When we leave a job or a partner, or a residence after so many years, that feeling of being lost is bound to surface. Options overwhelm. Distance suffocates.
The mistake we often make is in where we look to reorient ourselves. We tend to look out into the woods for a marker or the right path. We look for another person, a so-called expert, and make them our guide.
This is dangerous. There are plenty of ways into the forest and they all lead to different places. The guides will lead you to their favorite place, not necessarily yours.
The key is to stop looking out at the jungle and instead look inward. Don’t worry about what’s out there for you, pay attention to what you want to do next and who you want to become. Figure out your frustrated wishes, your interests inside and outside of the old routine, the talents you want to continue using, and the skills that you want to develop
This is your map. It doesn’t matter how deep the woods go, once you find direction, the spark of hope will swell within you.
Always, look in, not out, to discard the illusion of being lost.