The positive aspects of "Feeling lost"

Time and again in life we find ourselves a bit disoriented, confused and questioning whether we are living the life we are meant to live, working in the right field, pursuing our true passions or perhaps even are surrounded by the right types of people.

Society has traditionally conditioned us to have a negative association with “feeling lost” and confused about life, hence A successful individual ought to never ever lose direction or purpose- This obviously doesn’t necessarily hold to be true and sometimes getting “lost” is sometimes necessary in order to find our true purpose and thrive.

I believe that having a sense of “lostness” now and again can be a positive thing and a good moment to rediscover life and see things from a fresh perspective.

Moments of feeling lost are a great opportunity to rediscover yourself, find new purpose, perhaps learn some new skills or simply enjoy yourself- Hence feeling lost isn’t negative in any way as long as you use this time to give yourself and your life a shift.

So if you find yourself at a point in life where you are feeling a sense of “lostness”, here are some ideas of how you could approach your current state in a positive way.

1. Explore new things

This can be a great time to explore new interests and parts within yourself or perhaps even do some travelling. Trying things you have never done before can feel scary at first, but it is the only way to discover new sides of yourself and there is no better time to do so than when you find yourself a bit in a rut of what to do next in your life. Travelling or exploring new places also is a really great way of expanding your horizon, opening your mind and perhaps getting new ideas of what you truly want to do with your life. So use this time to set out to and explore new horizons as well as gaining some new skills, and trying out some new hobbies.

2. Career freedom

Moments of uncertainty are a great time to experiment with trying out a different career path. Perhaps you would like to enter a different field or perhaps even go back to school? It can feel daunting to leave the safety of an established career and trying out something entirely new but in order to live the life of your dreams taking some risks is a must. Let go of all your excuses to not make a change and remember that it is never too late. In fact in the times we live in making career changes at any age has become rather common and there are tons of options to enter further education while working a full time job such as evening universities and flexible online learning programs.

3. Having fun

Taking a deep breath, letting go for a moment and trusting that things will work out and embracing the uncertainty and the freedom is needed from time to time when you find yourself in a lost state of mind. Simply enjoy yourself a bit and have fun. In our busy lives we rarely create enough time to simply “live” and enjoy ourselves. Take some time to just enjoy yourself, do things which you love and bring you happiness, meet up with some friends, go out for a nice dinner. When you let go and relax into a simple state of just “being”, some of the answers you are seeking for might suddenly appear to you in an unexpected way.

4. Indicator that something is out of alignment

When you are going through a time in which you feel confused about whether you want to continue living life in the same way, or feel that you have a lack of direction these are all indicators that you aren’t on the right path. If you are truly living the life you are meant to live and doing things which give you a sense of purpose you wouldn’t feel lost in the first place. Thus it is important to recognise these kinds of feelings, they are indicators that there is something else out there for you and that you should re-adjust your path.

5. Triggers Growth

When you are going through times of transition, growth is inevitable. Feeling lost forces you to try new things, learn more about yourself and expand your horizons. Now growth isn’t always easy, it often comes with a certain amount of discomfort and pushing yourself to your limits, but when you will look back on confusing and transitional times in your life, you will realise how far you have come.

6. Finding yourself in a true sense

Now to me this is the most important aspect of going through a “lost period” - You end up truly finding yourself because in order to be “found” you must first “be lost”. This can be a time in which you truly look inside yourself and ask yourself who you are and what truly matters to you. You might let go of some parts of yourself while discovering other parts which have previously been buried within you and start seeing things in a different light.

Being or feeling lost surely shouldn’t be something you dread, but can be a time of discovery, transition and new beginnings. I hope you have found some ideas and inspiration in how to turn periods of “feeling lost” into a really positive time in your life.