Written by Zip Nguyen's father, Phu Nguyen, author of "Story of the week" (Mỗi tuần một chuyện) series —Translated by Hang Nguyen
Click here to read the original post written in Vietnamese.
Life is already complex and shifting, constantly influencing us and forcing questions upon us that are sometimes left unanswered. This can leave us feeling confused and exhausted, often combined with self-doubt, fear, and anxiety about what might happen next. As a result, we can get lost or stuck in life, not sure what to do, how to do it, or where to start, causing us to feel even more uncertain in our lives.
This feeling of confusion is common among younger people. While there are many reasons for this phenomenon, I will only mention two basic ones: the external environment and our internal state of mind.
In the article "Where do the pressures and trauma in life come from?", I shared with you our simple days of youth — poor and lacking opportunities to choose from. But things are different at your age, with too many opportunities; and they come with challenges and even risks that exist as the flip side of the market economy. Perhaps in mankind’s history, we've never had to cope with such a paradox of choice as today. That's not to mention that many young people of this age have to face pressure from the environment they live in, such as family, school, work, etc.
Apart from the external factors, the confusion that you often feel also comes from internally — the fact that you haven't had enough experience, or haven't mastered your own will in matters related to choice. From simple stuff like choosing subjects in high school to choosing a career when entering professional schools, selecting a job, a partner, a spouse, a place to start your career, a vehicle, or the direction of your path, and so on. You are presented with many options to choose from; still, you cannot make your own decision.
To overcome this dilemma, first, you need to embrace solitude to feel re-centered in order to understand yourself and know what you really need, then decide what is the most suitable and practical for you. To do that, you need to practice the ability to reorient your perspective and focus on the positivities that come from the unexpected so that your mind is not wavering and your emotions remain stabilized. Then, you will gradually realize your self-worth which helps you think more clearly and thoughtfully. In addition, you should also participate in physical activities, meditation, yoga, and travel often to relax your mind and increase energy for a healthy-living lifestyle. All of these things will help you think more optimistically and wisely in matters regarding choices. Additionally, don't forget to tap into your other core support systems — which are the advice and help of your family, friends, relatives, colleagues, etc.
Experience shows that when you feel lost, the wisest thing to do is to go back to the starting point to reflect and re-evaluate your options from the birdeye view and then when you get a better sense of your intentionality, decide your next steps. However, the good thing here is that even when you return to the starting point, you are still in a much better position than before, because your starting point has now been built up from the experiences that you accumulated from failures! Similarly in life, every time you feel disoriented, go back to basics and return to your core values to think first, increasing your chance to make the good choices.
If you compare life to the sea, your life is like a boat floating on it. When you feel confused in life, you feel like a boat losing its direction, not knowing where to go. So, if you find yourself in this situation, work to actively gain back your control so that you can steer your boat back on track!
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Are you currently feeling confused about your direction in life? If so, what are you confused about? Have you tried the suggestions mentioned above in the article? Please comment below, or don't hesitate to send a message to @bloomincrisis via Instagram / Facebook or an email to bloomincrisis@gmail.com!