4 actions you can take when you feel lost
On acceptance, imitating, and taking friends for granted
Hi friends and new subscribers,
Every couple of months, I'd have moments of feeling "lost."
It happens so often that I've internalized them as normal. I usually feel lost in life and my creator journey.
But because it's such a frequent occurrence, I can't really let "feeling lost" stop me from moving forward.
So over the past few months, I've developed some habits to fall back into whenever I feel lost.
Here are some of them.
Move. When you feel lost, it's tempting to stay in bed or scroll on social media all day. When this happens, I force myself to water my plants or do the dishes. Surprisingly, these simple acts take me out of my head and gives me a bit of clarity. Sometimes, that’s all you need.
Copy others. When I worked as a nurse, I got lost in life. Seeing people do cool things online made me want to do that too. Copying others like Vanessa Lau (a famous YouTuber) got me to where I am now.
Disassociate. When we feel lost, we start to assign meanings to our thoughts. "I'm not gaining any views on my YouTube" means that I suck. In reality, views or subscribers have nothing to do with who you are. In these times, allow yourself to feel down but remember that you aren't your thoughts.
Accept. When those three things aren't helping (i.e. I still feel down), I learn to accept that fact. I think, "It's absolutely okay to feel lost." And sometimes, the act of acceptance is what I need to make me feel better. There's no need to be mean to yourself or create drama around it.
What about you? What have you found helpful when you felt lost in your journey?
It’s okay to feel lost.
Writing tip: Imitate, then innovate.
David Perell, an online prominent writer, wrote a whole essay on this.
Essentially, if you don't know where to start writing online or, in my case, if you feel lost, copy the people you admire. What are they writing about? What's their writing style? What about their work you love?
After reflecting, steal those elements.
Once you start imitating them because you like what they're doing, you also learn to develop things your way.
But until you have momentum, go ahead and imitate others. Just don't plagiarize (because that's bad stealing).
Sprinkled Thoughts 🍩
Latest work on the internet in different mediums. I hope some of it resonates with you.
🎬 To anyone forging their own path. Sharing my thoughts while being on a pathless path.
✍🏼 I’ve been taking my friends for granted. I realize I need to make more effort to bond with my current friends.
P.S. I am writing this newsletter for you. I’d love to know what you think of it. On a scale of 1 - 10, let me know how helpful it is in your journey. Are you enjoying the weekly issues or should I return to my bi-monthly schedule? Even if you respond with a number, I’d appreciate it. 🙂
Until next time ☕️,
J