How to Find Yourself Again After a Seriously Low Point in Life
In moments where it feels like the rug has been pulled beneath your feet, it is easy to feel lost and unmotivated. This is how to find yourself again.
A breakup, the loss of a loved one, career failure, and financial difficulties, these are just some life events that make anyone feel helpless and lost in life. When a person is in their life's lowest point, getting back up takes some time and proves to be difficult. This is how to find yourself again.
And if left to fester, that sense of helplessness makes a person vulnerable to further isolation and depression.
How to find yourself again
That is why we constantly are reminded that if we “fall seven times, get up eight.” Challenges are a fact of life. It is unavoidable. Once you hit rock bottom, the only way is to pick yourself up, find your bearings, and start moving again. And if by chance things get better, you look back and realize the journey is well worth it.
#1 It is okay to take a breather. When a person goes through a difficult time, it is natural to seek a change of scenery. Not only to clear the mind, but also to take some time to think about recent events and how to deal with it in the future. If you learn to take a mental health vacation, go ahead and do so.
Some people travel, while some just stay at home and relax. Either way, you do yourself a favor by giving yourself some breathing space to recover from emotional stress.
#2 Accept that failure will be a constant fact of life. Some people cruise through life trying to avoid failure. When it happens, they get hit pretty hard by it. Failure is indeed a hard thing to swallow. It's painful. It reminds us all the efforts we put into something have all been for naught. It is important to know failure is a fact of life. It will always be a possibility whatever our plans are.
Avoiding failure is unrealistic and takes a mental toll on you sooner or later. What we need is to embrace the possibility that we can fail either by our own doing or from forces beyond our control. Once you lose your fear of failing, your horizons expand and will be free to do whatever you want.
#3 Learn that failure is the best teacher and creates new opportunities. Aside from its inevitability, failure should also be seen as an opportunity for learning. Experiencing failure is painful. From the pain and the process of getting back up, you learn something and become a better person. Changing your perspective on failure helps you deal with it better and embrace it as a part of becoming a better person.
#4 Revisit old passions and inspirations. Adulting sucks. Most of the time people set aside their dreams and hobbies to give time for those adult responsibilities that drain the life and motivation out of them. If the normal adult life has you feeling lost, it's time to pay those little dreams and passions of yours a little visit.
Who knows, maybe it is the things that you do for fun which leads you to a more successful and contented life. When feeling lost, retreat back to the simple things that made your life interesting and worth living.
#5 Explore new things. Not only does it help you take your mind off the stressful and boring aspects of life, it helps you discover a new passion. Feeling lost usually brings the urge to try new things. So go crazy and try everything. If your choice doesn't work out, move on to the next until you find your calling. You might not realize, but many successful people had a different job prior to reaching their current vocation.
#6 Make a list and start getting them done. A list helps you keep track of all your life backlogs, especially when you're trying to understand how to find yourself again. It allows you to take note of small victories you accomplished for the day. Your list doesn't have to exclusively include your serious long-term life goals. It could include simple tasks that you should do during the day or even silly things to try for a long time.
Making a list helps you keep track of your goals and accomplishments. Seeing those “to do” items get checked off gives you a sense of satisfaction.
#7 Get the negative people out of your life and surround yourself with inspiring people. People have an indirect influence on a person's state of mind, their motivation, and energy level, as well as their worldview. Surrounding yourself with people who lack goals and ambition or just spend their day badmouthing the efforts of others has a negative effect towards your life attitude.
In order to find your true self, cut yourself from people like these. Instead, surround yourself with people who inspire you to grow.
#8 Don't measure your success to that of other people. When you base your success on the achievements of other people, you lose satisfaction with life. You set unrealistic goals or take a path ill-suited to achieving your own personal goals.
Other people might live the “good life” according to your imagination but know that while they have something you don't, you currently enjoy one aspect of life that they will never experience. Define what success really means to you, and work your individual way towards that success.
#9 Develop a routine. A routine does wonders when you're trying to figure how to find yourself again after a low point. First, it gives you a sense of purpose without having to think of what to do next. And second, a routine makes accomplishing things a habit, avoiding procrastination and assures you get things done everyday.
#10 Ask for advice. Feeling lost? Nothing beats the old way of asking for advice from someone who went through the same ordeal and came out successfully.
Listening to people's advice may not give you the answer you need, but it provides you a different perspective on how other people found themselves given their own personal circumstances. However, remember doing the exact thing they did may not work the same for you. The lessons they learned and their experience gives you an insight in finding yourself after a crisis.
The call to pick yourself up and find your bearings once again is easier said than done. With the right attitude, the right people, and a little help, you can learn how to find yourself again.
