Lifestyle

15 Signs You Are Lost In Life, Just Like Everyone Else

by Paul Hudson

You might think you'd know if you were lost. Unfortunately, though, that isn’t usually the case. The majority of people who have lost their purpose in life or their reason to keep living aren’t completely aware of it because they either willfully ignore the facts or do all they can to distract themselves from the truth.

It’s not easy to accept and admit to yourself, or to anyone else, that you aren’t exactly sure what you are doing with your life. When we look at others, they all seem to have direction, purpose. This isn’t true, either. I’d have to say that the majority of people in the world are lost wanderers, emotionally and either passively or aggressively doing harm to themselves.

It’s okay to be lost in life; you are born lost. The purpose of life is to find your destination and in doing so, find the path that will take you there. If you are lost, admitting it to yourself is the first step. Here are 15 signs that you may need to find a roadmap:

1. You Wake Up In The Morning Wishing That You Didn’t Have To Get Out Of Bed

Our life is basically split into two segments: awake and asleep. If you prefer living in a dream world, or in a state of unconsciousness rather than being present and aware, then take it as a warning: Something isn’t right. You may enjoy sleeping, but you should be excited to wake up and start a new day, every day.

2. Your Favorite Hobby Is Drinking And/Or Doing Drugs

Don’t get me wrong, drugs and alcohol are fun. But they are also a detachment from reality; they warp your senses and your experience of the world. This is fine from time-to-time and may even be beneficial, but when it becomes a regular habit, what you are really doing is running away from reality. What’s so wrong with your reality that you feel the need to escape it constantly?

3. You Treat The Opposite Sex Like Objects

Human beings are not objects; they are living, breathing people. One may argue that there is always some sort of objectification when it comes to sex and/or relationships, but complete objectification is not acceptable or advised. Intimacy is something we all need. If you treat your partner like an object, then you are missing out on one of life’s greatest pleasures.

4. You Don’t Have Any Real Friends

Real friends are hard to come by, but we should all have at least one. Having someone to talk to who is willing to listen is very important, especially when life throws us curveballs. If you don’t have any friends, then you aren’t living a life that’s suitable for you. You need to change some aspect of it so you can come into contact with people who are worthy of being in your life.

5. You Don’t Keep In Touch With Anyone In Your Family

Friends may come and go, but family is forever. I understand that not all of us were lucky enough to have been born into a sane family, but maybe you are the one that is a bit screwy? Maybe you could try to understand their views a bit better? Family bonds are important because they basically decide the strength of your bonds with your future family (assuming you plan on starting one).

6. The Last Time You Partook In A Physical Activity Was… You Can’t Remember When

We are animals. Animals need to move regularly. If you don’t, then the rest of you – your mind – won’t function properly. Then you’re left with a poorly functioning body and mind. There’s no more left of you to screw up!

7. You Hate Yourself

Some of us don’t like ourselves very much. There is always a good reason, but not always the reason you have in mind. More often than not, we hate ourselves for hating ourselves. It starts with us being told we are ugly or dumb, and once we are convinced of such criticisms, we hate that we believe the same garbage that others are spewing at us. If you don’t love yourself, no one else will be able to. You’re fine just the way you are. Be happy in your own skin.

8. Your Mood Changes From Angry To Sad And Happiness Seems Like A Fairytale

Mood swings are often brushed off as chemical imbalances. But why are you chemically imbalanced? Unless there is something physically wrong with you, it's your actions, habits and/or environment to blame. If you think hard enough, you will surely figure out the culprit. I do have to warn you, though, more often than not it is simply the way you perceive situations and people that makes you moody.

9. You Don’t See A Point To Life

This is the most obvious sign that you are lost. There is always a point; you just have to find one.

10. You Don’t Have Respect For Anyone

We are all interconnected in one way or another, whether it be by ancestors or by some spiritual force or energy that every religion and culture has a name for. Regardless of what you believe, we are all made up of the same atoms that cycle through. If you don’t respect others, then by default, you don’t truly respect yourself.

11. You Have No Dreams

I’m not talking about the kind you have after you doze off; you can’t not have those. I'm referring to goals. There always has to be things you want to do. That’s what living is: doing. If you don’t want to do, then you don’t want to live.

12. You Don’t Believe In Love

I may not be able to define love or to explain exactly what it is or why it exists, but I know that it exists. Romantic love may very well only have been made up by human beings, but we made it up to explain the way we feel. Therefore, it exists.

13. Laziness Is No Longer A Habit, But A Way Of Life

Humans are innately lazy. We are literally programmed to do less in order to save our energy for when we really need it, like when our life depends on it. Unless you live in the jungle and have to run away from predators on the regular, you have no excuse to be lazy on the regular. Fight the urge!

14. You Believe Yourself To Hold Little To No Worth

You are only worth as much as you believe yourself to be worth, and for one simple reason: You always end up living up to your expectations.

15. You Just Want It To All Be Over

This is a very dangerous place to be. Most of us are likely to feel this way at least once in our lives, but if pushed too far, we fall over the edge. If you want things to be over, all I can recommend is cutting whatever ties are adding no value to your life or those that are worsening it – friends, family, career, location – at least for the time being.

Get away from it all for a bit. If you physically move, you can always move back. There is abundant room for improvement in our lives and it can always be achieved... always.

Photo credit: Theo Gosselin Flickr