in a world that is constantly changing and often filled with expectations and pressures from other people. The second thing to do is remind yourself as often as possible how great you are doing and that everything is going to be okay.
4. A Problem Shared...
Is a problem halved. Whether or not you actually believe this to be true, talking about how you feel can really help. Whether it’s with a professional or a close friend, sometimes you just need a sounding board and a place to download your thoughts. You will often find that other people also feel the same or have experienced those feelings of being lost.
5. Try, Try And Try Again
At times of feeling lost, sometimes the easiest thing to do is nothing. But we all know this isn’t going to get us anywhere. If you’re not sure what direction to take, or if you don’t have any direction to take, the best thing to do is just try. Test the waters or take that leap and know it’s okay to fail. Often the life path we are on can end up leading us to a completely different path, which might be exactly where you are meant to be. So even if you fail at something, the failure might lead you to your next destination.
I remember feeling lost in my career and my Dad once said to me, ‘A career is like dating, you keep trying different jobs out until you find the one you like.’ It was a lightbulb moment for me, if I don’t like what I am doing, then I just try something different until I do find what I like.
6. I Am Grateful For...
Even when I’m not feeling lost, I like to remind myself of all the good things I do have in my life. But it’s especially helpful to do it in moments of stress and uncertainty to remember the bigger picture. We can often get so bogged down in ourselves and our negative thoughts we forget to take a moment to just pause and recognise that we have lots of things to be grateful for as well. This is a great one to write down and refer back to as well,
7. Remind Yourself How Far You Have Come
We get told not to look back and keep moving forward, but it’s important to remember how much progress you have made and how many changes you have been through, and you should feel good about those. Cat, my co-blogger wrote a post ‘Why Does Everyone Want To Be Happy?’ she talks about how her 22 year old self would be proud of everything she has achieved to date, and this is such a lovely way of looking back when we feel like we haven’t come that far. In reality you will have experienced so much growth, give yourself some recognition for that.
It also reminds us that nothing lasts forever, and times when we have felt ‘stuck’ or lost, in the past, don’t last forever.
8. Take A Break For Inspiration And Clarity
In times of stress or uncertainty, removing ourselves from our usual set up is a beneficial way to calm the mind and have breathing space, either to allow thinking time or do the opposite and switch off! Whether it’s a long weekend, a month long trip, or an entire Sunday to yourself with a drive down to the coast, find the space you need that removes you from everyday life. It’s also a great way to find new inspiration, often something we are lacking when we feel lost in life.
There is no denying that when you experience feeling lost in life it can be hard on our mental health. Not all of these are going to make you feel better or magically help you find your way, but even if just 1 makes you feel 1% better, then it’s worth trying.
If you have any other suggestions or tips you use when you’re struggling with feeling lost, please leave them in the comments below.
Amber x
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