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Can AI help when you feel lost and searching for direction?

Can AI help when you feel lost and searching for direction?

With AI becoming part of our lives, we look at how it may offer an alternative to finding purpose and direction.

mindfulway team
January 12, 2024

Reading time 5 minutes

Thoughts on feeling lost
Quote of the week
Why do we feel lost?
Finding your way out
What AI tools are available to help
What does the future hold?
Our other content

Thoughts and experiences

Do you know anyone who has never felt lost? I don’t think I do. Like happiness, a sense of purpose is something we all need to have. But there are times in our lives when things are quiet, and we get the overwhelming feeling of having no direction.

Right after a relationship, leaving a job, or moving to a new place, you have this space in your life that suddenly needs filling up with something new. Perhaps you have this feeling that you can’t shake that you were destined to do more, that there is something else.

You then look at what’s out there and end up being overwhelmed with things you can do. You can literally jump from one thing to another, looking for your “calling”. The trouble is finding the one thing that makes you smile every morning; call it “passion” or “purpose”; it has to be permanent enough to see yourself doing it every day.

But how do you find it? I think the answer lies in how much you know yourself. Reflecting on times when you felt content, what were you doing then? What energises you? How could you get there again?

A recent time, I felt lost

I was there, feeling lost less than a year ago. An initially long-term project I was working on with friends had just finished. What next? Surely, there has to be more than just the hamster wheel.

Then, Michal and I had this idea to share our conversations about self-improvement. It might interest or help others even, great! And mindfulway was born. And here I go, talking about self-development with my friend with a long-term vision for doing more in the future (stay tuned for exciting things to come soon).

Is there risk in investing my time and money? Yes, is there a risk of failure? Yes. Honestly, I’d feel worse not trying than failing while doing it. Hey, we are doing something we enjoy and may even help people. I’d still have these chats with Michal if there were no mindfulway, so why not capitalise on it?

I guess I’m trying to say that if you invest in something you enjoy doing, you may be willing to risk more. I’m sure we’ll dive into this in a future podcast episode.

Talking of risk, I love reading and watching documentaries about successful people, and what they have in common are a willingness to risk/sacrifice and an unwavering determination to forge ahead despite judgment or naysayers.

I recently came across the biographies of Stallone and Schwarzenegger on Netflix. It was their determination, vision, and refusal to give in despite all odds that was fascinating to me. Perhaps this is a topic for another episode.

For more personal stories and Michal’s perspective, please listen to our non-scripted conversation about feeling lost in our podcast.

But now, let’s see what science says about feeling lost.

Quote of the week

❝

“Not all those who wonder are lost.”

J.R.R. Tolkien

What does science or literature say about feeling lost?

Despite the topic’s popularity amongst content creators, I struggled to find proper scientific research on feeling lost. Here is what I did find:

What causes us to feel lost?

Reading this list, I can’t help but see how the world as it is today is the actual cause of us feeling lost. It’d be interesting to see if you feel the same way.

A lack of purpose or meaning in life.
Feeling disconnected from oneself or others.
Overwhelming choices and possibilities in life.
Traumatic events, illness, or grief.
A transitional period in life, such as a career change or the ending of a relationship.
Pressure to conform to societal expectations or the expectations of others.
Lack of self-awareness or self-identity.
Living according to other people’s definitions of things.
Being too distracted by the outside world to focus on oneself.

Practices that can help with feeling lost:

Ok, let’s see what approaches are suggested to regain a sense of direction and purpose in life:

Focus on Joy and Core Values: Identify activities that bring happiness and align with your core values.
Embrace Change: Stop looking for the “one thing”. Acknowledge that interests and passions can evolve over time.
Self-Reflection: Practice introspection to understand personal goals and motivations.
Embrace uncertainty and see life as an adventure.
Professional Support: Seek support from a therapist or counsellor if needed.

Practices that can help with finding direction

If it’s finding direction you struggle with, then the advice is the following.

Alone Time: Spend time alone and learn what matters to you.
Authenticity: Connect to your authentic self and develop an appreciation for who you are.
Acknowledge emotions and accept how you’re feeling.
Compassionate Self-Care: Balance feelings of both blessings and stress.
Engage in Positive Activities: Continue participating in activities that bring joy.
Find Your Ikigai: Discover your “reason for being,” aligning with Japanese philosophy.
Set a Vision: Create a vision for your life, setting clear goals.
Discover strengths: Identify personal strengths to navigate challenges effectively.
Taking action.

What specific AI tools can help those who feel lost or stuck?

Let’s now see what’s currently available from AI to help. As usual, we will try one tool in the corresponding episode of our podcast.

ChatGPT and ChatGPT Career Coach: A recurring recommendation and the most popular Large Language Model is again on the top of the list. It can help with personalised career advice based on your unique skills, experience, and goals if you feel unfulfilled in your career or lack a sense of purpose.

Hello History: A unique approach to finding inspiration from history’s greats. This tool lets you have in-depth conversations with influential figures from history. What a great idea, although a bit gimmicky, but good fun to find inspiration.

Talk To Books: Do you want to feel like you read all the books on the subject? Then, this is the tool for you that lets you explore ideas and discover books using experimental AI. What a great way to gain new perspectives and insights to overcome uncertainty in life's choices and possibilities.

Meditation and reflection apps might help acknowledge your emotions to find yourself and what brings you joy. One even enables you to solve problems; perhaps it can help you find your purpose.

Headspace: The app utilises machine learning algorithms to consider your engagement with various meditations, the frequency of meditation sessions, your feedback, and more. The more you use the app, the more it understands your preferences and provides even more tailored suggestions.

Calm: Calm, a popular app in the mindfulness industry, has fully embraced AI technology. It provides diverse resources, including guided meditations, soothing sleep stories, tranquil music, and serene visuals. Using AI, Calm analyses your usage patterns and feedback, constantly improving its offerings to provide you with the most effective resources.

Aura: Aura provides a distinctive method for practising mindfulness by delivering personalised 3-minute mindfulness meditations through machine learning. This platform is ideal for individuals with hectic schedules who still wish to prioritise their mental well-being.

Serene: Offers AI-powered mindfulness journaling, meditations, and problem-solving techniques. With its guided mindfulness meditations, you can explore different topics and situations while immersing yourself in soothing nature soundscapes to reduce stress and find tranquillity. Additionally, Serene offers cognitive techniques to help you overcome challenges and create effective action plans.

I don’t think more tools have ever been available to get you unstuck. And this is only the beginning! With AI, the possibilities are endless. We certainly believe AI could be a valuable companion in the future. Imagine having an AI companion and asking for guidance when you feel stuck.

We believe in learning from others just by hearing about their experiences, so if you find that you relate, why not share your story? Have you used any or one of the above AI tools? Would you use one?

Let us know, and share your journey or join us on our podcast. We want to dedicate a section of our content to sharing your experience so we can all learn something valuable.