WHEN YOU FEEL STUCK OR LOST IN YOUR LIFE

Posted by Fitz Villafuerte under Life Lessons, Mindsetting on February 3, 2016

“Aren’t we supposed to be great by this time?” asks Mace in the Palanca Award-winning screenplay and movie, That Thing Called Tadhana.

The film had a lot of hugot lines about love, which resonated in many. But this line was the one that struck me most and my favorite moment in the movie because I asked the same question to a friend years ago.

Last weekend, I got reminded of this question while having dinner with a couple of friends. One of them candidly shared that she feels stuck and lost in her life.

“I’m not happy with my job anymore, but I don’t know where to go,” she confesses. “How do you figure it out? How do you find out what you’re meant to do in your life?”

Do you feel lost?

If you feel stuck or lost in your life, then I have good news and bad news for you.

The good news is that you’re not alone, and it’s absolutely normal to feel this way. The bad news however, is that you will always feel lost in your life no matter what you do and where you go.

At 20, you will feel lost in your career path. At 30, family life will mess with your sense of direction. At 40, you’ll feel lost in your life’s purpose. At 50, you’ll dread not knowing what to do when you retire.

And age isn’t a factor here for I’ve met 20-year-olds who are already lost in their life’s purpose, and 40-year-olds who are still questioning their chosen career path.

However, hopefully when you’re in your 60’s, you’re already smart enough to know that it doesn’t really matter if you feel lost.

Don’t wait to be 60

So here’s the thing, accept the fact that you will forever feel lost on a lot of things — your career, your personal life, your purpose, etc. And the earlier you accept this, the sooner your life can become better.

The key is to simply move forward. Get yourself unstuck and live your life because sooner or later, you will find your way.

More importantly, don’t feel guilty about being lost because at best, it will make your life interesting, challenging, and beautiful. Feeling lost and eventually finding your way will be the best story you’ll tell your grandchildren.

How to get unstuck

So how do you actually move forward? And how do you avoid going the wrong direction? Below are three things that you can do.

Get your bearings
Study your daily, weekly, and monthly routine. What activities are you always busy with? Which among them contributes the most to your lost or stuck feeling?

We do a lot of things everyday. Some of them are important, and some of them are just activities that help us escape.

Simplify your routine
Are there activities that you can eliminate? Tasks you can delegate? Stop doing things that don’t add real value to your life.

The goal here is to create free time for yourself; time that will allow you to explore new and different doors.

Try new things
What are the things that you’ve always wanted to do but are afraid to do? Or maybe, you just didn’t have time to pursue? This is now your chance.

Use the free time you created to explore what’s outside your comfort zone. Learn new skills, explore new hobbies, meet new people — try new things.

And that is how you move forward when you’re feeling lost.

Don’t worry about going into the wrong direction because in life, there’s really no such thing. That unfamiliar turn, that unexpected corner, that abandoned trail, that foreign street — that’s where you’ll eventually find your way.