- Try new things and get out of your comfort zone! Take up a creative hobby, learn a new skill, or go after a dream you’ve always had.
- Boost your energy by getting 8 hours of sleep, eating healthy, exercising, and dressing up for the day.
- Find inspiration by reading self-help books, traveling, volunteering, or connecting with friends.
Getting Excited
Try new things. Trying new things is one of the best things that you can do to feel really alive. The fact of the matter is that humans are smart. We're all smart. And because of this, our brains need stimulus. If we keep doing the same things we always do, we get bored and after enough of that we start to feel dead inside. Try new, exciting things and you'll find yourself getting more excited about life in the process. You can try creative activities, like learning to play an instrument or drawing. You can try activities that really exercise your brain, like learning a new language or playing chess. You can try activities that push your body, by taking up sports like swimming or jogging.
Push your personal boundaries. Get outside your comfort zone. For the same reasons that you should try new things, you should also push your personal boundaries every now and again. In fact, the more you push them, the more you'll find that you grow as a person. When we push ourselves, we find out what we're really capable of and we find new things to enjoy about life. This makes us happier, more fulfilled, and confident people. You can push yourself to travel somewhere that you never imagined yourself going. You can push yourself to meet a goal you thought was impossible, like losing 50 lbs.
Take on challenges. We tend to feel the most alive when we're in pursuit of a challenging goal. Now, this can be something like getting in shape, learning a new skill, or working towards a promotion at work. It can even be something like getting straight A's, if you're still in school. The important part is to give yourself a challenge and then throw all of your energy and effort into it!
Pursue a dream. Pursue something that you've always wanted to do. When you chase the things that make you happy, keeping your mind off of fears of consequences or hurdles, you will find that you feel like you've been reborn. Try starting a new career path by doing something that you always wanted to do. When you work a job that you don't like or that doesn't leave you feeling fulfilled, it's easy to start feeling dead inside. Find a new career path doing something that you enjoy or that makes you feel good about yourself at the end of the day.
Find and be with someone you love. If you're not in a relationship, start one (go here for help for getting girlfriends and go here for help finding boyfriends). Find someone that's good for you and whom you can also fill a void in their life. Humans are social creatures. We need other people and being with someone can often make your life more exciting and fulfilling. It's important to be in a healthy relationship where you're both helping each other. Don't get in a serious relationship with someone you don't care about just to try to make you feel better.
Boosting Your Energy
Have a regular schedule. If you get up and go to sleep at all sorts of weird hours, this can lead your body to feeling sick, lost, and dead inside. Regulate your schedule as much as possible and consider making some sacrifices in order to get that regular schedule for a while while you take care of yourself. If you're having trouble finding space in your day, try cutting out the time wasters that are so easy to forget about. Facebook, checking email, and time waster mobile games can suck more time out of your day than you think. Save those actions for when you really can't do something else (like when you're sitting on the toilet!).
Sleep enough and regularly. Every body is different and your sleep needs might not be the same as everyone else's, but if you're going through your day feeling dead inside and exhausted, it might be because you're either not getting enough sleep or you're getting too much! Start by getting the standard 8 hours of sleep, on a regular schedule (at the same time every night), for a couple of weeks. How do you feel? Some people only need 6 hours of sleep, some might need more like 10! You may have to experiment, but give your body a chance and lots of time to adjust before you write it off.
Eat a healthy diet. Eating a healthy diet is crucial to keeping you feeling strong, healthy, energetic, and ready to tackle your day. Diet can also play a huge role in depression! Make sure to eat lots of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein. Cut unhealthy fats and sugar from your diet as much as possible. Eat with a purpose...don't just grab whatever tastes good and is easy! Healthy vegetables and fruit include: kale, spinach, broccoli, bananas, and citrus fruits. Healthy grains include: quinoa, brown rice, rye, and oatmeal. Good lean proteins with healthy fats include salmon, tuna, sardines, and nuts (soy nuts make a great snack!). You can also try lean proteins like chicken and eggs. Avoid junk food like chips and crackers. Even crackers that label themselves as healthy, like Wheat Thins, aren't healthy any more if you eat half the box and are still much less healthy than a snack of carrot sticks!
Consider cutting energy "cheats". If you drink a lot of coffee or energy drinks, or take other "supplements" that boost your energy, you might want to consider that these might be part of the problem. Caffeine especially is additive and while it might give your body a temporary boost at first, it will crash later on as your body needs more of the drug. Consider taking a break to cleanse your body, to see if this is part of your problem.
Exercise. It's hard to find time sometimes, we know, but exercising is one of the best ways to get you feeling more energetic. Go for a 15-minute jog in the morning can be enough to wake you up! Do some squats while you wait for your coffee to brew in the lunch room. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. All these little pieces add up to a healthier you and you'll usually find it more effective than a dose of caffeine.
Put effort in to each day. Even on days when you don't have to go anywhere or you don't feel like going anywhere, you should still put in effort and wake up at your usual time, get dressed, eat, and do things with your day. This is important for maintaining your mentality. It will keep you from feeling lazy or even hopeless. Too many days of not taking life seriously and you'll definitely stop taking life seriously!
Getting Inspired
Read and listen to inspiring works. If you're feeling lost, try taking in the wisdom of others. Many people find inspiration and new life direction in the works of people like Joseph Campbell and Alan Watts. Both of these men wrote lots of great books, but you can also find their inspiring words online in interviews (try searching YouTube). While they might not be up your ally, you're sure to find someone that inspires you if you book. Try the inspirational or self-help section at your local library!
Travel to places old and new. Traveling is one of the most powerful transformative experiences you can undergo. In traveling to distant places where you're outside your comfort zone, you'll be forced to take on challenges and actively be alive (often proving to yourself that you can in fact do those things still!). Traveling doesn't have to be as expensive as you think, either. If you travel on your own instead of with a touring company, buy early (usually 4-6 months ahead of time), and go places in the off-season, you'll find that it doesn't take too much saving to get away for a little while. If this is very scary for you, start by traveling to local areas before moving on to distant lands.
Listen to inspiring music. Music can be incredibly inspiring for many people. It is one of the most powerful tools for reaching directly into the soul and making you feel a deep and powerful connection with the singer or composer. For some people the most transformative music is classical music (we recommend Beethoven's Piano Concerto #5, 2nd and 3rd movements). For other people, more modern music is helpful. Some people find traditional folk music, like Celtic music, to really wake them up. Experiment and find something that works for you.
Create and embrace a feeling of connection. There's an often intangible feeling of connection to the greater human spirit that you can tap in to and harness. For everyone, the medium that creates this feeling is different. Some people read poetry. Some people volunteer. Some people raise children. Find something that makes you feel connected to the greater experience of being human and then take your own approach to capturing that feeling. Take inspiration and create something, a painting, a song, a dance, that lets you express that you too are human and are a part of the great beating heart that is this planet and universe.
Find your purpose. When we're living a life that gives us purpose and lets that purpose be realized, that is when we will feel most inspired and awake to possibilities this world has to offer. Everyone has something to offer: either something to offer the planet, something to offer others, or some other purpose to serve. Find what you're good at, find what makes you happy, and do it. If you keep living for the sake of living, rather than living for the sake of making your existence mean something to the universe, then you will always find yourself feeling lost and without inspiration. Embrace what you can offer and stop thinking only of the hurdles!
Feeling Connected
Give people the benefit of the doubt. Start to feel connected by giving others the benefit of the doubt. When people invite you to things, don't just assume it's because they want to be nice. They might really want your friendship. They might really want to see what you have to offer the world! Assume the best in them and let them pleasantly surprise you. If you don't try, after all, you'll never even have the chance to find out if something could have been wonderful and fun!
Volunteer. Humans naturally gain the greatest sense of satisfaction from helping each other. Not just the surface help of carrying someone's groceries. Instead, give someone deep, meaningful help that becomes one of the most positive forces of good in their lives. This will leave you feeling deeply connected to the greater human experience and get you ready to embrace life and all that you have in yours to be grateful for. Try working with Big Brothers Big Sisters, which provides mentorship to at risk youth, or building homes with Habitat for Humanity, which works to build permanent residences for people who drew the short straw in life. Volunteering is also a great chance to make new friends and meet people who share similar values and interests to you.
Find communities online. If you're not great with meeting people in real life or if your schedule or lifestyle is just not good for being with people, then try meeting people and joining communities online. There are lots of different ways to do this! WikiHow, for example, has a great community and we're always happy for another friendly face and helping hand. Another option would be, for example, playing an MMO. This is a special type of video game that lets you take on a new life and make friends in a completely different world. Guild Wars is known for having one of the friendliest communities.
Creating a New Outlook
Realize that sadness is a natural part of life. Sadness is a natural part of life and a healthy emotion to have. If you're feeling dead inside because something bad just happened to you, then that's okay. Be sad for a little while. Embrace the emotion and learn to move past it. This will help you cope with tough situations in the future. However, if you've been sad for a long time and that feeling of deadness inside is beginning to run your life, recognize that while sadness is normal, it is also supposed to end. We go through lots of emotions but each needs their time in the sun.
Give yourself a little tough talk. Sometimes, babying yourself and taking in too much supportive advice might actually be hurting you, not helping you. Sometimes what you really need is a swift kick in the pants. Tell yourself to man-or-woman-up and take this negative feeling like an adult. Start doing something about how you feel, instead of just letting the emotion control you. Don't be your own worst bully though. Don't talk down to yourself. Just take a firm hand, like any good parent would. If it makes in any easier, pretend it's not you giving the firm advice. Pretend it's Albus Dumbledore. Or Morgan Freeman. All advice sounds better when it's coming from Morgan Freeman.
Appreciate what you have. It's easy to get caught up in thinking about our problems or all of the things that we wish we had and forget about all of the incredible things happening around us. You can forget about all the things in your life that are good and make you happy. Don't forget about those things! Appreciating what you do have will make you feel better bout embracing those things while you have them. Remember, everything in life is temporary, and you have to learn to love things while you have them. This can seem depressing, but remember that losing one thing that you love opens you up to new things that you can love and experience instead.
Recognize when you need professional help. Of course, sometimes our brains just get a bit sick. Sometimes we feel like we're dead inside not because we've lost sight of good things but because our brain has become blind to them. When you feel really lost, and especially if you feel like you might hurt yourself or someone else, please seek professional help. It doesn't make you weak or broken; just like you'd go to the doctor if you had cancer, you should go to a doctor when your brain isn't doing what it should.
Be true to yourself. All in all, if you don't feel alive, it might be because you're not really living. When we live a life that's not true to ourselves, we're really living someone else's life and it's easy to feel like we're not really living at all. If you aren't being yourself, if you're lying about who you really are to those around you because you think it's going to make them happier: screw them. This is your life and at the end of the day, you have to do what makes you happy and be the person that you really are. This will reawaken your spirit and make you feel alive again!
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