How to Get Your Life Back on Track

Wondering how to get your life back on track? Start here.

Life has a funny way of twisting and turning in all different directions. It’s often hard to figure out how to get your life back on track after losing your way. Sometimes it can even seem impossible. There are pivotal moments in life when it seems like there’s no turning back. And indeed, some things really can’t be undone.

But in reality, there is always a way out of every problem, even when it appears otherwise. The trouble is, getting out of an immediate jam doesn’t necessarily put you back on track. Figuring out how to get your life back on track requires some extra finesse. Luckily, we’re here to help.

How to Get Your Life Back on Track

First, you have to accept and realize that your life might need to be on a different track than you thought. No one’s life just goes straight ahead from the time they’re born to the time they die. We’re often surprised by how we end up, compared to how we started. That doesn’t mean your life is off track. It just means your life is on a different track. As long as you come to it knowing that how to get your life back on track doesn’t always mean the same track you always thought, you’ll be okay.

Do Some Introspection

Introspection isn’t the same as meditation. In meditation, you empty your mind of thoughts. With introspection, you carefully think about yourself and your life and your situation. To do introspection, you have to be brutally honest with yourself. You’ll need to take the wool off your eyes and recognize the part you played in where you are in your life. Introspection won’t work if all you do is blame others for your situation.

So sit in a quiet place and reflect on your life. Try to look back and pinpoint times when you had missed opportunities. Look for turning points where you made decisions that changed your circumstances. What decisions have you made in life that led you to where you are now?

Everyone will have different insights with introspection. Some of your histories may be difficult to face. But going through this process is essential if you want to get your life back on track.

Adopt a Forgiving Outlook

Perhaps the biggest thing that will keep you from getting your life back on track is holding on to grudges and resentments. As you go through life, you’re bound to encounter people who do you injustices, don’t respect you, hurt you or don’t pay attention to you. If you spend your time being angry at people and what they’ve done to you, you’re wasting a lot of energy that you could be using to get your life back on track.

When you choose to adopt a forgiving outlook, you can let go of all those transgressions. Cut them loose from your present and future and leave them in the past, where they belong. You never have to think about them again.

You must adopt a forgiving outlook for yourself, too. After your introspection, you probably remembered quite a few times when you failed or let yourself down. But use those times as learning experiences; not as excuses to feel guilty now. Forgive yourself for the mistakes you already made. You can’t change what you did, but you can change where you’re headed.

Re-Evaluate Where You Want to Go

As you get older, your life needs and desires change. Those who fail to see how their dreams can alter often get off track. To get your life back on track, re-evaluate where you want to go. This process also requires letting go of childhood dreams and fantasies that may not be realistic now. If you’re already 30, it may be too late to become a ballerina. Maybe you always thought you wanted to be a musician, but your series of garage bands have never made enough to pay the rent.

It’s okay to let go of dreams that are forcing your life off-track. You don’t have to be a victim to your own dreams. This isn’t giving up. It’s simply charting a new course for your life based on new information that you’ve learned as you got older.

Most people have more than one dream or goal in life. To get your life back on track, let go of the past, be honest about your successes and failures, forgive yourself and others, and re-evaluate what you really want in life. It’s always possible to get your life back on track as long as you are willing to do the work to get you there.

Now, go get your life back on track.