Existential emptiness: 5 tips to know what to do with your life

Mental life cannot be understood only with the chemical reactions that occur in our brain, since 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, vital purpose, ethics and free will, etc.

But what happens when someone does not find the meaning of her life? Then 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 existential emptiness

The existential void is a melancholic journey in which the person is unable to visualize their futureIt does not know where it is or is known, and it is not able to look to the future because it lacks vital objectives. This can lead the person to suffer great existential anguish, and in the case of putting a solution, it can lead to a depressive state.

Individuals who encounter an existential void they can become psychologically tortured looking for an answer they can't find. But if they do not take action, this situation can turn into a vicious cycle.

The only way to escape from this context is in self-knowledge and in discovering the desires that one has to be able to discover vital goals and fight for them. Therefore, in the awakening itself is the solution. The future answer lies in the present, in knowing who I am, what I am doing here, and where I am going.

Crisis for the very existence: feeling emotionally empty

Vital goals are necessary to stay motivated, because when we do not find meaning in our life, confusion and sadness can take over us. The existential emptiness leads us to feel psychological discomfort because we begin to question the reasons for our own existence.

In reality, existential emptiness is a identity crisis that occurs when our life is out of control. So, our mental schemes are not adaptive and our self-esteem suffers since it does not have a solid base or a frame of reference to guide it. What am I doing here? or what is the meaning of my life? It is something that we can ask ourselves.

Discover who we are and what we want for our is key to our personal development and to live in a positive frame of mind. In other words, introspection will help us to step on the ground in the present, to be able to walk towards the future we want.

• Related article: "Personal Development: 5 reasons for self-reflection”

Being emotionally intelligent, the key to overcome it

In recent times, a concept that has revolutionized the way people relate to ourselves is emotional intelligence. A term made famous by the American psychologist Daniel goleman, and which is currently 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 well-being and happiness of people.

Since Salovey and Mayer (1990) introduced the construct, much research has shown the benefits of emotional intelligence. As we explained in our article “The 10 benefits of emotional intelligence”Favors decision-making and personal development, which have a lot to do with existential emptiness.

In reality, personal development experts, like coaches, bring emotional intelligence tools to the coachees, because an individual cannot understand himself without the correct self-knowledge and the management of his own emotions.

Emotional intelligence enables a person get to know each other better and plan realistic goals, which are key to get out of the existential emptiness and get hooked back to life. Emotional intelligence helps to 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 can't find the right path

Since getting out of the existential emptiness has to do with finding the genuine identity of each one, facing this situation is different for each individual. In other words, the path to be traced is different for each subject, and it requires will on the part of each one to avoid being trapped in this negative spiral.

Psychologists deal with lost people on a daily basis, 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 are still there for fear of leaving the comfort zone, for fear of uncertainty, for fear of meeting their true self... Happiness is found in oneself, in personal development and self realisation vital of each.

Tips to overcome the existential emptiness

Below you can find some tips to overcome the existential emptiness

1. Know yourself

As we have commented in previous lines, it is necessary to know yourself to know the way to go in life, Do not be afraid of your wishes. If you want to improve your level of emotional intelligence, you can find some useful courses in the article “The 6 best courses in Emotional Intelligence and Personal Development”

2. Set goals

Setting goals is key to not feeling the existential emptiness. Scientific studies affirm that people who set realistic goals and objectives 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 unrealistic expectations and not accepting reality. When we accept ourselves as we are, the existential emptiness 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 the objectives, but it is necessary to always keep in mind where we are starting from.

5. Seek help

In some cases, the confusion is such that it is very difficult to look ahead. Then it is necessary to have psychology professionals that can help people to overcome the existential emptiness and face the right direction towards a full life.