some of us have been there and some of us are there right now. its not rock bottom since you still have your life somewhat together but its that purgatory like feeling of “what now” that causes a lingering void. i see my friends including myself finishing a huge mile stone in our lives whether it be graduating school or finishing an internship/job and feeling somewhat lost after. we are so into the next step into our lives that we forget to sit back and really soak in what we did as well as thinking about whether we actually liked doing it. and once our lives come to a halt we got all these pieces of experiences that we don’t know what to do with and clearly don’t know if those pieces fit into our soul.

*so heres the problem a few of us neglect our souls to begin with because we are too caught up trying to collect pieces that might fit instead of from the start figuring out what we truly want and going for that.

but its not too late! *cue in cheesy motivating music* lol

now i’m the last person to give advice on this subject but i’ve been through this empty phase and i really wanted to share with you what i did to find my passion and my path again. don’t worry i’m not part of a scary cult so no small animal sacrifice was involved!

• i took 1 week off from school and my job and went to a place where no one knew me or can run into me. in my case it was montreal.

• i went offline meaning no posts on twitter, instagram, or facebook. it just made sense to not be maintaining something that might not be who you are at the moment.

• i told my closest friends that i needed space. now that might sound weird to need space from friends in what seems like a time of need but when you have other people talk to you about their lives during your individual soul searching adventure it will only distract you. i love my friends and i can’t help but worry about them but this 1 week was purely just for me to focus on myself and to figure out who i was and what i needed to be happy.

• during this 1 week in montreal i went to places that made ME happy. i had lots of poutine, shawarmas, shopped at thrift stores and actually bumped into an old friend (hi mackenzie!). she was a close friend during the time i was truly happy and i felt those exact happy feelings again when i saw her face so i just took that as a sign from the above that i’m on the right track.

• after all the fun i sat down at my hotel table and pulled out a blank journal. i wrote down what made me happy and the long list included my likes, my hobbies, and milestones that i was proud of accomplishing. i wrote and wrote until i couldn’t think of anything else that made me happy.

i highlighted what really stood out to me which involved my careers and hobbies and through that i was able to find what i want to do with my life. of course i’m going to second guess myself a million times and hit rock bottom a million more but i’m just happy and satisfied that i found what makes me tick and what doesn’t.

if you can take time off from the life you built then take that opportunity and see from a third person perspective if that life you built is really made for you. every soul search journey is different but i hope mine gave you some tips to help with your journey.

the three things i want to say to you if you are feeling like you are living life going through the motions:

1. it is never too late to start something new
2. you have a place in this world that can only be accomplished by you
3. you are not alone

best of luck on your soul searching adventure my friend, don’t give that up.

k