So much of life revolves around setting goals or making plans, and then working gradually toward what we want. But sometimes we don’t know what we want — or how to get it. It’s normal to experience moments of feeling lost or directionless; whether we’ve just reached a longtime goal or had a big upheaval dropped into our laps, there are plenty of reasons we might not know our next move. One 2021 study reported that more than 75% of participants felt stuck in their personal and professional lives — so if we’re feeling lost, we’re not alone.
The only real way to get unstuck is to start making moves. That might mean finding a new goal or passion to focus on, a philosophy or faith to keep us going, or a part of ourselves we either thought was gone or didn’t know existed in the first place. As author J.R.R. Tolkien wrote, “Not all those who wander are lost.” Whether we’ve been wandering for a little or a long while, all it takes is one decision to set us on a path again. These quotes about feeling lost will help you move, step by step, from drifting to driven.
If you can't do what you long to do, go do something else… You might think it's procrastination, but — with the right intention — it isn't; it's motion. And any motion whatsoever beats inertia, because inspiration will always be drawn to motion.Elizabeth Gilbert, writer
Not till we are lost, in other words, not till we have lost the world, do we begin to find ourselves.Henry David Thoreau
You didn't just find a self out there waiting — you had to make one. You had to create who you wanted to be.Brit Bennett, writer
Any action is often better than no action… If it is a mistake, at least you learn something, in which case it’s no longer a mistake. If you remain stuck, you learn nothing.Eckhart Tolle
I think that you find your own way… In the end, it’s what feels right to you… Not what anybody else told you but the still, small voice.Meryl Streep
The first step toward transforming your life into art is to start paying more attention to it.Austin Kleon, author
We must be willing to get rid of the life we’ve planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us. The old skin has to be shed before the new one can come.Joseph Campbell
The risk of a wrong decision is preferable to the terror of indecision.Maimonides, philosopher
When I feel lost and can't make a decision, I just stop and get quiet. I take a time-out. I ask myself, “How does this feel? What do I want my life to be like?”Kim Cattrall
We must travel in the direction of our fear.John Berryman, poet
You still have a lot of time to make yourself be what you want. There’s still lots of good in the world.S.E. Hinton, writer
Photo credit: Ana de Sousa/ Shutterstock
