10 Powerful Things To Do To Rediscover Yourself

Do you feel empty? Like you’re just constantly going through the motions of life on autopilot. Completely detached and disconnected from everything and everyone.

Do you feel like you’ve lost interest in the things you once loved? It might be time to start rediscovering yourself.

I have also been feeling this way for the past few years. It’s like I’m just constantly showing up to fulfill all my responsibilities, but I’m not really there. When I hit my rock bottom, it felt like I lost a pretty big part of myself, and now I just feel so disconnected, empty, and unfulfilled. It feels like life is happening around me, not with me.

Everyone around me is growing and moving forward, and yet I’m here, stuck because the things that seemed important to me then don’t hold the same weight anymore. The goals that I once pursued with so much drive didn’t really matter anymore.

This made me start believing that maybe I failed. That maybe somewhere along the way, I made a wrong decision and chose the wrong path, and now I’m too far off course to find my way back.

If you’re currently on the same boat, please know that just because you’re feeling this way doesn’t mean you failed. As we continue to navigate the different seasons of life, there will be moments when we lose part of ourselves, outgrow certain versions of who we are, or even start questioning everything we once thought we wanted.

And that’s perfectly okay. We have to remember that regardless of where we are in our lives right now, we can rediscover ourselves and start again.

In this blog post, I will be sharing with you the steps I took that helped me rediscover myself. I hope that some of these steps will resonate with you and help you in your journey towards rediscovering yourself, too.

How To Rediscover Yourself

1. Reflect On Your Values

Reflecting on our values is an important step in rediscovering ourselves. As we go through life, it’s natural for our values to change and evolve. It’s natural to let go of certain beliefs that were once important to us and adopt new ones.

The values that used to matter to us years ago may not hold the same weight anymore, and that’s perfectly okay. This doesn’t mean that you’re not consistent with your values, it simply means that you are growing.

Allowing ourselves some time to reflect on what truly matters to us and what we care about can help us gain clarity about who we are now and where we want to go. So allow yourself the time to really sit down and reconnect with yourself. Be honest with your answers and free yourself from the expectations, pressure, and outside noise. Know that this is not about other people. This is about you.

Here are some of the questions that helped me reflect on my values.

What values guide my everyday decisions?

What values matter the most to me right now?

What values and principles am I not willing to compromise on?

What brings me peace?

What makes me feel disconnected from myself?

2. Journal Freely

It’s easy to take the power of journaling for granted. I used to think that doing this was a complete waste of time and was not going to help me in any way. But I was wrong.

Not only was it cathartic, but it also helped me gain a sense of clarity on my thoughts and feelings that I didn’t even know I was carrying. Journaling helped lessen the chaos and the noise in my mind. It actually helped me slow down, take a step back, and actually listen to myself and to what I’m truly feeling without any judgment and criticisms.

I know that it can be difficult to do this at first. You may not know where to start or what to write. The important thing to remember is that it doesn’t matter where you start. What you write doesn’t have to have any structure. It doesn’t have to make sense to other people. The important thing is that it makes sense to you.

So, please don’t hesitate to make it messy. Let it be messy if you need it to be. Remember that you’re doing this not to judge yourself but to help yourself gain clarity on your thoughts. Allowing yourself to write all your unfiltered thoughts and emotions can be a great way to help you regain a sense of who you truly are underneath the noise and expectations of life.

Over time, you’ll start to understand yourself better. You’ll start to see the things that you truly want in this life and the things you need to let go of. This can pave the way to rediscovering yourself and growth.

3. Try Something Completely New

I have always struggled with this. Trying something new or change in general has always been terrifying for me. I can’t even begin to tell you the number of times I have chosen to stick with something regardless of how unhappy and unfulfilled I was, because I was so afraid of stepping outside my comfort zone and trying something new.

It took some time for me to realize that by doing this, I was not only keeping myself stuck, but I was also preventing myself from growing. I learned that one of the things that can help us rediscover ourselves, what we love, and what truly lights us up is being willing to step outside our comfort zone and try something new.

Growth and self discovery don’t happen in the familiar spaces we cling to. Often, we have to push ourselves outside those spaces to discover parts of who we are. Yes, it can be scary, I’m not gonna lie, but we have to remind ourselves that often growth and fear walk hand in hand. It is in those uncomfortable and uncertain moments in our lives that we can see what we are truly capable of.

Know that doing something new doesn’t always have to mean making these big and life-altering decisions. It can be as simple as allowing yourself to speak up when you normally stay silent. Or saying yes to new things you normally say no to.

4. Give Yourself Permission To Start Over

When I was on the path of rediscovering myself, one of the things that I really struggled with was letting go of a version of myself that I had clung to for so long. It didn’t really matter that that version of me was built on old habits, values that were no longer important to me, and the expectations of others.

To me, that old version of myself felt safe. It was familiar and comfortable, and I thought that letting go of that old version would only mean losing myself even more. But that was not the case. For what it’s worth, allowing myself to cling to that version just made me feel even more lost, empty, and numb.

It not only kept me stuck and unhappy, but it also made it so much more difficult to see the possibilities that were waiting for me outside my comfort zone. One of the lessons that I’ve learned is that I wasn’t losing myself for letting go of that version, I was actually making more space to meet myself more fully.

I realized that the old version of me was never meant to carry me in life forever. It taught me important lessons and brought me to this moment in my life, but hanging on to that version of me only delayed the healing and fulfillment that I wanted.

So please don’t ever hesitate to give yourself permission to start over. Know that it’s never too late to let go of that version of yourself that you outgrew and finally make space for meeting the person that you truly want to be.

5. Identify What You Want To Leave Behind

Identifying what you want to leave behind is an important step in helping us rediscover ourselves. We often go through life unaware that we are still holding on to toxic habits, beliefs, and relationships that no longer serve our growth.

I’m certainly guilty of this. By now, I think I have already told you how terrified I am of change. In every aspect of my life, I have always chosen to hold on to what’s familiar, regardless of how much it was weighing me down and keeping me stuck.

It took a real wake-up call for me to finally have the courage to reassess every area of my life and admit to myself that comfort doesn’t always mean safety. Sometimes it can just mean stagnation and unhappiness.

It wasn’t easy to be brutally honest with myself about the habits that were dragging me down, the people that were making me feel small, and the beliefs that were keeping me stuck.

Letting them go was like letting a piece of myself go. I’m not going to tell you that it was easy and that the transition was a piece of cake. It was painful, but it was necessary. There were certainly moments when I started questioning if I was doing the right thing by leaving those things behind and letting those people go.

But every time I allowed myself to look back, I was just reminded why it was necessary for me to do that. I was just reminded of how stuck, lost, and unhappy I felt. Know that once you identify what you want to leave behind and take a courageous step in making it happen, you are not only freeing yourself from the weight of what no longer serves you, but you are also making room for the person you have the potential to become.

Remind yourself that you are strong enough to do this and that you are not doing this just to be selfish or to hurt anyone. You’re doing this to reclaim your sense of joy, fulfillment, and peace.

6. Embrace Stillness

It’s easy to get so consumed by noise and the responsibilities of life. We rush from one task to another, constantly checking notifications while juggling all the life’s expectations and pressure. Through it all, we barely even give ourselves the chance to breathe, think, and feel.

I was guilty of this, too. I thought that allowing myself to slow down and press pause on life was a bad thing. I thought that I constantly needed to be productive. I thought that embracing stillness was nothing but a waste of time.

It took a real wake-up call for me to finally realize the power of just allowing ourselves to just breathe and embrace the stillness. Embracing the stillness is not a waste of time. It’s not laziness or unproductivity.

It’s about giving ourselves the chance to hear our thoughts, check in with ourselves, and just detach from all the noise and chaos of life. It’s about giving ourselves the space to simply be without any expectations and without the pressure to constantly perform.

So please don’t hesitate to allow yourself some time to just embrace the stillness. Press pause on everything and just let yourself breathe. Know that what you are doing is necessary and remind yourself that it is through stillness that we finally give ourselves the chance to face the feelings we have been avoiding so that we can finally reconnect with ourselves and move forward with intention.

7. Practice Self Compassion

Are you also guilty of being your own harshest critic? I’m definitely guilty of this. For years, I have always been my own worst critic.

I would criticize myself for even the smallest mistake and failure, and I magnified every little flaw, thinking that by doing this, I was somehow pushing myself to be better. I thought that for me to achieve my goals faster and for me to become a better version of myself, I needed to be constantly overcritical about everything I did and every decision I made.

I thought that self improvement comes from a place of pressure and constant harsh self-talk. It wasn’t until I broke down that I finally realized just how wrong I was. Being my own worst critic didn’t push me to be better. It only made life even more overwhelming. It paralyzed me.

I was so afraid of making a mistake that I would constantly turn opportunities down, and stick within my comfort zone. I wasn’t growing and improving. I was stuck. The more I criticized myself, the more I lost myself, and the more detached I was becoming from who I truly was.

We have to remind ourselves that practicing self compassion doesn’t mean that we are being self indulgent. Being kind to ourselves doesn’t mean that we are making excuses.

It simply means that we are giving ourselves a safe space to make mistakes, grow, and move forward. Please know that you deserve to give yourself the same amount of love and kindness that you so freely give to the people that you love.

Rediscovering ourselves and growing doesn’t come from a place of self judgment. It comes from a place of self awareness and self acceptance. When we stop being our own worst critic and start giving ourselves grace and compassion, we start to give ourselves permission to evolve and grow authentically.

8. Make A List Of Things You’ve Always Wanted To Do “Someday”

Were there things that you really wanted to do or try, but you were just too busy or too caught up in life’s responsibilities and problems to make time for them? Now is the perfect time to revisit those things.

Make a list of all the things you said you would do someday. When doing this, please don’t judge anything that you write or think of. Please know that nothing is too big or too small. As long as it’s something that matters to you, then it certainly belongs on the list.

Remind yourself that the list that you are making doesn’t have to be practical or realistic. Doing this is about reconnecting with your dreams, your passions, the things that light up your soul and lift your spirits.

After making your list, take a moment to read it and reflect on it. Then ask yourself this question, What’s one thing from this list that I can start trying today? Know that you don’t have to take a huge step or make big decisions right away.

You can start by taking one small step and let it be enough for today. Remind yourself that the goal here is not instant progress, it’s about movement. As long as you’re taking a step towards them, then you are on the right path.

9. Practice Forgiveness

At first, I really didn’t think that forgiveness plays a role in helping me rediscover myself. At a young age, I was deeply hurt by the people I loved. I was made to think that I constantly had to earn their love and attention. I was constantly compared with other people, and it seemed like, regardless of what I did, it was still never enough for them to see my worth.

I took this pain and anger with me as I grew older. I honestly thought at that time that it was the best thing to do. I thought that as long as I continued to hold on to my anger, they would never be able to hurt me again. I didn’t realize that by actually holding on to my resentments, I was also keeping myself stuck in the past and unable to truly heal and move forward.

I’ve learned that rediscovering ourselves and practicing forgiveness, may it be for others or even ourselves, go hand in hand. By allowing ourselves to let go of all the past pains, resentments, and anger, we are making room and space to clarify the things that truly matter to us and the person that we truly want to become.

I know that forgiveness can often be difficult. It was definitely not a piece of cake for me. But what really helped me do it is by reminding myself that forgiveness is not about minimizing the wrongs that they have done or invalidating the pain that they have caused.

It’s about choosing to free yourself from the pain of the past and finally giving yourself the space to truly heal and grow. Forgiveness is something that we do for ourselves and not for them. And in that freedom, we finally allow ourselves to discover the truest version of ourselves.

10. Practice Saying No

How many times have you said yes to something you really didn’t want to do in the first place because you were so afraid of disappointing other people? How many times have you constantly overextended yourself, regardless of how exhausted and drained you already felt?

I’m certainly no stranger to this. I have always found it so difficult to say no to other people’s requests because I was so afraid that if I did, I would no longer be worthy and valued. If you feel the same way, too, please know that your worth and value are never tied to how much you can do for others. Your worth and value are inherent.

You are worthy and enough just as you are now. If we want to chance to rediscover ourselves and identify the things that truly matter to us, we have to learn to set healthy boundaries.

We have to learn to say no to things and situations that drain us and pull us away from our values and beliefs. I know that it can be difficult to set healthy boundaries and say no, especially if it’s already ingrained in us that our worth is tied to being helpful and always available to others.

But we have to remind ourselves that constantly saying yes when we mean no slowly chips away at our sense of self. If we continue to refuse to set any boundaries, piece by piece, we will begin to lose touch with who we are.

Know that setting healthy boundaries is not about being unkind or shutting other people out entirely. It’s about respecting our own limits and honoring our well being. When we set boundaries, we are not only practicing a form of self care and self respect. We are also allowing ourselves to show up more fully and more authentically.

When we say no to things that don’t align with our values, we make space for things that truly matter to us.

Final Thoughts

It’s important to remember that rediscovering ourselves is not something that we can just do overnight. It’s a process, and it requires patience and the willingness to be open and honest with ourselves.

During this process, please don’t forget to give yourself grace. Know that there may be days when we feel unmotivated and unsure of how we are going, and that’s perfectly okay.

The journey towards rediscovering ourselves is not linear. There will be days when we feel like we are making huge progress, but there will also be days when we feel like we are taking a step back.

On days like that, remind yourself that it’s all part of the process. The important thing is that you keep going. You can do this, and please always remember that I’m rooting for you!