We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. – Joseph Campbell

The current situation in the world is leaving some people feeling lost for a variety of reasons. Are you feeling lost? Are you feeling that you are lacking in direction? Don’t know what you are doing in life? It’s very common for people in a wide variety of life circumstances and age groups right now to be feeling a little lost. Feeling lost can feel a lot like depression for some people. You might feel unmotivated and uninterested in everyday activities or even not be deriving the joy you usually do from things that used to make you happy. You might feel like life is lacking meaning. You also might feel like you’ve lost sight of the person you want to be. You might no longer recognise yourself. You may see no way out of it.

Research shows that when the tides of emotion are high, it’s easy to get lost. It can appear impossible to know which way you are really heading. Below are some of the more common (though not an exhaustive list) reasons why you feel this way.

• You might travel a lot. So you struggle to build relationships.
• You might have a partner who struggles to relax their iron grip on you, or you do everything together, or you feel guilty leaving him/her, or you keep thinking of her too much to your own expense.
• Your interests might have no community support in your area.
• You might work with a group of people whom you don’t connect with. 
• You might be too shy to seize opportunities.
• You might be jaded or quirky, so people prejudge you adversely.
• You might have poor communication skills.
• You might not be close to family because it was competitive, toxic, or a source of limited validation.
• You might not make any effort to connect with people.
• You might have the wrong strategy to meet people.
• You might lack a sense of purpose, so you feel the absence of engagement more keenly.

“The soul which has no fixed purpose in life is lost; to be everywhere, is to be nowhere.” – Michel de Montaigne

During times of pandemic, it’s easier than ever to feel lost. You may start to focus on things you can’t control, spiralling into a state of low mood and feelings of being trapped and frustrated or hopeless. Research (Everson et al., 1996 Jurnal opf Psychosomatic Medicine) shows both mental and physical health deteriorate quickly when we don’t have hope.

For more on that topic, do read this article: Finding Hope in Difficult Times. https://adam-eason.com/finding-hope-in-difficult-times/ 

Thankfully, there are ways out. 

1. Get out of your comfort zone. It’s a great opportunity to get uncomfortable by attempting new things and meeting new individuals. Development doesn’t occur by remaining in your place of solace where everything is well known and familiar. Move yourself to accomplish something that is somewhat startling, yet strengthening. It’s the space where you can extend yourself enough to proceed to develop and advance. Once you made a decision then don’t you think twice about it. Get yourself out of your comfort zone to achieve your targets. Start pushing yourself towards it and there you are, back again.

Here are a couple of article to help with this:
– 7 Steps to Leave Your Comfort Zone.
– Self-Hypnosis To Step Out of Your Comfort Zone.

2. Share your thoughts with someone you trust. Sharing is one of the most important life skills. Knowing how to share and being ready to share can help you to control your emotions, understand what you are going through, and easily find the right solutions. 

3. Engage friends and family. Sometimes, when you feel lost you want to withdraw from the world. But in silence there is suffering. Therefore, one of the best ways to find yourself and your footing in life is by gaining perspective from others. Go sit down with a trusted friend or family member, and tell them how you’re feeling. Don’t think you need to know the answer or have an agenda for the conversation. Just go to lunch and open up. In talking it through you’ll start to see the way through. 

4. Distance yourself from those who bring you down. Being in no relationship is better than being with the wrong one according to some. Don’t worry too much about folks who don’t worry about you. Know your worth! When you give yourself to those who disrespect you, you may lose out. Your friends in life should motivate, inspire, and respect you. Your circle should be well rounded and supportive. Keep it tight. Quality over quantity usually serves you better.

5. Volunteer. When we feel lost, it’s often because we’re so focused on ourselves or a major issue in our lives. That’s the perfect time to switch it up and go serve others. Go give some time and energy to good causes or people in need. You’ll never meet a more positive network of people than volunteers. Their heart, positivity, and spirit will give you hope and new perspective. In addition, the service in itself will inspire you and delight your flame.

6. Read. People spend too much time searching for social media for answers. Instead, put the phone down and go read a great book. Reading is the best-laid path to gaining clarity. Reading has the power to spark ideas about living a better quality of life. It can give you the ambition and will for something better. So, pick up a few personal development or spiritual books, and get reading!

Here is an article on that subject I recommend: The Importance of Reading More.

7. Gain momentum. You can gain shift your feelings by gaining momentum. Just try accomplishing a few more small daily goals. These goals don’t have to be attached to your life purpose; maybe you haven’t figured everything out just yet. But it’s in living life that we start to find what’s meaningful in life. It’s in moving forward that we find confidence, that our eyes open, that the next path reveals itself.

8. Accept you need a change. You may have to make sacrifices to achieve your goals. Figure out what you can cut, to make room for what you can gain. If it doesn’t come with sacrifice, if it isn’t enormous effort, it may not be worth doing. 

9. Get help. Seek out people who you admire or who inspire you and learn from them. Or seek out professionals you can speak to, or someone you believe in if and when you feel trapped. Don’t keep disturbing thoughts deep inside your heart and soul. Seek help, seek fellowship and it will be a great tonic.

Sitting down to talk with somebody can give you the knowledge, insight and support to push ahead easily. Whether it’s a therapist. mentor, coach, companion, or instructor, request help and you’ll benefit accordingly.

10. Remember what your goals are. The best way to come out of a lost situation is to remind yourself of your goals. Ask yourself what your soul is aching for? Grab a journal and reconnect with your dreams and then you will start finding yourself.

11. Reminisce about your powers. Just make sure that you never feel numb. When you are not able to come to a conclusion remind yourself of your powers that distinguish you from others.

12. Go for an adventure. Sometimes when you feel lost, you stop thinking, laughing, and enjoying your life. To get back on track you sometimes need a kick, or a jolt of joy. Plan an adventure or outing with friends because sometimes we get ideas while exploring.

13. Sleep enough time. Lack of sleep usually leads to many physical and mental problems. When you don’t sleep enough every day (usually less than 7 hours), you can experience uncomfortable feelings like tiredness, decision fatigue and disorientation. You become annoyed and intolerant more easily. It usually makes you less productive in life and work, let alone dangerous health symptoms on your body. Seek out ways to enhance your sleep and so much else becomes better as a result. 

14. Reconnect with your fantasies. What sorts of dreams did you have for your life before you lost yourself in the busyness of life? What have you since considered unthinkable or far-fetched due to where you are today? Get a diary and reconnect with the fantasies you once had and even better, think of some new dreams. Ideally, what might you want to be, have, or do? What is your spirit throbbing for? When you reconnect with your fantasies, you’ll have the longing and motivation to start to make a move, and all of a sudden you will have gotten in touch with yourself once more.

15. Have a meaningful conversation. Call somebody in your family who makes you feel secure, safe, and upbeat. Ensure it’s somebody who can talk too transparently with. Spend an excessively long time on the telephone with them, finding up, offering your life to them, and vice-versa. For more on this topic, read this article: How to Have a Meaningful Conversation.

16. Understand that everyone in the world occasionally feels lost. Truth be told, understanding that you feel lost means you’re seeking something better in life, attempting to discover the love you merit, or hunting down a more profound significance in your life. You are somebody who is attempting to enhance, and that is an awesome quality.

Sometimes, we can benefit greatly from feeling a little bit lost, it can prove to be a fertile time in our life if we let it be so. 

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Likewise, if you’d like to learn more about self-hypnosis, understand the evidence based principles of it from a scientific perspective and learn how to apply it to many areas of your life while having fun and in a safe environment and have the opportunity to test everything you learn, then come and join me for my one day seminar which does all that and more, have a read here: The Science of Self-Hypnosis Seminar. Alternatively, go grab a copy of my Science of self-hypnosis book.