Existential emptiness: 5 tips to know what to do with your life
Mental life can not be understood only with the chemical reactions that occur in our brain, because we feel emotions, we have feelings and we perceive the world based on our experience and our beliefs. In fact, we all look for meaning in our lives ...
The meaning of life has captured the interest of different philosophical and psychological currents such as existentialism or humanism, and focuses on existence, consciousness and happiness, affecting many other issues such as ontology, life purpose, ethics and free will, etc.
But what happens when someone does not find meaning in their life? So we speak of existential emptiness or existential crisis . Today we will go into detail with this topic.
- Related article: "Existential crisis: when we do not find meaning in our life"
What is the existential void
The existential vacuum is a melancholy journey in which the person is unable to visualize their future , because it does not know where it is or is known, and is not able to look to the future because it has no vital objectives. This can lead the person to suffer a great existential anguish, and in the case of putting a solution, can lead him to suffer a depressive state.
Individuals who encounter an existential void they can get to psychologically torture themselves looking for an answer that they do not find. But if they do not take action, this situation can become a vicious circle.
The only way to escape from this context is in self-knowledge and in discovering one's desires to be able to discover life's goals and fight for them. Therefore, in the awakening itself is the solution. The future answer is in the present, in knowing who I am, what I am doing here, and where I am going.
Crisis for one's existence: feeling emotionally empty
The vital objectives are necessary to keep us motivated, because when we do not find meaning in our lives, confusion and sadness can take hold of us. The existential vacuum leads us to feel psychological discomfort because we begin to question the reasons for our own existence.
In reality, the existential vacuum is a identity crisis that takes place when our life is out of control . So, our mental schemes are not adaptive and our self-esteem suffers because it has no solid foundation or a framework to guide it. What am I doing here? or what is the meaning of my life? It is something that we can get to ask ourselves.
Discover who we are and what we want for our is key to our personal development and to live with a positive mood. That is to say, introspection will help us to tread with our feet on the ground in the present, to be able to walk towards the future we desire.
- Related article: "Personal Development: 5 reasons for self-reflection"
Be emotionally intelligent, key to overcoming it
In recent times, a concept that has revolutionized the way people have to relate to ourselves is emotional intelligence. A term that made famous the American psychologist Daniel Goleman, and that nowadays is applied in different fields: educational, labor, sports and clinical. Regarding this last area, emotional intelligence has shown that it improves Self-knowledge, self-motivation, management and regulation of emotions and, in addition, the welfare and happiness of the people.
Since Salovey and Mayer (1990) introduced the construct, many investigations have shown the benefits of emotional intelligence. As explained in our article "The 10 benefits of emotional intelligence", favors decision-making and personal development, which have much to do with the existential vacuum.
In reality, experts in personal development, such as coaches, provide emotional intelligence tools to coachees, because an individual can not be understood without proper self-knowledge and the management of their own emotions.
Emotional intelligence allows a person get to know each other better and plan realistic goals , that are key to leave the existential vacuum and get hooked to life again. Emotional intelligence helps put aside the identity crisis, and allows you to live life more clearly, both in the present and in the future.
What to do with your life when you do not find the right path
Since leaving the existential vacuum has to do with finding the genuine identity of each one, facing this situation is different for each individual. That is, the path to be drawn is different in each subject, and requires a willingness on the part of each one to avoid getting caught in this negative spiral.
Psychologists deal with lost people daily , that they do not enjoy their work, nor their life, or that they are with a partner that does not really do them any good. They remain there for fear of leaving the comfort zone, for fear of uncertainty, for fear of finding their true self ... Happiness is found in oneself, in the personal development and the vital self-realization of each one.
Tips to overcome the existential gap
Below you can find some tips to overcome the existential emptiness
1. Know yourself
As we have mentioned in previous lines, it is necessary to know oneself to know the way to go in life , Do not be afraid of your desires. If you want to improve your level of emotional intelligence, you can find some useful courses in the article "The 6 best courses of Emotional Intelligence and Personal Development"
2. Set goals
Marking objectives is key to not feeling the existential vacuum. Scientific studies claim that people who set realistic goals and goals enjoy greater mental well-being and are more motivated. In fact, this is key to avoiding depression.
3. Accept reality
Many times, frustration and existential emptiness is also a consequence of unreal expectations and not accepting reality. When we accept ourselves as we are, the existential void disappears .
4. Live the present
Accepting yourself does not make any sense if you do not live the present in its entirety. It is good to set goals, but it is necessary to always keep in mind the place where we started.
5. Get help
In some cases, the confusion is such that it is very difficult to look to the future. Then it is necessary to have professionals of psychology that can help people overcome the existential void and face the right direction towards a full life.
