At some point, you’re going to lose yourself. You’re going to wake up from a restless sleep and wonder who the hell you are, what you’re doing, and where you’re going. You’re going to wander so far from a path you thought you knew that you won’t be able to see an easy way back to it. But you need to be there, and you need to feel that feeling in order to find a new you. A happier you. The universe will only take us away from ourselves so we can be better.

So many things will arise to throw us off course. And when it happens, it’ll hurt. It’ll feel like the wind has been punched from our lungs. And when it happens, it’s okay to admit we’re hurting. It’s okay to admit we feel like we’re being thrown about like a boat on a rough sea. Because it’s less about the storm and more about staying afloat despite it. Because when you make it through, and you will make it through, you’ll be the same person you were before, but with a new wisdom and invaluable experience behind you that can only come from losing your way. They always say that calm seas never made a good sailor. And you will be your old self again, just as soon as you figure out what you need to change.

Maybe a situation you have become so comfortable in has become toxic, and comfortable isn’t the same as healthy. Maybe love has disappointed you one too many times. Maybe you don’t believe in the things or people you used to anymore. Maybe you’ve been chasing success or something or someone for so long you’ve forgotten why. Maybe life is just a little bit loud sometimes.

You have to embrace all the confusion. You have to understand that when you don’t know which path to take, you may take the wrong one. You have to embrace the struggles. You have to accept you feel lost. You have to try again when you don’t know the right answers, or perhaps any answers at all. We will all be there someday, a little lost and unsure what to do next. And then?

You have to embrace being lost. Because being lost is exactly where you find yourself.