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by
Aletheia Luna
January 15,
2023
from
LonerWolf Website
There's no doubt about it:
feeling lost
can be a shocking, demoralizing, and even depressing
experience...
How do I know? I've been
there before.
Some recent moments that
come to mind have centered around my work, relationships, and
general purpose in life.
Perhaps on your side, you're feeling lost after leaving a job,
working through an education degree, going through a big life
transition such as a marriage, divorce, death, or birth of a child,
or you feel general malaise and unease surrounding your existential
meaning of life.
(Note: the sky is the limit when it comes to reasons why
we're feeling lost in life, so I can only touch on a few. But know
that whatever reason you have is valid!)
In my experience of feeling lost about a bazillion times in life,
there's a lot of inner hidden shame that comes with the experience,
aka.:
-
"Shouldn't I have
my sh*t figured out already?"
-
"I thought I
finally knew my path, what the hell happened?"
-
"Why do I feel
like I want to do something different all of a sudden - I've
already put in so much effort already!?"
-
"What is wrong
with me?"
To answer at least one of
your questions,
no, there's nothing
wrong with you...
Feeling lost is
absolutely and positively normal, and we ALL go through this
experience in life (usually many times).
I'm going to share not
only WHY feeling lost is normal in this article, but
also some of the most helpful and enlightening journaling prompts
that can give you more direction and clarity.
What Causes a
Person to Feel Lost?
If you feel lost or like you have no direction and don't know the
answers (or what to do next), it usually means any of the following:
-
The life, path,
or direction that you're moving in doesn't align with your
deeper needs, dreams, or gifts.
-
You're ready to
grow and evolve as a person in a whole new and different
way.
-
You're
disconnected from the voice of your heart and soul and have
come to a standstill in order to rest and reconnect with
your higher self.
Often, feeling lost is a
sign that you've innocently been listening to the voice of the mind
(or
ego) instead of the deeper and
wiser voice of
the Soul.
Other times, feeling lost is simply a sign that you're ready to
metaphorically shed an old skin that feels too tight and
restricting, and expand in new and unforeseen ways.
By the way, I wrote another article diving into reasons why we feel
lost and lose touch with ourselves called
How to Find Yourself When You're Lost in Life
(9 Steps). It's a great
supplement to this article...
Is Feeling
Lost Okay... and Normal?
Yes!
I've never heard of or met a person who has everything figured out
100% of the time - that just ain't a reality!
To be human is to be
in a state of flux, change, and evolution.
And feeling lost is a
completely normal part of that.
Just look at nature (and
by the way, don't forget that we are nature - on a human level,
we're mammals who evolved from the great apes):
There is a natural ebb and flow to the tides of the ocean.
Trees grow leaves and
then shed them.
Animals carry shells,
and then grow too big and go in search of new ones.
Caterpillars dissolve
in cocoons and become butterflies.
Snakes shed their
skin.
Day turns into night.
Within nature, we can
observe moments of transition and change everywhere.
And the same happens with
us humans - except because we're usually out of touch with the Tao
or the flow of Spirit, we interpret these natural shifts as
"something going wrong."
We feel lost and start
becoming obsessively preoccupied with that feeling.
What to Do
When You Are Feeling Lost
Feeling lost can often bring feelings of anxiety, sadness, and even
depression in more serious situations.
If you're experiencing any of these feelings, my heart goes out to
you. I know what it feels like to be totally lost, with no
direction, no purpose, and no clarity in life.
Furthermore, those feelings can make us feel isolated and lonely,
especially if everyone else seems to "have it all figured out"
(which they don't btw).
In my free guide entitled How to Find Yourself When You're Lost
in Life (9 Steps), I explore nine ways to find yourself again
when you're feeling lost, which also apply to this article.
These steps include the
following:
-
Make time and
space for solitude
-
Purge your inner
thoughts and feelings through journaling
-
Find your top
five core needs
-
Explore what you
really want in life
-
Practice
self-sovereignty
-
Explore, travel,
and ponder
-
Let go of
anything that reinforces inauthenticity
-
Reconnect with
your spiritual center
-
Rediscover your
wild self
In this article, I'm
wanting to offer some specific, easy, and super helpful journaling
prompts to help you navigate through feeling lost in life.
18 Journaling Prompts For Feeling Lost and Finding Your Path Again
Feel free to pick and choose any of the journaling prompts below
that resonate with you.
Questions can open magical doorways and are powerful ways to go soul
searching. I hope these prompts below for feeling lost (and finding
your path again) help you to gain more clarity and direction!
Here are the journaling prompts:
-
Why does feeling
lost make you feel so uncomfortable? Explore your thoughts
and feelings.
-
If you could
change any one thing in your life without negative
consequences, what would it be, and why?
-
What is your
unique definition of "success"?
-
Name the feelings
that have been arising inside of you recently. What deeper
lessons might they be trying to teach you?
-
If you could pick
any spirit animal to accompany you on your life journey
right now, what would it be, and why?
-
Off the top of
your head, list five of your values. Then reflect on them.
-
List three non-negotiables
(or core needs) in life that you hold close to your heart.
-
We all have a
fantasy or "ideal" self in our minds that we try to live up
to. What does your fantasy self look like, sound like, and
behave like? How might this fantasy self be limiting you?
-
What does the
mind's voice vs. the soul's voice sound like within you? How
can you tell the difference?
-
In what parts of
life are you the unhappiest? Why?
-
In what parts of
life are you the happiest? Why?
-
If there was no
one else in your life telling you what to do or who you
should be, what would your inner voice tell you?
-
Place a hand over
your heart and imagine that a wise old man, woman, or person
is sitting in front of you. What advice would they give you?
Write in their voice.
-
What do you love
doing in your free time? If you can't think of anything,
what did you love doing as a teenager or child? How can you
bring that more into your life?
-
We all carry many
"shoulds" around that limit our ability to be true to
ourselves. List some of your "shoulds" and reflect on them.
(E.g. "I should study to be a doctor because that's what my
parents want me to do," "I should feel happy about this job
offer," "I should want to be friends with this person" etc.)
-
How is the you
now different from the you one year ago? What has changed,
evolved, and expanded?
-
What is the
bright or positive side of feeling lost?
-
Visualize your
life from the perspective of your deathbed. What are you the
proudest of having done or experienced in your lifetime?
All of these questions
have been chosen to help you directly or indirectly gain some
clarity and perspective about where you are on the winding path of
life right now.
Be gentle, take your
time, and feel free to bookmark this page to return to!
Feeling Lost
in Life is Normal and Healthy
Feeling lost isn't only normal, but it's actually HEALTHY...!
Why?
Feeling lost is a sign that you're growing and evolving as a person
- or at the very least, you've come to a threshold of change.
We must all outgrow old ways of living and being in this world.
Feeling lost is what happens when we enter into that uncomfortable
liminal space of growth and transformation.
(Imagine if we were always traveling on the same perfect path, never
deviated, and never grew or evolved as a person... how boring and
empty would that be!?)
Not knowing the path ahead isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's a
little scary, yes. But it also means that there are new
possibilities ahead of us that we can't quite see yet.
Be the
lone wolf and embrace them!
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