How You're Soul Searching the Wrong Way

You have set out on the ultimate mission: to find yourself. What are you all about? What is your higher purpose?

Right now, you might feel that you lack direction. You might feel uncertain about the future. But guess what? That’s completely okay! We all face these crossroads in our lives. And not one direction is wrong. After all, our choices define us and make us who we are. Plus, your uniqueness makes you, you.

The problem arises when you no longer focus on personal development and growth - but instead, you obsess over figuring out your purpose. You over-analyze and over-think. You fly 20 or more hours around the globe or spend thousands of dollars trying to figure out who you really are.

While we absolutely encourage you to seek out new experiences, you might find you aren’t satisfied doing these things - not even close.

Where are you going wrong?

You might be overthinking it. You might be focused on external factors as opposed to how you feel - such as comparing yourself to others far too much. If this sounds like you, keep on reading!

Stop Over-Thinking & Live Your Life

We know: Easier said than done.

But here’s a useful piece of advice: Quit thinking about what others expect of you and want from you. These expectations weigh you down. You feel pulled in different directions. What’s left? A colossal mess of frustration amongst other emotions.

You worry about what others think. You compare yourself to others. Comparing ourselves has become the new norm - and unfortunately, social media provides the perfect outlet to scroll through and wonder why you aren’t leading the same flawless and perfect life portrayed by everyone else. It’s confusing and downright, misleading.

Drop the judgement and self-critique. Make a pact to quit comparing yourself to others. Instead, think about what you want - go ahead, be selfish for a moment or 2. What are you passionate about? Passion is important. It offers fulfillment and an opportunity to create goals (and crush those goals!). In turn, it drives you down a path toward a more satisfied and happy life.

Stop picking apart your life. Just enjoy it. Start living in the moment more. The past has already happened and the future hasn’t happened yet. Keep your worrying in check. And live for you - not anyone else.

Start Emphasizing Authenticity

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines ‘authentic’ as ‘not false or imitation’ and ‘true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character.’ It means being genuine. It means not faking your true feelings. Be honest with yourself and others.

Don’t pretend to be happy that you and your husband finally got that new couch - when in reality, you’re thinking you didn’t actually need it and that money could easily have gone toward your savings. It will likely come up in an argument later. Truth has a way of making its way out in due time.

Feel your feelings. But become emotionally intelligent about them. Knowing yourself is half the battle. Yet, to know yourself you have to embrace authenticity. If you are lying to yourself, you’re lying to others too. Toss the act aside and love yourself for a change.

Let’s make this clear though - you don’t have to take a definite stance on any issue or label to become authentic. Keep an open mind about changing your opinion on such topics, while being true to you. You’ll learn more about the world and yourself. Just be you, with a touch of honesty and truth.

Focus on Quieting Your Mind

The moment you brush those - yes, most of the time useless and non-productive - worries aside and find that silence within, you’ll find yourself - your raw and true self. The self that wants to experience life - not waste it worrying about ‘what ifs.’

You’re probably thinking, “Okay, so what? How do I do that?” If you’ve read other daily life articles, you’ll notice our emphasis on meditation, on finding hobbies that fulfill you, and on generally improving every aspect of your life and wellbeing. Grab those life reins and steer it in the direction you want to go - incorporate these aspects! Indulge in constant personal growth and development.

Make it your mission to consistently improve your life and everyone’s life around you. If you’ve been hunting for your life’s purpose, this - right here- is the true meaning of life.

You could spend countless hours pondering the point of it all. Why were you put on this earth? What weird array of events had to line up to lead to right here and right now? What are you meant to do with your life? What is your soul’s specific purpose?

However, the truth is it is much more simple than that. If we were all to put a little bit more energy toward making our world and other people’s world a better and kinder place, would we not live in an entirely different society? Think about it. And yes, every little bit counts. And yes, there will always be mean people out there. But change starts with one word at a time.

Imagine your world like a ripple in the water. As the waves flow out, it may intersect with another person’s ripple - impacting it. In turn, their ripple may collide with another person’s world and so on.

Positive and negative energies transfer this way. Place positive energy into your ripples - send it out into the Universe. It will impact more people than you think.

Life is a Wild Ride…

And as far as we know - scientifically speaking - a ride which you might only be able to ride once. This isn’t to scare you. It’s meant to open your eyes. It’s meant to help you walk through life really and truly living it as opposed to constantly searching for a meaning that you might never find.

Don’t stop your soul-searching. Just tweak it. Change your outlook on it. View it as an ever-changing journey - where personal growth and development is continuous. Life is fragile and precious. Don’t miss a beat. And without trying to sound cliche, live your life to your fullest potential - for you and not for the expectations society or others place on it.