Hearing the voice in your head saying (or, rather, wailing): “I don’t know what to do with my life” can be scary. It is a bit like staring into an abyss, or what I imagine looking into the void of space would feel like.
Most people feel stuck or lost at some point.
Whether it’s trying to figure out what college to go to, choosing a career after school, changing jobs, deciding who you want to spend your life with, or just figuring out who you are after a big life change — you can count on life to throw a moment of doubt or utter confusion your way at least once in your life.
Yet, the second you come to peace with the idea of feeling lost and stuck as a normal part of life, you open the doors to new things.
In this article, I will talk about seven (some a bit unordinary) steps to take on your journey to finding your own path. Hopefully, when you try them, you might find yourself less bewildered — or even excited about the countless possibilities and opportunities that lie ahead.
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Beyond the Dream Job: Finding Purpose in Life and Career
Most people equate not knowing what to do with their life with uncertainty about their career and finding the right, meaningful job. It’s common to hear, “I don’t know what to do with my life,” when the real concern is, “I don’t know what career path to follow.”
But if you're here looking for career advice specifically, we cover that in other articles such as, "I Don’t Know What Career I Want," which acts as a kind of career counselor. It offers guidance for those who hate their current jobs, feel stuck at work, or are unsure of their professional direction.
There is no doubt that having a career plan provides focus and insight into the steps and resources needed to reach your goals. It helps you align your needs and work values with a job that suits you, increasing the likelihood of long-term success. Career goal setting can help you determine how your personality or work preferences align with a career path you are considering, increasing job satisfaction.
But finding your purpose goes beyond just your career; it’s about understanding who you are as a whole — what fulfills you both at work and in your personal life. While it's true that a fulfilling job plays a significant role in our lives, how you spend your free time is just as important. Personal growth doesn’t stop at work; it continues in the choices you make outside your professional life.
That’s why this article focuses on guiding you through personal development beyond career choices, helping you find meaning and direction in every aspect of life.
Feeling Lost About What To Do With Your Life? 7 Steps for Self-Discovery
What happens when you hear “I don’t know what to do with my life” in your head?
Do you spend hours immersed in self-reflection? Do you torture your friends with questions about the meaning of life, or how to find your purpose? Or do you just distract yourself with video games, TV, or social media to avoid figuring out how to answer the question?
If you are like most people, your reaction to feeling lost in life is spending time either feeling bad about the "pointlessness" of your existence or putting extra hard work into discovering the right path to take. Both can make you dizzy and uneasy.
Let’s change the course; here are seven steps to take to find your unique direction in life.
1. Create the Perfect Environment for Self-Discovery
I admit to being a huge fan of making preparations. I am the kind of person who lists all the things that need to be taken care of at a job or before a journey, lists of new hobbies to try, or even fun activities I have planned for the week. Yes, I plan my fun and joy.
I am also the person who buys a new (beautiful) notebook before starting any new project. Yeah, it helps my process.
Jokes aside, if you are about to discover where you need to go in your life, it is only fair to prepare the terrain for the journey through your feelings and dreams.
For some, like Enneagram Type 1 or Judging types in the MBTI (such as ISTJs or ENTJs), this methodical approach may feel natural. It’s part of who you are to organize and structure your thoughts before diving in. But even if you’re more of an easy-going Type 9 or Perceiving type (like INFPs or ENFPs), creating a prepared, intentional space for self-reflection is essential. While your approach might be more spontaneous or flexible, the act of setting the stage still matters — it helps clear mental space for insights to emerge.
That can mean going to a peaceful park or a busy café if it helps your thinking process. One thing is important no matter the setting you choose: try to ensure you won’t get interrupted.
Also, make sure you have something to write your thoughts into. If you come up with the idea of a lifetime, you’ll want to note it down.
An interesting study revealed that lighting can affect your thinking — and the effects differ across genders. The findings showed that the right kind of lighting for you can enhance your performance in long-term memory and problem-solving skills. So, see if you prefer ‘warm,’ ‘cool,’ or dimmed or bright light, and set the stage for a successful self-discovery journey.
In a nutshell:
Prepare yourself for self-discovery by creating a focused, distraction-free environment that supports your thinking process — whether it’s the right location, lighting, or a fresh notebook to capture your thoughts. No matter your personality type, the right environment can set you on a path to finding clarity.
2. Prepare Yourself for Soul-Searching
Just like your external environment should feel right when you search for the right path to take in life, you should also prepare yourself internally.
What does this mean?
An average person does not do well in making choices when they do not feel at the top of their game. So, when you seek happiness, focus on rest, comfort, and calmness.
One study, for example, determined that we are more likely to seek immediate gratification when hungry. The problem is that the craving does not apply to food choices alone. Hunger negatively affects our financial and interpersonal decisions, too. Therefore, avoid taking action on an empty stomach.
Another important thing is rest. A study confirmed that sleep deprivation has notable cognitive and neural consequences. So, you will hardly come up with great things for your life if you are stuck in a mind fog.
Finally, do not underestimate the power of meditation to help you focus and find your direction free of distractions. A review of over 160 studies determined meditation positively affects emotional and interpersonal issues and cognitive abilities. In another study, as little as four days of mindfulness training improved participants’ cognitive performance.
In a nutshell:
Prepare yourself internally for soul-searching by ensuring you are well-rested, nourished, and calm — because decisions made in moments of discomfort or distraction can lead you astray.
3. Keep an Open Mind and Brainstorm
The previous two steps were a preparation for the journey. Now it is time to start figuring out some specific life paths you could take.
The prerequisite for this step is an open mind. Free your creativity for self-reflection and self-improvement to underline your new life purpose.
Do a brainstorming session. The question you will focus on is, “What kind of a life do I want for myself?”. Go wild with ideas because — why not? No one is watching. Like in any brainstorming session, there are no wrong ideas or “too out-there” scenarios. Why not dig into the secret desires you might have had your whole life?
You can make a list, a bullet journal, a vision board, a Kanban board, a graph — whatever works best for you.
In a nutshell:
With an open mind, brainstorm freely about the life you want, allowing all ideas to surface — no matter how unconventional — before narrowing them down to realistic paths forward.
Related: 7 Self-Reflection Questions for Personal Growth and Self-Discovery
4. Ask Your Younger Self for Advice
Oh, being young and foolish! I would not trade the wisdom I gained in my adult life (or real life, to be exact) for going back to high school and feeling confused about myself as I used to.
Still, young age comes with one thing we sometimes lose track of as adults. It is a vivid and compelling idea of the dream life we want. Coupled with it came the unstoppable passion to take on the world, step outside a comfort zone and realize success no matter what.
Your younger self was not feeling stuck, ruminating the “I don’t know what to do with my life” or "what do I want to be when I grow up" conundrum. They knew exactly what their dream job would be, how successful people look like, and how a perfect family would support them on their path towards accomplishing life purpose.
When you were young, you didn’t stop to question everything or wonder what the point of it all was. You would simply lose yourself (in a good way) in whatever you enjoyed doing. You’d get absorbed in a book and forget where you were, or feel happy to start exploring a new passion — whether it was joining a high school sports team or taking up art classes.
Finding flow was easy. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, a famous positive psychology researcher and theoretician, concluded that the more ‘flow’ you have in your life, the more resilience, well-being, and fulfilment you will enjoy.
So, what should we do about it now? Ask your younger self for advice. Ask them what made them take action, how they made flow a natural part of their lives, what they believed in, and where their passion came from.
We cannot (and should not) stop thinking like adults and go back to our less mature selves. Nonetheless, explore what made you tick back then. What of those motivations might you bring back to your life? Are there old hobbies you would enjoy but fell to the back of your mind? Do you need to believe in yourself more? Do you need to worry less? Did you forget the importance of your own happiness for the sake of the endless list of chores?
Ponder over these questions and find ways to reintroduce flow and passion into your life to match your current lifestyle.
In a nutshell:
Reflect on your younger self’s passions, dreams, and ability to find flow, and consider how you can bring those motivations back into your life to reignite purpose and joy.
5. Press “Pause”
Yes, I know this sounds counterintuitive.
“I don’t know what to do with my life, and now you’re telling me to just let it go?!”
However, this is an intentional, brief pause. Do not be alarmed. You’re not giving up your search for meaning or drifting aimlessly in a purpose-deprived limbo for months.
So, why do you need to step away from the problem? Believe it or not, solid theoretical and empirical foundations exist for this advice.
If we think of personal growth as a creative act of finding an answer to a question of life importance, then we know that it has its phases. A creative process consists of four stages – preparation, incubation, illumination and verification.
By now, after following the previous steps in this process to find your purpose, it’s time for the incubation phase. Step back from trying to force the answer, and it will come to you naturally.
You’ve probably heard of those “Eureka!” moments happening when a scientist took a bath, went for a walk, or just let their mind wander. Research backs this up too, showing how our brains keep working on creative problems during those relaxed, incubation periods. Taking a break is an important part of the process.
In a nutshell:
Step away from actively searching for answers — an incubation phase allows your mind to work unconsciously, often leading to breakthroughs when you least expect it.
6. Write Your Own Eulogy or Obituary
Still with me? If you haven’t bolted for the exit or clicked that tempting little ‘X’ in the top corner, let me explain.
The only reason why you should write your eulogy or obituary while life flows strongly through your veins is because this is a powerful technique rooted in existential-humanistic psychology. What is more, its effectiveness in creating a “transformative shift in the direction of a greater sense of acceptance, appreciation, and awe toward the possibilities of living the life one envisions” was confirmed in research.
There are few techniques as powerful as the one in which you imagine you are no longer here, and people talk about you at your funeral. Because, like it or not (not!), we all reach the end eventually. Death comes for us all.
So, stop now and think about how you want to live your life while you still have it.
You will initially feel some emotional discomfort. However, you will end the exercise feeling existentially liberated, probably with a clearer idea of what you want to do with your life. Whether you figure out you want a career change and a new job, or you like your current job but not your relationship with a partner, family, or friends — something will move inside of you, that is guaranteed.
In a nutshell:
Writing your own eulogy taps into existential psychology, helping you gain clarity and motivation to live the life you truly want by reflecting on how you will be remembered in this world.
7. Be a Good Friend to Yourself
Finally, there is something you should always do, regardless of where on your life path you are at the moment.
Hopefully, the six steps above helped you to figure out your unique life path. You are ready to take action and conquer the world. Or, at least, to shyly step through the doors you have opened when you asked yourself: “What should I do with my life?!”
However, as exciting as it may be (conquering the world and all that), as you will soon discover, it begins with a change. No matter how big or small — whether you realized you need a new hobby or are about to turn your life upside down and start from scratch — change tends not to come easy. Even when for the better, changes are riddled with challenges.
Therefore, prepare to go through it with an attitude of acceptance and non-judgement. Embrace your decision and all that comes with it. Step into your new life with plenty of self-love. Research shows that self-compassion helps you regulate emotions and be less self-critical.
Be the kind of a friend to yourself as you would be to others.
In a nutshell:
Embrace the changes ahead with self-compassion and acceptance, knowing that every step — big or small — toward your new life will come with challenges, but self-love will help you navigate them with resilience.
Staying on Track
As you figure out your life, it is crucial to maintain momentum and keep your goals in sight. Big issues like the purpose of our lives tend to become somewhat diffused if we do not discover ways to stay focused and motivated.
Here are some effective strategies to help you stay on course and ensure lasting progress.
1. Set Realistic Goals
Ensure your goals are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). This clarity will help you maintain focus and direction as you navigate your personal growth journey.
2. Monitor Your Progress
Regularly assess your advancements toward your goals. Keeping a journal or using digital tools can help you track changes and reflect on your experiences, ensuring you are on the right path.
3. Seek Support
Engage with friends, family, or a therapist who can offer encouragement and guidance. Sharing your goals with significant people in your life can provide accountability and motivate you to keep moving forward.
4. Embrace Flexibility
Recognize that life is unpredictable, and adjusting your plans is okay. Being adaptable allows you to navigate challenges and make necessary changes without losing sight of your objectives.
5. Celebrate Small Wins
Take time to acknowledge and reward yourself for achieving milestones, regardless of how small. Celebrating progress reinforces your motivation and reminds you how far you have come.
Related: Why is the New Year a Great Time for a Job Change?
Not Knowing What to Do with Your Life Can Open New Doors
I hope that you are nearing the end of this article with less stress and anxiety about the voice that proclaimed: “I don’t know what to do with my life” than when you first started reading it.
It is natural to feel lost in life now and then, but remember — this sense of uncertainty is often the precursor to growth and discovery. Every moment of doubt opens the door to new opportunities, paths, and new versions of yourself.
Take the steps, embrace the journey, and trust that feeling lost is part of finding your way. You do not need to figure everything out immediately; life is evolving. Every small step you take today will help shape a future that is uniquely yours.
So, go ahead — begin to discover the endless possibilities. There’s a world of opportunity waiting for you.
Next Steps to Ensure You Don’t Feel Lost Your Entire Life
We all feel stuck at some point, but what matters most is how you move forward.
With BrainManager’s resources, you won’t have to face this journey alone. Whether you are exploring self-development, looking for guidance in setting life goals, or seeking to understand your unique strengths, we provide tools to help you stay on track.
Taking personality and career tests can be a great way to start.
These tests help clarify your inherent traits, interests, and work values, guiding you toward decisions that align with who you truly are. When you understand your personality type or how your skills match specific careers, making informed choices about your future becomes easier.
Let BrainManager help you create a personalized roadmap for growth and success, guiding you toward a future that aligns with your unique path.
