The Burden of Uncertainty: Dealing with Lacking Direction in Life

When life presents us with its challenges, unfortunately it often does not come with solutions. This feeling of inadequacy and lack of insight of how to approach and tackle the situations that we are facing is one of the most common burdens of modern day living. We ask ourselves “What do I want to do?” “How am I going to do it?” and “Where do I go from here?” without being able to identify the answers. In this vulnerable landscape of emotions, confusion and hesitation, there lies an even greater mountain to climb; that of lacking direction.

This is a familiar place for many of us and seeking therapy can be an important part of finding a way out. Through discussing our innermost insecurities and questioning how we currently feel or think about certain situations, together we create a foundation for understanding and look for concrete solutions to ensure growth has been made. Whether it is a discussion of our previous work experiences or ideas we once felt passionate about, exploring these notions can be crucial to discovering what we truly want to do.

A key factor in a client’s progression during therapy is motivation; the groundwork needs to be layed and actions need to be taken, something which can be difficult when we have no idea where to direct these efforts in the first place. As the therapist our role is to help the client identify the obstacle in front of them and create a plan of attack. Instead of fumbling around aimlessly, taking small but calculated steps is often the best route to take. This is especially true when psychographically structuring tasks in order to keep focus and avoid any conscious decision fatigue during the process.

It’s also fundamental to remain open to opportunity and embrace change, even if it involves taking risks or finding a completely different career path in life. This involves knowing how to make better decisions, or learning how to choose the best option for us rather than trying to hedge our bets. This could be anything from deciding to approach a situation differently, or exploring options that up until this point felt everything but suitable safely.

Finding out what it is what we truly want from life isn’t easy, and it takes hard reinforced introspection in order to become aware of it. Through examining our attitudes and conversations surrounding these issues, a new perspective may arise and the journey towards success begins. It’s true that there will always be uncertainty in our lives, but this doesn’t mean there isn’t hope to find our place in the world - clarity can only be found once we choose to let go of our self-imposed restrictions, and instead pursue the future that our deep yearning desire aspires to.