It could be the result of poor work-life balance, the demands of parenthood, or being so focused on a relationship that you forget your own identity.
Difficult personal circumstances like mental health conditions, the loss of a loved one, or a breakup can also cause an identity crisis.
Even just spending a lot of time thinking about your purpose in life can cause you to feel lost and confused.
Feeling like you’ve lost touch with who you really are as a person can be scary and even lead to feelings of depression, but the good news is that there are many ways to find yourself again and start living your life as the person you’re supposed to be.
Today, we’ll be sharing our most useful tips for finding your way back to who you truly are.
Ways To Find Yourself Again
1. Accept That You Feel Lost
Feeling like you’ve lost yourself can be a really uncomfortable feeling, and a natural response to uncomfortable feelings is to push them away, but if you want to find yourself again, you first have to accept that you are lost.
It can be upsetting to admit that you’re not showing up as the person you want to be or living the life you want for yourself.
However, when you stop burying your feelings and start acknowledging that reality, you can start working towards finding yourself again.
2. Develop A Mindfulness Practice
This next step naturally follows on from the acceptance stage of finding yourself.
If you want to show up as your best, authentic self, you need to be in touch with your true nature, and the best way to do that is through regular mindfulness.
Mindfulness can encompass many different practices, from meditation and yoga to journaling.
Any practice that allows you to observe your thoughts and feelings without judgment will benefit you on your journey to finding yourself.
Another benefit of practicing mindfulness when it comes to finding yourself is that mindfulness reduces symptoms of stress and mental health conditions, both of which can make it difficult to feel in touch with the real you at times.
3. Practice Self-Awareness
Self-awareness is connected to mindfulness, but by practicing self-awareness, we’re specifically talking about asking yourself a series of questions that will help you to connect with your authentic self.
Some examples of self-awareness questions we recommend asking yourself include:
Who am I?
What is it that I want?
Where do I want to be?
What makes me feel fulfilled?
What can I do today to improve my life?
Remember, it’s totally fine and even expected for you to not have all the answers straight away.
The important thing is to keep these questions in your mind as you go through life and be aware when the answers come to you so that you can act on them.
4. Make Peace With Yourself
Not only does finding yourself involve accepting your feelings (including the less positive ones), but it also means making peace with yourself.
One of the biggest obstacles most people encounter when they try to find themselves is that they feel the need to hide or change parts of themselves due to external or internal pressure.
For example, if you’re a naturally introverted person but feel constant pressure to present as extroverted for your job or to maintain your social life, this can get in the way of understanding and embracing who you are.
If you want to find yourself, you’ll need to accept the parts of yourself that you feel judged for, whether that’s by yourself or others.
5. Do Things That Fulfill You
Once you’ve answered the self-awareness question ‘what makes me feel fulfilled’, you should start doing these things as often as possible.
Doing things that fulfill you, whether that’s working towards your dream career or baking cookies, will help you to get in touch with and appreciate yourself while building a life that brings you joy.
6. Reevaluate Your Habits
Many of us engage in habits that hold us back from being our best and true selves, so evaluate your habits and see whether you can let go of any that don’t serve you to make room for more productive ones.
For instance, if you’re a person who feels fulfilled by learning but you find yourself tuning into mindless reality TV every night, try changing your evening routine to incorporate more educational content.
Similarly, if you’re sleeping in until noon every weekend, try waking up earlier to make more time for self-discovery.
7. Expand Your Comfort Zone
It’s easy to confuse your comfort zone for who you are as a person, but our comfort zones can often hold us back from who we are meant to be.
If there’s something you’ve been wanting to do but haven’t because it feels daunting, this is your sign.
Take up that new hobby, apply for that job! Feel the fear and do it anyway.
8. Assess And Prioritize Your Relationships
Are there people in your life that leave you feeling drained or demand inauthenticity from you?
Or have you lost touch with friends who were once a positive presence in your life?
Prioritizing people who make you feel like your truest self and distancing yourself from those who make you feel the need to hide your authentic nature will be helpful when you’re trying to find yourself.
9. Change Your Environment
Being stuck in an unfulfilling and uninspiring environment can majorly contribute to feeling lost within yourself, so a change of environment can help you to find yourself again.
This could be as simple as redecorating your bedroom, or it could mean moving house or taking a solo vacation.
Anything that will shift your perspective and open you up to a new experience of life.
Final Thoughts
We hope that the tips in this article help you to find yourself and embrace your true potential.
Good luck on your journey, and remember, it’s never too late to start living the life you were meant to live (Also check out the How To Start Over?).
Hi, we are Ben Easter and Paige Stephens-Easter, and we have been married for 10 years. Together, we have immersed ourselves in the world of personal development, with our full-time business - Lucid Shift Coaching.
We believe that mental health and mindfulness are the most important things in a relationship, and we need to cherish these things in order to be the best versions of ourselves.
Our core values include Play, Growth, Connection, Collaboration, and Authenticity. These apply to our work, relationship, and all areas of our lives where we want to see improvement.
Please enjoy our website and learn more about personal development through mindfulness, nurturing your mental health, and more.
