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At some point in your journey, it’s not uncommon to encounter a phase where you feel completely lost in life.
You may be faced with a life-altering decision or come to the realization that you’d like to do something completely different with your life, but you just don’t know what.
You might feel stuck, stagnant or even detached.
All of that can be a bit of a downer.
I’ve been there.
I’ve been stuck in jobs that are soul-draining, unfulfilling, and at times even felt degrading… ever worked in customer service? *Pro-Tip: the customer is NOT always right.
It happens to the best of us, but remaining lost isn’t your only option. This guide can serve as your companion as you navigate from feeling lost in life to igniting your inner clarity, inspiration and purpose.
Grab a cup of cacao and let’s dive in!
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So what do you do when you’re feeling lost in life?
Cry? Get angry? Feel helpless? Hide? Well, for the short term, sure.
Without truly feeling whatever arises and being honest with yourself– you run the risk of spiritually bypassing the experience of your current reality.
You know the saying- “you have to feel it to heal it.”
We can’t run from how we really feel and I’ll never encourage repressing your emotions or tell you to “just be positive,” “focus on the good stuff,” or any of that bypassy stuff! That will not heal the root of the problem.
Don’t get me wrong- we DO have to be thankful, shift our thoughts, exchange our negativity for positivity, put a time limit on our dwelling, etc. but we can’t do that authentically without first acknowledging how we really feel when we’re in the midst of feeling lost.
So- mope, cry, get angry, wallow in helplessness, hide. Really let yourself FEEL what it is to be lost and unhappy.
Then, take a step back. Examine all of those emotions that came up. Maybe even write them down and journal it out.
Acknowledging is the first step towards changing.
Now here’s where the fun and healing starts.
May this list serve as a guide to help you find clarity, inspiration and purpose. May it also remind you of the power within. We are here to co-create with the universe and experience all the joy and flow in the world.
We CAN and will get unstuck if we choose to set our intentions, ask for guidance, and take action.
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Things to Do When You’re Feeling Lost in Life
1. Acknowledge your Feelings
Like I mentioned above, acknowledging your feelings is the first step. That self-awareness is critical to life, happiness, and being free from feeling lost.
Give your feelings space to exist. Allow them to communicate with you. Don’t try to force them away or label them as bad.
Thank your emotions. Thank them for showing you what isn’t working for your soul. Thank them for showing you what is not for your highest good.
They appear to share messages with us and inspire awareness… Awareness is the key to freedom.
Become aware of your power, and aware of the power your emotions have. Honor them and thank them.
2. Move Your Stuck Energy
One of my favorite things to do when I feel lost or uncertain is physically moving my energy.
The easiest and quickest way to do this for me is practicing some yoga and getting in the flow.
If yoga is not your thing, another fun and easy way to connect with your body and move your energy is dancing.
Put on a good playlist and dance it out. Move your body and allow yourself to feel free. Disconnect the mind and let your body move and release any pent up energy.
Might sound cliche but really, dance is so powerful.
It’s no wonder it has ancient roots- humans have been dancing since the beginning of time. Whether to connect with divinity, worship, or celebrate- its a literal way to get IN your body, and out of your head… allowing yourself to move some of that stagnant energy.
3. Work on Your Mindset
Mindset work is something incredibly powerful that I will go into a lot more here at Bloom & Manifest.
For starters- read books that will inspire you to think differently. For me, that’s usually books from the self development genre.
A few of my favorites that have really helped shape my mindset are:
-Earth Is Hiring by Peta Kelly
-Material Girl, Mystical World by Ruby Warrington
-Superrich by Russell Simmons
-Do You by Russell Simmons
-Becoming Supernatural by Joe Dispenza
-Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
-The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
-Don’t Keep Your Day Job by Cathy Heller
-A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle
-The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer
Books are a great way to improve your mindset and help expand your horizons. I always recommend to start there, in a good book, to really start changing & improving your mindset. Escaping into a good book can be a great way to shift things up when you’re feeling stuck in life.
4. Take a Break & Unplug
This one is so important! Especially in today’s day and age, where everyone is on social media sharing their opinions, advice, judgements and whatever else. Not unplugging is intentional damage at this point.
If you’re a highly sensitive person (like me) utilize taking breaks often. Even if you don’t consider yourself a highly sensitive person, or an empath, still- if you’re feeling stuck that’s often a sign that you need to take a break and take some quiet to recuperate.
What do I mean by “take a break?”
Well, that depends. If its social media and the overload of comparison opportunities that’s making you resort to feeling stuck… take a break from social media. Log out, delete the app, reduce the time you allow yourself on it… any of the above.
Do what works for you.
If your friends are bringing you down or distracting you or making you feel stuck… take a break from your friends.
If your job is draining you, absorbing all of your life force energy or making you feel stuck… yes, also take a break from your job.
Even if you can only taking a couple hours off, do it. Or maybe you can and need to take a full day, several days, or an entire week. Most likely you need some time from the job that’s draining you if you currently feel stuck.
Don’t be afraid to put your needs up first. It is so important to unplug and take a break from the things that are zapping your energy without positive return.
Feeling drained= on the way to feeling stuck in life.
So avoid at all costs. Remember that self awareness part we talked about?
If you’re starting there, you’ll know when its time for a break.
5. Practice a Manifesting Ritual
Getting some foundation laid down for your manifesting is a wonderful step towards getting unstuck.
By tapping into that creative space, your imagination, or your dream world- you command some of that stuck energy to leave!
One of the most popular tools used to begin your manifesting journey is making a vision board.
If you love the kinesthetic piece of flipping through a magazine and cutting out inspiration, start there.
If you don’t have magazines or materials to use for your vision board, head to Canva and start one up there.
Gather images of everything that exists in your dream life. Maybe its a house, a pet, a car, an engagement ring, a certain level of success in your business, qualities in your dream partner, inner peace and quiet… whatever it is, find an image and start piecing it together on your board.
Or if you enjoy writing and making lists, you can always just write out what it is that you’d like to manifest.
Focusing on what we want, instead of the fact that we’re feeling stuck in life, can be a huge motivator.
Get Your Dream Life Manifesting Planner Here
6. Break Up With What’s Making You Feel Stuck
(I.E. your job, relationship, living space)
This might be a hard one depending on your situation. But as they say “if nothing changes, nothing changes.” Sometimes WE have to be the catalyst for making huge changes in our life to truly get us away from feeling stuck and into our best life.
It’s not always easy to just pick up and move. Or call up and quit your job. Or sit down and break a relationship off. I acknowledge that- but also challenge you to see the bigger picture if you’re feeling stuck in life.
In 5 years, do you want to be in the same place? A lot can happen in that time frame and the sooner you take steps towards the freedom and joy that you want, the sooner you will have it.
That being said…
7. Write Out the Steps Necessary to Break Free from Feeling Stuck
This exercise is super powerful. Break down your goal/dream (essentially whatever it is that you imagine needing to feel unstuck) into micro-steps. The smallest steps you could imagine. Reallly break it down.
What’s the very first thing you need to do to get out of your situation?
Maybe it’s having a conversation with your boss about changing your work hours?
Taking five minutes for yourself each morning?
Dedicating an hour of your day towards working on your dream?
Searching for a coach or therapist?
Microsteps. Break it down to the smallest steps possible, and start taking them! Ultimately YOU are the only person who can get you unstuck and improve your quality of life.
8. Talk to Someone and Be Open to Their Guidance
Maybe it’s a counselor, therapist, coach or mentor. Find someone neutral who you can talk to about where you are at.
Be open to guidance.
Hopefully by now, the stigma around these things has been lessened! It is invaluable to find and connect with someone who can help you unpack your current state and help guide you to where you want to be.
Strong people ask for help.
I used to be very stubborn in my ways of thinking- I thought I never needed help, I didn’t want to ask for guidance (because honestly I felt the heavy burden of thinking I had to be the guide for everyone else)…. But even guides need guides, coaches need coaches, & therapists need therapists!
Humans need each other. We need support and connection.
Finding someone who can allow you to feel seen and hold space for your growth and healing can be so transformational and empowering.
Allow yourself to receive help and guidance. Especially when you’re feeling stuck in life. And especially if you feel resistant to help.
9. Get Out of Your Comfort Zone
Try something new. Do something outside of your normal routine or outside of your scope of familiarity.
Exposing yourself to newness is one of the best ways to get inspired and unstuck.
Don’t be afraid to leap into something new and shift up the energy.
10. Give Yourself Time to Dive into your Passions
Set aside as much time as you can to really dive into your passions or hobbies, uninterrupted.
Or time to figure out WHAT your passions are.
Often times when we feel stuck it’s because we’ve strayed too far from what we’re passionate about or gone too long without doing what really lights us up.
We allow our schedule to become filled with meaningless work, appointments, and social media scrolling.
Recognize when you’ve gotten to that point- when it’s been too long since you’ve plugged into your passions and your true self.
Recognizing is the first baby step.
Taking control of your time and energy is the next.
Even if you just start with 20 minutes- make time to focus on what makes you happy and to really be in that connected flow.
You have time. Utilize it to do what makes you happy. Even if you feel stuck, find the inspiration within yourself to shake things up and dive into your passions.
Who knows, you just might be able to make a new life out of that.
11. Go for a Walk
One of the best ways to get out of feeling stuck in life is to go for a walk. Simple enough, right?
Getting your circulation flowing, noticing the trees or houses/buildings in your neighborhood, and connecting with your physical body are a wonderful way to move that stuck energy.
I usually take my dogs with me and set a goal of at least 30 minutes, or for a specific distance.
I always come back feeling renewed and closer to being in the flow and less stuck. It’s a great way to clear your mind and move your energy.
12. Listen to Inspiring Podcasts (or watch Vlogs)
One of my favorites to listen to when I’m feeling out of the flow or disconnected from my purpose is Cathy Heller’s Don’t Keep Your Day Job.
She interviews people who have made successful businesses for themselves by doing what they are passionate about. I love hearing their stories- often with a common thread of feeling burnt out, stuck, lost, etc before they started to take their passions seriously. They commit to success and to creating their dream life.
If podcasts aren’t your thing- inspiring vlogs or tv shows are another way to get yourself motivated and unstuck.
13. Hang out with Inspiring People
If you don’t know any, meet some. There’s tons of ways to connect with people these days. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there.
Maybe take a dance class, join a healing circle, find a meeting on MeetUp (although most of these are currently virtual- still counts).
It’s important to surround yourself with people who bring you up! Your circle and who is around you can greatly contribute to your ability to feel free and in the flow.
Join the Bloom and Manifest Facebook Community Here
14. Energy Work
Something I do personally every day and also dedicate a session to once a month with a healer/spiritual mentor.
Learning to work with your own energy is one of the most powerful tools you can learn while on this earth.
We all have the power to be our own healer and move our energy- including feeling stuck or roadblocked.
Discovering our power within and the gifts that we all have is to me, a huge piece to the meaning of life.
Working with a healer can help you to discover your gifts and incorporate energy healing work into your life regularly.
15. Take a Salt Bath
Another one of my personal favorites to help clear my energy- salt baths.
You can add your favorite essential oils and some quality epsom salt to really clear your energy & your aura. Water and salt are a powerful combination for any type of clearing.
My favorite set up is 2 cups of eucalyptus mint epsom salt, a few drops of my citrine crystal tincture (my friend Katie from Enlightened Remedies makes this one), and several candles. I usually soak for at least 20 minutes but sometimes longer.
16. Sensory Connection
Last but not least, sensory connection.
Utilize the senses to get unstuck and shift the energy.
Light a candle, diffuse some oils, burn some incense- get inspired by invigorating scents.
Pet an animal or snuggle up in some cozy clothes & blankets- get relieved by inspiring comfort.
Walk barefoot outside and ground your energy instantly- get connected to the earth and its healing.
Bake, make some art, bead some jewelry, plant something new- get empowered by your ability to create with your hands.
I hope this guide helps you to find a way to move forward when you’re feeling stuck or encourages you to try something new to move your energy. There are so many tools and resources we have available to us just waiting to be used when needed!
Which one resonates with you most? What’s your favorite way to get unstuck?
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