There is one exact moment that you can point out when you realize you're lost.
It is a defined moment in time when you don't know anymore exactly where you are.
Within a second hormones are released,
Your body reacts,
Your mind reacts.
Your senses are all of a sudden twice as awake.
From now on you have to maneuver through the unknown without being certain where you will end up.
But getting lost is not all bad.
Managing the unknown is also opening doors for you.
But how can you make sure you pick the right ones?
So today we are looking at getting lost.
We are trying to find out what actually happens to you when you are lost and we are looking at your reaction.
You will gain awareness of the downsides and the benefits of getting lost.
Furthermore,
Our goal is to be more conscious of how you can allow yourself to get lost.
Mandy Hale said,
Sometimes it takes a wrong turn to get you to the right place.
Let's take some wrong turns together.
Now before we talk about the upsides of getting lost,
Let me talk about the downsides.
By default being lost is dangerous because unknown territories are always harder for you to maneuver.
So when getting lost,
Try to make sure it is in a way that is not physically dangerous to you.
Deciding to get lost in central Lisbon and ignoring maps is different from deciding to get lost in the desert.
As much as you can,
Be smart about where and how you get lost.
Of course,
You choosing to get lost and you being in control of getting lost might make the overall experience not as extreme and thus maybe also not as enriching.
But it will also make the experience more safe and less traumatic.
I would argue that getting lost more often but in a less intense way is just as beneficial and just as much of a potential learning curve for you as getting lost in an extreme environment.
The combined experiences of getting lost will give you a lot of growth.
Now let's dive further into why I think you should consider getting lost sometimes.
The biggest reason is that the experiences of being lost will enhance the feeling of trust in yourself.
Finding your way and literally surviving the feeling of being lost will give you a deeper trust in your abilities.
When getting lost again,
You will feel less stressed because you will see uncertainty more as a puzzle and not so much as dangerous.
You are less likely to ever feel panic and you will be able to keep a cool head in other difficult situations.
Be conscious of what serves you when it comes to getting lost.
Another benefit of being lost is that you will experience the advantages of a what-is mindset.
The what-is mindset is usually immediately a very productive and also positive mindset.
When lost,
You will spend very little time with thoughts that are not beneficial to you.
Thoughts that do not help you get out of your situation.
When being lost,
Nothing else matters in your life.
You are lost and you need to find a way back.
You are present,
You accept what is,
You are in the now.
The next big reason you should experience getting lost is that in the 21st century everything has been made extremely predictable for you.
And adding some more unpredictable moments will be good for you.
Your smartphone already tells you how to get to places,
What restaurants you should go to,
Fun things to do nearby and so on.
What your cell phone can't create for you is to be surprised.
And the feeling of being surprised by the unknown is important.
It not only gives you immediate excitement,
It also allows you to learn to trust new places and new people.
You will get to know people in places you would have never chosen consciously.
And now that these people and places are in your life,
You can connect to them.
Never-before-experienced connections allow you to grow a lot faster than any other experiences because they make you challenge yourself in ways you haven't even thought about before.
Another advantage of getting lost is realizing how little you know and how little of the world's wonders you have actually discovered so far.
Being lost means going through territories you did not imagine existed.
The world is bigger than you think and new discoveries will humble you.
You will understand how small and unimportant you are and you will feel less stressed because you lose your self-importance.
You will feel content with who you are and you will feel that being alive is the greatest gift already.
Now let us look at the feeling of being lost in the non-literal meaning of it.
When you are working on something and you are feeling lost,
Doing so great.
It is great because you will do things in a way that is your way.
Being lost means you are not copying something.
Being lost means you are creating something according to your individual and creative belief.
You are lost and you need to use your personal wisdom to bring things back on track.
You will not only enhance a learning by doing mindset,
You will also be connected to the outcome in a deeper and more meaningful way.
Next,
I want to talk about being lost in an even less figurative and more abstract way.
You can get lost in all sorts of things.
You can get lost in your emotions,
Another person,
Work,
Nature and so on.
Losing yourself is great,
But it also is important to find yourself again.
In this case,
Finding yourself should actually be called developing yourself.
Because when finding yourself again,
You will not find the person you were before you lost yourself.
You will find an advanced and developed version of yourself.
Of course,
At the core you will still be the same,
But overcoming the feeling of being lost means you have grown and matured.
Next,
Let's talk about how you can get lost in a smart and safe way.
Be prepared enough to not get into danger and unprepared enough to experience uncertainty in a true and real form.
Let's say you want to get lost while hiking.
Then make sure you get lost in an area that you can always make it out of,
No matter how lost you are.
Your hiking area is probably rather safe if you can walk in any direction and after a maximum of 5 hours there is a street or a village.
Make sure you are never behaving foolishly when getting lost.
The same goes for getting lost in the abstract sense.
Allow yourself to get lost for a month when falling in love or when having an exciting project,
But make sure it does not become your general mode of operation.
Eventually,
Take a step back,
Take a breath and look at everything from a distance.
Do experience the wonders and beauty of being lost,
But do so consciously.
