A living room filled with people you love and conversations having no end in sight, but your eyes are fixated at the tiny crack on that beige wall, tuning out every little joke, political judgement or sports debate. It’s almost as if you sailed on a ship to discover the land of fortune with all the supplies and manpower, but no navigation system.

The outside world looks at you with awe, celebrating your achievements and sometimes even wishing for the life you’ve built, but deep down, you feel empty. At first you thought ‘it’ was only a bad day, but later realized ‘it’ wasn’t going anywhere and found yourself faking the same act of being ‘fine’ every single day, without knowing how to explain the emptiness within you. There may be spring on the outside, but deep inside, there’s a fall that is inexplicable. You’re lost and have no idea what to do, who to talk to, where to begin or how to stop feeling ‘it’ altogether.

And then you Google ‘ What to do when you are feeling lost ? ’
The irony of this act is you find yourself with a thousand different opinions thrown at your tiny screen, making this feeling of being lost only worse !

So why am I writing this and adding another entry to Google’s index of the lost catalog, you ask ?
The short and simple answer is that I’ve been lost myself, not once, but multiple times, and hope my experience can help another fellow wanderer in one or more ways.

What To Do When You Are Feeling Lost ?

1.  We ALL Are Drifters

That one hour commute to work, the 9-5 grind, and the moment you enter your home and throw your socks aside, exhausted by the banality of your existence, you wonder how you drifted so far away from yourself.

The truth is, we are ALL drifters. Even the people you think are the happiest have drifted away from their plans to live a life they didn’t naturally plan. Do you think anybody on this planet would like to plan a 9-5 grind for themselves ? While we’re young, we often imagine the most elaborate and fantastical ways of existence for ourselves, and when reality strikes, we feel the drift as if the moon and the oceans planned against your will to set your life on autopilot, running by the rules of forces beyond your control.

You are NOT alone. It is natural to feel this drift and feel lost, because we’re wired to seek more, want more and feel more than we did yesterday. Don’t beat yourself up over it.

2.  DON’T Quit Your Day Job !

Escape the comfort zone they said.
Quit that job they said.
Being lost is when you will find yourself they said.

Heard that before ? The most common piece of advice you will ever hear in today’s age of unlimited content is to quit everything and follow your dream. The reason you’r stuck where you are is because you have bills to pay, responsibilities to commit to and a life that you’ve built with insane hard work, that can’t just be ignored because you read a beautiful quote the other day.

It’s good advice to follow your dreams, but making hasty decisions without a plan can prove to be the worst decisions you ever make. Survival is first priority — make sure you stock up on supplies before you jump the boat.

3.  Baby Steps

Sometimes all you need to nudge you out from this feeling of being lost is a small change from your mundane routine

• Take a small vacation
• Read a classic novel
• Try something you’ve never done before – rafting, maybe ?

‘ Too simplistic, doesn’t work and I have bigger problems that won’t go away reading Lord of The Rings ’, you’re thinking, right ?

I know that feeling, and no matter what I did, how many times I took a short break, there I was sitting in the middle of the living room, staring at that meaningless crack, looking for a purpose.

That is when I took my first baby step, while holding my job, stocking up on my beans and bread, and started writing this blog. The smallest step of exploring my love for writing has created a meaningful impact, where I found myself contributing to a greater cause.

All you need is a baby step towards something you’ve always wanted to do, and believe me, the ideas won’t stop coming to you. You will wake up in the middle of the night to make a note of your new ideas, stare outside the window devising your strategy, sleep less, but feel energized like never before.

4.  Cancel the Noise

When you’re lost, you want to immediately stop feeling this way and distract yourself with the infinte sources of noise available. Whether it is through social media, entertainment, social gatherings or even that drilling work outside your apartment — you do not want to feel lost.

You need to do the opposite and LISTEN.
There is nobody who can help you more than paying attention to the thoughts that haunt you. It will lead you to understanding your feelings about your life and assist you in making that crucial decision when the time is right.
Keep a close watch on those thoughts because Silence is Full of Answers !

---

I hope this post will serve you well and offer some hope even if you’ve cornered yourself into a dark place.

Carpe Diem !

 

Find Balance with Utopia Life Coaching !

Related Articles :

How to Resolve the War between the Voices in Your Head