The older I get, the more I realize how tough life is. We are forced to accept that there will be a mixture of ups and downs, wins and losses, joys and disappointments, and new beginnings and endings because life is not as linear as we want it to be.

We can all testify that when things are going well, we don’t believe that they’re going to change. We expect good times to last, and even though we experience disappointments, we never expect bad times to be prolonged.

The phrases’ life goes on’ and ‘it is, what is’ remind us that life has ups and downs, and sometimes, we have no control over certain things. The only control is how we deal with them and our attitude when adversity comes knocking.

If you are experiencing a difficult time and feeling lost, I hope that this reading will help you and my future self, who might be experiencing the downs of life.

Be honest with yourself

At times when we feel lost, we don’t know which steps to take to salvage what we are feeling and help us lead a fulfilling life. The fact that we have to make choices frightens us even more because we know that every decision we make will have a positive or negative impact on our lives.

You will never be able to get your life back on track unless you’re honest with yourself.  When we stop being delusional about what’s going on in our lives, we admit that things aren’t right, we admit that we’re feeling lost, and we feel like everything and everybody is against us. 

Find what’s making you feel lost whether it’s your career, health, or finances, and try to figure it out and then deal with it. As much as self-reflection is uncomfortable, it’s a necessary step so that we can make decisions that will help us lead fulfilling lives.

There is no right way

We all strive to make the right decisions for ourselves. You end up taking certain risks to alleviate your life because you want a good life and that is tied to the decisions you make. Whether it’s career choices, relationships, or financial decisions, we all want to make the right ones so that we can have a successful happy life.

But the truth is that there is no right decision because no one can predict the future. You can only guess what the outcome will be and hope for the best. Sometimes you make the right choices and other times you make the wrong choices, and you have to live with the decision.

What I’m trying to say is that there is no formula to this life journey, no one is a predictor of life.   Whatever decisions you make for your life will have positive and negative outcomes, and all you can do is navigate them and try to make the best out of your choices.

Ask Questions

Have you ever ever questioned why you’re in this position? Why are you feeling this way? Why is your life the way it is? How can you change your situation?

Sometimes, asking yourself tough questions can help you see things clearly and be more realistic about your feelings and situation. The more questions you ask about your life and why it is the way it is, the more realistically you can make decisions or take action.

Furthermore, don’t feel ashamed or self-conscience to also ask other people questions. Sometimes reaching out and talking to other people helps you get a different point of view of how other people see you, how they got out of a similar situation, or how they achieved the lives they are living now.

There’s a verse that says ask and you shall receive.

You Don’t Have to Have It All Figured Out.

Now, this part has been the hardest for me to figure out and let go of. I have always been a planner, designing how my life is supposed to be and when certain goals should be achieved. So when things don’t go my way, I feel lost, disappointed, and like I failed.  

I had to learn that life doesn’t always work out the way you want it to. Things go wrong, and sometimes life throws you one curve after another, and you realize that all your plans and your goals just don’t work out the way you thought they would. Getting a series of disappointments will make you feel like a letdown, and when that happens, you feel like you don’t have it figured out anymore, but the truth is, nobody does.

Everyone is going through the motions of life, trying to make the best of their situation.

Only once you realize that life doesn’t always work out the way you planned and that not knowing where life is going can be harder, can you accept that you will never know everything and that you can only live one day at a time.

So don’t always worry about whether you’re on the right track or how much progress you’ve made. The most important thing is to enjoy life and embrace everything it comes with.

Life is a journey and not a sprint.