How to Find Yourself

Chapter 3

Feeling Lost Shouldn’t be Scary

We live in world where teenagers are expected to know what they want to do with their life. Meanwhile, adults are expected to hold good jobs, get married, have kids, buy home, save money, invest and so much more.

When facing so many expectations over your life, its easy to feel inadequate and loose yourself trying to meet societal expectations. The thing is, life is not linear. No one got from point A to point B through a journey without any tribulations. 

If you want to know the truth about life, talk to old people. You will be surprised at how much information is left out of success stories. For example, very few people will tell you life that rich aunt or uncle lived before making money.

That feeling of being lost sometimes comes from comparing your life with what is expected of you. Sadly, only a few loved ones will expect you to be healthy and happy. That’s why I propose that you set new expectations for your life.

Think about this, of you go to a new mall, carnival, or festival, the idea of having fun is to walk around aimlessly as you wait for the main events. In the process of wandering, you discover fun activities, food, shops and so much more.

Why not approach your life as an exploration at festival? Of course you need to figure out things like source of income, and how to meet your basic needs first. After that, experiment with various aspects of your life to see what works.

One of my best approach is the Fail Fast Method. It proposed that you segment your experiments into 3-month projects. For three months, put your best effort into something you’ve always wanted to try and then evaluate your progress once the time-limit is over.

The Fail Fast Method is a great way to discover what you are good at, what you like or dislike, and even find a new path in life. The fact that you are aware there is a significant possibility of failure takes away the pressure to succeed. In other words, you get to try out new things just for the fun of it.

In case you are not convinced that feeling of being lost or loosing yourself are normal, here are some things to consider. Google how many experiments it took to create new technologies. You’ll find that research and development departments are paid to fail until they find something that works.

All of the advancements we have made as humans are because there were many failures in the beginning. I’m probably writing this chapter from across the world to my readers, but you will be able to access the chapter immediately I upload it.

Another example is parenting. There are so many theories on the right and wrong way to do it. Yet parents raise their kids the best way they can without realising how they will turn out. By the time a child becomes an adult, their parent can’t change how they raised them.

There are lots of things in life that happen blindly, and yet it doesn’t make them bad. If you can afford to sleep each day to see the next, then you can afford to feel lost without getting scared about finding your way. The right path will come to you when you are ready to follow it.