It’s something we or feel at some point in our lives, that our life has lost a sense of purpose, or is devoid of all meaning. Not that it’s going to have a negative effect overall, but this feeling of stagnation is something that we all get, a sense of itchy feet maybe. This could happen when you hit your mid-20s, or you could hit a midlife crisis. These issues can happen at any point, and enjoying your life is an essential part of living. But you can get stuck in feeling in limbo, maybe some of your friends are getting married or settling down, and you are not there yet. But, regardless of these types of issues in life, how can you find meaning once again, regardless of how old or young you are?
A Change In Career
Sometimes this is a major problem. It’s very stressful to stay in a career that you fell into by accident, and didn’t find anything else, so you stayed there. Remember, you spend a third of your life working, although it’s more than likely more. So you need to make your time in the office count. Maybe you want to look at retraining, or even going back to education to finish off that degree maybe. In addition to this, it’s important to address the work/life balance. A lot of people spend too much time in work, and we never look back on our lives and think that we should have done more work! You may want to think about freelancing. This is an option for a lot of people now. Millennials are leading the charge in this respect. They have seen the importance of maintaining a healthy balance, and regardless of how old you are, if you are not balancing your life properly, with adequate downtime away from your job, it’s not a surprise that your life lacks in any sense of meaning. We aren’t in an era where you need to stay in one career anymore. And a lot of people get caught up in a career because of one simple need, to pay the bills. Remember, if your life is lacking in any sense of meaning, this is going to affect your mood, and we’ve all seen those people that hate their jobs, do you want it to get to that point? So make a change, look at exactly what you want and take the appropriate steps in the right direction.
Go Travelling
Yes, it broadens the mind, but it also gives you a sense of perspective. A lot of people travel, and they never return home. For a lot of people, it’s the only way they feel at peace. You can do the same, a lot of people love that romantic notion of hitting the open road, like the Jack Kerouac book On The Road, but the road in question is not the same anymore. It is a dangerous place, and you could end up being hurt in a truck accident while on the road, so if you plan on broadening your mind, make sure you do it in a sturdy vehicle! Travelling the open road is a way for you to think about your life, but that romantic idea of the open road isn’t what it once was, with the amount of traffic and commuter stress, you may find yourself sitting in traffic jams. This is not going to give you time to think about your life, but more than likely will result in you end up hating everything around you! In this respect, you may want to think about working in another country. There are many ways to work in other countries, and teaching English is one of them, you could go fruit picking, or you could write blogs if you can get paid to do it. Whatever your choice, it gives you that time by yourself to contemplate your purpose. As some people go travelling and never return home, this could be you. It might just be the fact that you are in the wrong place and another country and culture could give you exactly what you need.
Getting Behind A Cause
What do you believe in? For many the meaning of life is about fighting the good fight. So you may want to be involved in something like protests, action groups, or generally sticking up for causes. This is something that does happen as you get older. A great example in recent memory is the changing perspective of young people in the United Kingdom after leaving the European Union. There was a surge in votes for the Labour government because they felt that Britain was failing to prosper after leaving the European Union. And for many people, it can take a major event like this to think about what you really believe in.
The Futility Of Life
While a major event in a political sense can trigger you to think about supporting a cause, a major event in your personal life, such as the death of a loved one can be a trigger in many respects. It can give you a sense of perspective about what life is for you. And while it’s a major tragedy for you and your family, it helps you to pull together. Some people experience grief much later in life than others. And sometimes it can be a seismic event like this that pushes you to think about what really is important. Grief is a terrible thing, but when it comes to helping you clear away the unimportant things in your life, it’s a positive thing.
Your Friends, Are They The Same?
Or maybe that’s the problem. If you’ve got the same group of friends since university, or earlier, maybe your priorities have changed since then, and it’s time to grow apart. We all have that friend who talks about something that happened a long, long time ago. And this may be the 50th time you’ve heard about when Steve fell off the wall drunk. Being caught in a bad routine isn’t just about a terrible job; it can be the same when you socialize. It may be that you are being expected to conform to a specific role that you have grown out of. They say that friendships last around seven years, and while this doesn’t factor in best friends and friends for life, but in terms of your acquaintances, it’s time to think about this. Or, maybe your friends have moved on, and you haven’t? Not to say that you are behind the times, but if you’ve got friends that have different priorities in life, and they have families, it doesn’t mean that you have to get one too! But for a lot of people, a baby is the one thing that has finally given them some purpose in life. And while life isn’t about the package: work, marriage, and child, it can give some meaning. For a lot of people, they will tell you that having a baby is the most difficult thing in the world, and this is because they’ve learnt so much about themselves.
Broadening Your Life Skills
Do you just need something to broaden your palate? Sometimes people are caught in a bit of a funk, and are too poor to go on vacation, but are too busy for any real commitment. So good try and learn a new language or an instrument, something that gives you a skill that you can be proud of. And especially if you are a social media addict, would you class this as a real legacy? Would you want people to remember you for things that you posted online? It’s unlikely.
Getting Creative
This is a real outlet for many people; it’s maybe you that you just haven’t tried it yet. A lot of people find it very cathartic to paint or write, and it’s a great way for you to find out your inner voice. There is a great sense of fulfilment in doing something creative that uses a different part of your brain. This is why a lot of people do amateur theater, go to open mics and try comedy, or even write blogs. Blogs are a very common way for people to express themselves, and in you expressing yourself, you may find out what you have been missing.
Spending Time With Your Family
Are you close to your family? Maybe you have a strained relationship, and maybe it’s time to extend the olive branch. Sometimes, going back to where you came from, gives you time to reassess where you are in your life, and what you really want. Going by your old haunts and reliving a simpler time may be the beginning of understanding where things changed for you.
What Exactly Is “Purpose?”
Soul searching takes time, and these are small options to help you go down a certain path. If you have the tools at your disposal, you will start to discover a path. But there is no point in piling unnecessary pressure on yourself to find it now. You need to look for what feels right, and this can take time. In the modern world, we are very impatient, and maybe that is the reason that your life is missing something, you went right by it, and you didn’t see it. So, slow down.
