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9 Reasons You Feel Lost in Life & Finding Your Path

If you’re feeling lost in life, you’re not alone. Life has its ups and downs, and sometimes we just feel that we’re on the wrong road.

But the great thing is that often when we are feeling lost, we’re really on the way to better things in our lives. Here are 9 reasons you might feel lost in life and some considerations to find your path again.

“Sometimes when you lose your way, you find YOURSELF.”

Mandy Hale
Reasons you might feel lost in life

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9 Reasons You’re Feeling Lost in Life

“When you’re lost in those woods, it sometimes takes you a while to realize that you are lost. For the longest time, you can convince yourself that you’ve just wandered off the path, that you’ll find your way back to the trailhead any moment now. Then night falls again and again, and you still have no idea where you are, and it’s time to admit that you have bewildered yourself so far off the path that you don’t even know from which direction the sun rises anymore.”

Elizabeth Gilbert

We don’t always feel lost for the same reasons. Our personalities and lives are a complex intertwining of different parts of ourselves that may take priority or fall to the back burner. Usually, when we are feeling lost in life it is because we have become disconnected or completely severed from one of those parts of ourselves.

Use this guide to determine what might be causing your feeling of being lost.

1. You feel lost in life because you need spiritual connection

You feel lost in life because you need spiritual connection

When you’re missing a connection to a higher power, this can make you feel a bit empty or lacking in motivation.

Whether you practice a particular religion or you think of yourself as more spiritual, connecting with our God, Universe, Mother Earth, or other spirit guide can be essential in our feeling grounded in life. Often, our spiritual connections fill us with trust, feelings of ease, and love for other beings and people.

When you have trust in this higher power, you are easier to give up your worries and stresses and change your life.

READ MORE: 4 Steps to Spiritual Enlightenment
16 Spiritual Enlightenment Books to Read in 2021

2. You feel lost because you need to tap into your creative side

Being creative is not just for those who choose an artistic career. Creativity is absolutely essential for our experience as humans. And if you have cut yourself off from expressing your creativity, it might make you feel a little lost.

Creative endeavors have so many options and ranges, including: dancing, singing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, shooting movies, building or constructing things, sewing, crocheting, or even gardening. These activities can fill our souls in deep ways, and when they are missing from our lives, we can begin to realize we’re not on the right journey, or think something’s wrong.

3. You need to break up the monotony

You feel lost because you need to break the monotony by doing something like traveling

I’ve heard it said that you can’t live the same day for 60 years and call it a life. We can easily get burnt out and struggle with the feeling of being lost when life just seems all the same.

This has been particularly difficult since March of 2020, as travel came to a standstill, restaurants weren’t safe, and many local places closed down because of the pandemic. Many more people may be feeling a bit lost because of the monotony in daily life.

Even before the pandemic, it was easy to get into a routine and fail to break out and try new things. But this kind of sameness can really begin to wear on our spirits.

RELATED POST: How to Nourish Your Soul

4. You’re feeling lost because need to find your purpose

Many of us are working jobs just because we need the money. There are people all over the world who pursued something in life just because “society tells us this is what we need to be happy“.

For example, maybe you got married at 22 before you had really experienced life and you had kids before you had time to get to know yourself as an adult. Maybe you are a woman wishing you were a man, but feel the hatred people still have toward trans individuals and worry that being your true self would put you at risk of violence. Maybe you pursued nursing in college because your mother told you to, but you really wished you had had the courage to go to China and study Traditional Chinese Medicine and acupuncture.

These disconnects between what others expect and living our most authentic lives can make you think you’re on the wrong path.

READ MORE: 75 Deep Questions to Ask Yourself for Personal Growth

5. You’re feeling lost because you need social connections

Women finding social connections with each other

Human beings are not meant to be alone. As my dad says, “Life’s a bitch and then you die. Suck it up.”

Really nice, huh?

But the honest truth is that humans need each other. It’s okay to stop working to spend time with friends. Asking people for favors is okay too. You should feel free to rely on people when you’re feeling down, stressed out, or are going through difficult times or emotions. We can’t get through life without working together with, leaning on, or reaching out to other people.

When we are cut off from others, we feel like an island. It’s really easy when we’re alone to get caught up in belief that no one would understand us or believe that we’re being truthful.

6. You are feeling lost because you need a break

Our modern world prioritizes the hustle, the “slay”, the push. But when we’re pushing so hard for so long, we GET BURNT OUT.

Things like stress, mental load, overwhelm, worry, hustling, and the desire to keep up with the Joneses is incredibly exhausting. In Taoism and many Indigenous cultures, the acts of planning, rational thought, and achievement are often linked to masculine energy. When we only pursue those activities of masculine energy, it’s easy to get cut off from the qi or energy of life.

The fact is that we need those feminine energies too: rest, reflection, fun, creativity, pleasure, and connection. And when we reconnect with that self-care and self-love of rest, we often can get ourselves back to our own right path.

RELATED POST: 20 Affirmation Cards to Boost Your Positivity

7. You need to take care of your body

Woman eating healthy to help her find her path

Neglecting our health can take a serious toll on our lives. Whether it be trying to forget about a toothache we have, working an extra hour at work instead of exercising, or packing our bodies full of food with little nutritional value may seem like they’re not a big deal at the time.

But these little things can compound quickly and suddenly, you need to have your tooth pulled, you do that mile hike with your friends this summer, or your blood pressure is at a dangerous level.

When we fail to take care of our bodies, the consequences may creep up on you, but they could absolutely be the reason you are feeling lost.

READ MORE: How to Nourish Your Body

8. You need to let go of perfectionism

No one is perfect. And we know this. But many of us still put so much pressure on ourselves that it begins to suffocate us.

And often these feelings of needing to be perfect, look perfect, do it all have roots in needing approval from other people. We want recognition for our stellar work in our careers. We want to wear a size 2 and be fit and curvy. We want to be the soccer mom who throws mind-blowing kids’ parties and gives out full sized candy bars for Halloween.

We feel insecure with ourselves and overcompensate by doing things that please others instead of pleasing ourselves to our true core.

READ MORE: How to Seize the Moment in Your Life!

9. You’re feeling lost because you need to find focus

You feel lost in life because you need to find focus

Sometimes we have the opposite problem as number 3: we try too many things and can’t settle on what we truly love.

Many people are what are known as multipotentialites, which means that they have many interests in life and talents. But if multipotentialites can’t reign in their potential skills or interests and narrow down what they want to do, they might feel a bit lost.

So if this applies to you, you may feel like you’re trying new things to no avail, and you need to find focus in life.

RELATED: What Do I Need Right Now? How to Find Out What You Truly Need

6 Steps to Find Your Path When You Feel Lost

“The real world doesn’t always adhere to logic. Sometimes down is up. Sometimes up is down. Sometimes when you’re lost, you’re found.”

Michael Burnham (Star Trek: Discovery)

Once you’ve determined the reason (or reasons) you might feel this way, now it’s time to find your way again. Finding that right way for you may take some time, but it’s worth it.

1. Accept that you’re feeling lost

The first step to anything is awareness and acceptance, which you must already have accomplished if you’re here on this page.

When you accept that you feel a bit (or a lot) off your true path, you’re setting yourself up for personal growth and allowing yourself to experiment to get yourself to authenticity.

2. Think about where you’ve been

Try to journal to see what kinds of paths might be right for you

After coming to terms with your feelings, you may want to examine different parts of your life to this point.

When was the time you felt the most authentic and fulfilled? What were the circumstances of this particular point in your life? Did you have a lot of social connections? Were you spending more time in nature? What was your work life balance like?

Chances are, you will start to realize some differences between that time in your life and your current feeling now. Those 9 things above that might be contributing to your feeling lost may become a lot more clear.

READ MORE: 75 Deep Questions to Ask Yourself for Personal Growth

3. Consider why you are feeling lost

Look at those 9 reasons above. Which of them resonates with you?

Even when you look at your past and times that you felt most on track with your true place in life, there may be additional things that are missing. Perhaps it was a slow descent into working overtime that prevented you from having time to connect with your family and friends and created a monotony in your life.

Maybe you feel that you’ve been throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks and you’re running out of ideas. You need to focus, but maybe you feel a little isolated.

It is absolutely possible that you are in need of more than one of those 9 things above. And maybe you discover something else entirely that isn’t on the list! That’s totally okay. Knowing why you’re lost is a fantastic way to get back to what’s right for you.

4. Think about where you want to go

Set some new goals and try new things

At this point, you may not know where you want to go, and that’s great! If you don’t, do some more brainstorming.

What are your goals? What are some things that you want to do in your life that you haven’t done yet?

Have you always wanted to open a bed and breakfast? Do you want to quit your 9 to 5 job and travel the world? Do you want children but don’t have a spouse yet?

Sometimes these huge dreams can help remind us of our true purpose and lead us to a life that’s more satisfying, thrilling, focused, and free. So don’t dream small. Really think about what you would do with your life if money was not a factor.

READ MORE: I Don’t Know What to Do With My Life

5. Break your habits

If you keep doing the same things that made you feel lost, chances are, you’re going to continue to feel this way. You need to change your life. You need to break old habits and try some new things in order to put yourself onto a new path.

Old habits to break could be:

  1. stop smoking
  2. quit social media
  3. stop criticizing yourself
  4. stop taking your work home with you

Smoking, drinking, and social media can all be considered addictions, so consider getting help in quitting these. They’ll be worth it!

An of course, you want to add some new, healthier habits into your day as well. These new habits could be anything from flossing every day, to exercising regularly, to making time for regular dates with your friends.

Getting into a new routine can revitalize our life in a way that we had no idea our life really needed!

6. Take some calculated risks

Taking some calculated risks can help you find your way again when you feel lost in life

Once you’ve analyzed why you feel lost and revitalized your daily routine, it may be time to leap off that cliff (with parachute, of course) and set your life on a new path.

If money wasn’t an issue, what would you be doing with your life? What absolutely sets your soul on fire? What makes you feel joyful and free?

These things that we’re passionate about are our true calling in life, and they are often the way that is the most true for our essential being. For myself, I’ve always loved writing, but I never felt that I was good at it. Once I took the risk to start a blog, I learned that I wasn’t as bad at writing as I had thought… I just needed to give myself the chance.

What can you do to incorporate your passion into your life? What kinds of calculated risks do you need to take to get you where you want to be?

RELATED: Your Life Is What You Make of It: 10 Ways to Make It AMAZING!

Final Considerations

This feeling you’re experiencing right now is a blessing. It is telling you how to live the most authentic life for you. No one can tell you what you’re missing except yourself.

Getting back on the right path takes a lot of changes, and change can be scary. So make sure to be brave when you cast off down this journey to get your life back on track.

Conclusion

Remember, more than anything, growth does not happen in our comfort zone. Sometimes when we’re feeling lost or a bit off, it might just be there to help you learn something new and grow as a person.

Have you ever felt lost or adrift?

What did you do to find yourself again?

Drop a comment below!

Reasons you feel LOST in life and how to find your path again (Pinterest Image) Wild Simple Joy.

Reasons You’re Feeling Lost In Life, and How to Find Your Way Again

Elliott

Sunday 14th of January 2024

Love the message here, I resonate with feeling lost. But maybe it means we are heading towards something!

After all, when you're in the world exploring, you're bound to get lost; but that's where the treasure is found to!

Lloyd

Wednesday 8th of September 2021

I have to be honest, your info is good and I would like to read it and follow you but...the presentation is awful! You got that big strip at the bottom for york u and that strip along the top, combine those with all the ads on the side there is hardly any reading room. I just find it frustrating.

When your site first loads it is pretty good and then these bands load, just can't do it. It's a shame because your information is very useful.

Dawn Perez

Thursday 9th of September 2021

Lloyd, I'm sorry that you find the ads and layout annoying. Ads are my primary revenue for my site so that I can cover all costs and provide it free for all readers. Blog costs include domain, hosting, newsletter services, image editing software, site maintenance and services.

I recently learned that print magazines have an ad density of 50%, which is quite high (especially when compared to my blog).

If you'd like, I can notify you when I release my blog posts as a book. It will have an upfront cost, but the nice thing is that you can read my content free from ads and layout issues!

If not, I sure hope that you will be a return visitor and tolerate ads between content.

Thanks for reading!

Kayla

Monday 17th of May 2021

This post has been so helpful! Thank you so much and please keep blogging!

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