5 Ways in Finding Direction When Your World Fell Apart

It’s easy to become obsessed and live in distressing thoughts, especially right around the new year. We start making New Year’s resolutions. We lie to ourselves that we are going to keep longer this year than last year. This is the year we change! We think we dismantle our old selves in hopes our “new” selves will be bigger and better than who we were before –

In other words, we simply mask ourselves from our own selves in attempts to hide ourselves from ourselves.

How’s that working out for you?

When your world falls apart, all of your masks begin to crumble and eventually become destroyed. Finding direction can feel impossible, and it’s hard to know where to even begin – why begin at all? But finding direction isn’t about having all the answers right now, which is probably why you’re struggling to begin with at all.

It’s about taking small, intentional steps toward rediscovering yourself and rebuilding your life.

1. Pause and breathe. There’s nothing to fix – yet. Take a moment, allow the dust to settle, breathe, and give yourself permission to feel everything: the grief, anger, confusion, fear, all of it. Your emotions are valid, and acknowledging them is the first step to finding direction. Take as long as you need here, until you’ve had enough and decided you’re ready (enough) to move forward.
2. Steps so small, only a dust bunny can hear it. You don’t need a grand plan or 5-year vision (to be honest, who’s thinking 5 years down the line anyway?) Ask yourself: what’s one thing I can do today to feel a little better? Is it taking a shower? Is it getting some ice cream, a cup of coffee, or going outside? Take a small action to help you build momentum and give you a chance to regain a sense of control over yourself.
3. Explore your actual self. Find what actually matters for you. What makes you feel alive? What values guide your life? It certainly wasn’t that corporate 9-to-5 that was killing you from the inside. Maybe you can create a side hustle exploring your local nature paths or taking cats out on walks.
4. Change your mind, change your vision. Rebuild your life the way you actually want it to be by exploring who you were and who you would like to be. Do you like cooking vegan and want to explore your local vegan restaurants? Do you like dancing and running, so maybe you see yourself doing a dance competition on a Friday weekend and running a 5K on Sunday morning? (True story). Try it once. Don’t like it? Try something else. You can change your mind at any time, whether it’s to try something new or to stop altogether.
5. Discover pronoia. The universe is always conspiring in your favor, but it’s up to you what meaning you choose to (or choose not to) put into your experience.

You’re Not Lost Forever – You’re Not Even Lost

The world crumbling at your feet is all of your masks dropping in an instance. Now is the chance you get to go on the greatest adventure: who is the real you behind the mask, even the one you put up for yourself?