There may be times in your life where you feel you have somehow lost your identity. Perhaps, this is because of an unfortunate event beyond your control or you may not realise that it’s just something that has happened along the way while you are busy living life. First of all, be rest assured, this is not uncommon so don’t worry, you are not alone in this.

Here are some ways to help you reconnect with yourself:

Take a few minutes to yourself

Take some quiet time to yourself, even if it’s just for a few minutes. Start off by taking a deep breath and slowly exhale. If it helps close your eyes and place your hand on your heart and focus on your breathing. This helps you to really get in touch with yourself and connect with the inner you.

Listen

Ask a question, for instance, ‘’what do I need to know right now?”, or “what can I do to help me move forward?” This will help you tap into your inner guidance and get you used to listening to it. Don’t worry if you can’t hear it immediately, you may hear a message later in the day, many days later, or it may even appear in a dream. Just trust and be patient. It is like a muscle, the more you use it, the more it will develop until it soon becomes second nature.

Trust your inner guidance

One way to help you develop and learn to trust your own inner guidance is by testing. Say two statements to yourself with yes or no answers and watch if or where changes in your body occur. For example, say to yourself, “my name is [insert your name]” and then say your name out loud. See how your body responds to your positive or ‘yes’ response.

Then say to yourself, “my name is [insert someone else’s name]”. As this is a negative or ‘no’ response; take a moment to notice the feeling you get and also where in your body you get this.

Observe the difference between your feelings and the way your body responds to both statements. This is how to test your natural alignment either towards or away from something. So, the next time someone asks you to commit to something and you feel uncomfortable about it but you can’t put your finger on it, remember this exercise, it will help you tune into what feels right to you and the more you do this, the more confidence you will have in trusting your own inner compass.

Write everything down

Pouring your heart out onto paper or in a notebook can be very cathartic. Especially when you release all your emotions, innermost thoughts, and perhaps even your wildest dreams. Write down how you are feeling, the things you’ve always wanted to do and while you’re there, write down all the things you love about yourself. This will help you discover, ‘what makes you tick’. Reading through this will help you realise all the wonderful things about yourself.

Do the things you love

Next, start getting practical and do the things you have always loved. For example, you might enjoy riding a bike, or painting. This will help you reconnect with your authentic self. Try out new things too, this could be taking dance classes or learning an instrument, whatever makes you feel good.

Once you start getting in touch and reconnecting with yourself regularly, you’ll feel fulfilled, more confident and ready to shine.

Go you! It’s time to get excited by life again.