Wanderlust or wandering-and-lost? That is the question.
There are many points in life where we feel lost: transitioning from a child to a teenager, from a teenager to a young adult, from a young adult to a real adult, and then more transitions into various stages of adulthood after that. It’s a never-ending cycle of life changes. And it’s challenging.
The decision-making process of life is stressful. From deciding what major to take in college, to deciding on which career path to pursue, to planning your entire future in the blink of an eye, it's almost impossible to "make the right decision." With tough decision-making comes a plethora of emotions. This is why our path to success is not supposed to be easy.
We face different emotions and feelings throughout life—love, hate, desire, ambition, drive, laziness, frustration, melancholy—these are inevitable. We can’t control our psychological roller coaster of emotions, what we can control is how they affect our lives. The way you respond to the obstacles in your life determines how you will prevail from tragedies and succeed in the future.
Navigate with your senses.
Getting lost is a part of life. If we always knew which path we wanted to take, how would we ever learn and grow from different experiences?
Without direction, we get lost. And even with a little bit of direction, we must still navigate with our senses. You can only do what you feel is right when it comes to decision-making. When you come to a fork in the road and can’t seem to decide something important or even life-changing, the only thing you can do is trust your gut.
Feelings of regret are always natural regardless of which decision you make. Even if it feels wrong afterwards, your gut led you to choose that path for a specific reason. In that time and place it was meant to be. Maybe that gut feeling was meant to lead you directly there or maybe to teach you a lesson first on the way—either way—only your instincts can truly guide you.
All roads lead to Rome.
This expression is a reminder that no matter which route you take, you will eventually arrive at your destination. It’s a representation of why we take different paths in life. People are so worried that if they take a few wrong turns, it throws their entire journey for a loop. When really, it’s just teaching you a lesson. You’re going to fail many times before you succeed. Those who are lucky enough to get the easy way out will eventually face challenges later in life that they are not prepared for, unlike those who struggle at first.
So face the challenges earlier in life, and let them make you stronger. How can you ever see the beauty in your destination without the built-up anticipation throughout your travels?
Find your way back when you get lost.
In the words of Jhene Aiko, “If everything is dipped in gold, then baby it will never grow. Everything sweet ain’t sugar-coated.”
When you’re feeling lost, the most important thing you can do is believe in yourself. Reach out of your comfort zone to face new challenges. As you get older, it finally becomes easier to start caring more about yourself, and less about what people think of you. It is important to never lose this mentality along your path to success because self-doubt will be the number one factor holding you back in life.
When you're feeling unsure of yourself or your future, remember that the challenges is what leads you there. Not all who wander are lost.