Why Do I Feel Empty When Nothing Feels Wrong? + Finding Yourself Again

This song came on the radio the other day and it got me wondering, “Why do I feel empty?”

“She’s so lucky she’s a star. But she cry, cry, cries in her lonely heart, thinking if there’s nothing missing in my life then why do these tears come at night?”

— Lyrics to “Lucky” by Britney Spears

The chorus stopped me in my tracks. It really made me think about my life…how blessed I am. I’ve got a great husband, financial stability, good health, and a loving family.

On the surface, it looks like I’ve got everything one could ever want.

But even with all these blessings, I often feel this nagging emptiness inside. It’s strange, isn’t it?

Just because you seem to have it all together doesn’t mean you’re immune to feeling empty, or wondering if something is missing.

That’s exactly what happened to me. I felt that emptiness, too. But when I took a moment to look inside myself, I realized the real issue was that I had lost touch with myself.

If you read through this article and still can’t figure out why you feel empty, please reach out to your mental health care team or your primary care provider. There may be something more going on, and you deserve support while you figure it out. Trust me. You’re worth it.

What Does Feeling Empty Mean?

If you’re like me, you have said or thought the following:

• Why do I feel empty?
• Why do I feel numb?
• I am so blessed. Why do I feel something is missing?
• I have such a good life. Why am I not happy?
• I must be ungrateful. I’m so blessed but I need more.
• I just wish I could feel happy again.
• Feeling nothing is so much worse than feeling sad. I just want to feel again.

Many of us go through periods of emotional numbness or “feeling empty”. But what does that mean?

Feeling empty can feel like you’ve been cut off from yourself. Your emotions seem stuck. Things that used to make you smile don’t have that same spark. You quietly go through the motions of life, but you don’t quite feel like you’re living it.

To move through it, you have to find the reason behind your numbness.

Before I understood why I felt empty, I wrote this:

What Causes Empty Feelings?

In some cases, anxiety causes us to emotional disconnect to try to protect us from our own feelings.

Annoying, yes. But also powerful. We can’t go through life always feeling our feelings so loudly. And in times of stress sometimes we go blank emotionally.

Emotional numbness is just one of the ways the nervous system tries to protect us. Yeah, including from our own thoughts.

But why does it happen? While feeling empty isn’t a diagnosis itself, it’s often a sign that your body or mind needs your attention. It can happen for any number of reasons:

• Trauma
• Illness
• Stress
• Life changes
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Burnout
• Grief
• Loneliness
• Feeling disconnected from yourself
• Hormone shifts
• Certain medications

Any one of these can leave you feeling emotionally drained.

But in my own journey, I discovered something else. I hadn’t just become numb. I’d slowly lost touch with myself.

As I reflected on my life, I found these nine reasons were the biggest culprits that contributed to my empty feelings.

Just like I did, once you identify the “why” of your empty feelings, then you can begin the healing process and make small changes to start feeling like you again.

Recommended Reading: How to Fix a Stressed Brain Suffering From Anxiety

Why Do I Feel Empty? 9 Reasons I Lost Touch With Myself

1 When Life Slowed Down, You Felt Lost

Okay, so you’re an adult and life keeps you busy. Life is filled to the brim with responsibilities, work, pets, hobbies, kids, bills, deadlines, emails, and on and on. Man, even writing that sentence made me feel rushed.

But what happens when you have a sudden and major shift in your life? Now I’m not talking about going on vacation. No.

Maybe your kids graduated high school or have left the nest, you got a better-paying job and don’t have to work as much anymore, or you have just found the secret to slowing down. –Seriously, you should try becoming unbusy sometime!-

Sudden shifts in your life can stir up feelings of emptiness.

Remember that feeling that you’re missing something when you skip a step in your morning routine? Multiple that by 1,000!

When your jam packed routine and schedule suddenly change, it can make you feel lost and empty. Like something is missing in life.

Your brain has spent months or even years expecting a certain rhythm in your day. When that rhythm disappears, it can leave you feeling surprisingly lost, even if the change is positive.

Give yourself time to adjust. You’re simply learning a new normal by creating new patterns in your life.

It is perfectly normal to feel empty, lost, or even confused when you suddenly find yourself in a sudden change in routine. Take the time to create a new normal and give yourself some grace while you adjust.

Recommended Reading: What is Self Care & How it Improves Mental Health

How to Create a New Normal

First, show yourself some kindness. Life is meant to be enjoyed. Allow yourself to soak in the moment and enjoy a nice cup of coffee and watch your pups play. –If you buy me a cup of coffee, I’ll enjoy the moment with you!-

Second, set SMART goals. What have you always wanted to do but have never had time for until right now? Get creative. Don’t be afraid to reinvent yourself if the whim calls to you. Try new hobbies, explore new places, or reinvest in yourself. Take a class, learn something new on YouTube, or dust off your bicycle in the garage.

Do you need inspiration? Check out Skillshare and explore thousands of classes to inspire your creative side!

No matter what you choose, investing in yourself is never a waste of your time. Once you start seeing it as an act of self love, you may even discover that it becomes one of your favorite forms of self care.

RECOMMENDED READING: How to Create Smart Goals When You Have Anxiety

Third, allow yourself to feel uncomfortable for a little while. Adjusting takes time. When big changes happen, our routine gets lost in the shuffle. Take a moment. Breathe. And remember that you will get the hang of your new routine. It’s not wrong to have free time. It’s a good thing!

Fourth, create a new routine! Girl! This is your chance to shine! Re-engage in the healthy habits you lost in the chaos, schedule time in your day for some oh so needed self care, and get to know yourself again!

Because honey, you are fabulous and deserve time for you! Go out there and rediscover the parts of yourself that got buried beneath being busy. It’s your chance to recreate your life how you want it to be. Go grab it!

Recommended Reading: 7 Types of Self Care You Need to Manage Anxiety

2 You Aren’t Feeling Challenged.

As intelligent creatures, we crave mental stimulation. Because honestly, boredom is a bitch!

You know this feeling that no matter what you do, you just can’t seem to stimulate and entertain yourself.

Enrichment is the spice of life! –For dogs, and for people!- This is the time to add some metaphorical spice to your life- time to take on a challenge! That’s why our species has created so many different ways to grow, entertain, and challenge ourselves.

High intelligence requires creative and challenging outlets to feel fulfilled.

When we sit in our comfort zone for too long, we can experience boredom and feel like we’re stuck in a rut. To move forward, we must engage in growth.

How to Add New Challenges to Your Life & Conquer Boredom

Ladies, here are my favorite boredom busters!

• Take your passion and grow it into a business! Honey, your passion would make a perfect blog! Whether you just blog on the weekends or you want to grow your blog to a business, a blog will help you share your story with others. –Like me, hidden in this blog are snippets of my story!- Maybe you are not a writer, but no matter what you love, you can create a nice side hustle with it! Just look at all the wonderful creators on Etsy. Our passion grows when we nurture it.

• Take on weekly, monthly or yearly challenges! Challenges can be so much fun. I learned photography by participating in a yearly challenge. –I loved it so much I stuck around for 5 years, and it inspired me to master photography!- My favorite place to find interesting challenges is Pinterest. I love challenges so much, I created a Challenges Board for inspiration.

PRO TIP: Check out our 30 Day Challenges Pinterest Board with a ton of ideas!

3 You Don’t Feel Like You Matter.

Feeling forgotten or taken for granted triggers emptiness.

It’s the reactions of our friends and family that trigger this feeling, but you are forgetting something very important.

You don’t have to be the star of the movie to be an important character.

Read that again. Because it’s important.

Just like a great movie, there is a main character and many great supporting characters. And sometimes those supporting characters are the most important. –Where would Harry Potter be without Ron and Hermione?-

Your importance isn’t weighed by how much attention you receive. It’s your impact.

When your mechanic does his job right, your car needs less problem solving maintenance; not more. Same goes for you!

You may be the person for someone that will give them an honest opinion, has a kind word, or you are their support system. You might just be the face they look forward to seeing every day.

You never know how much you matter because you cannot read minds.

In my role as a military wife and mom, I have a very important job of supporting my family so they can rise to their challenges. I am rarely in the spotlight.

Being happily married to a soldier means that, for many years, my big goals and dreams have been on hold so I can support my soldier. And now that his time serving is almost through and my daughter is entering adulthood, I can step forward and start shining a little more.

Fulfilling my role in my family means I don’t always stand out. But it doesn’t mean that I am not important.

When my husband got his promotion, he gave me flowers and did a big speech to his coworkers that none of it would have been possible without me. I was flabbergasted. I didn’t realize how important I had been to his success.

Those little trivial things I had done that I thought weren’t important helped him feel confident enough that he could focus on his career goal while being a loving husband and father.

So a shout out to all the supporting characters in life who make living easier and enjoyable!

How to Feel More Connected and Valued

• If you feel you are being taken advantage of, have a conversation with your loved one and tell them what you need to feel loved and appreciated. Many times our loved ones get so caught up in being busy they forget to slow down and appreciate others. Everyone needs a gentle reminder to be more appreciative from time to time. Remember: no one is a mind reader. You cannot be sure your loved ones know your needs unless you tell them.

• Show your appreciation to others as well. You never know who appreciates your kindness. I love telling strangers what I love about their outfits, saying thank you to anyone and everyone who makes my life easier, and making genuine conversation as I go about my day. Somewhere there are strangers that are rooting for you and wish you well!

• Volunteering can help you reconnect and feel appreciated again. Visiting the elderly or patients without family will spread love. Fostering a pup can help you feel like what you are doing matters. Babysit the children of busy parents and watch the stress melt from their faces. Kindness triggers dopamine. Dopamine makes you happy. Happy people feel loved and appreciated. –Okay, be honest, did anyone else read that in Reece Witherspoon’s Legally Blonde voice?-

Recommended Reading: 25 Stress Relieving Hobbies for More Calm and Relaxed Vibes

• Learn about your own love language and how you need to feel appreciated. Sometimes the way we need to be shown love changes as we do. Get to know yourself and discover what you need in your life to feel loved and appreciated.

Why is this book important? Love isn’t expressed the same in every individual.

When you start to see how your loved ones show their love to you, even if it’s not in your preferred love language, your emotional cup will still get filled.

4 You’re Compromising Yourself to Fit Into Society’s Mold

Our society is full of opinions –yes, they’re opinions and not facts- about how to live an ideal life.

Apparently, society has a very interesting opinion about what the “ideal life” is supposed to look like. For the “ideal life”, society deems we marry, have 2.5 kids, work ourselves to the bone while also simultaneously raising a perfect family.

If you’re a woman, you also have to adhere to society’s beauty standards, which are impossible to reach.

And men, well, they are supposed to be workaholics who don’t have emotions, but also be romantic with their women.

It also demands we keep our schedule busy from sun up to sun down, and sacrifice our happiness to fit in.

Society standards aren’t rules to be followed. You are allowed to choose the life you want to live, the one that makes you happy.

Life is not a “one size fits all” scenario. And it is exhausting trying to shove your amazing self into society’s tiny box.

We are so blessed to have a variety of different people who want to have a different life.

Some people dream of running companies. Others dream of raising children. Some want both. Some want neither. Some travel the world. Others build quiet lives with a garden, a good book, and a dog curled up beside them. None of those dreams are more worthy than the others.

We have people who are living their dreams, and accepting that society doesn’t always know what is best for them. You’re the one who has to live your life, not everyone else.

By accepting your true self, you give yourself permission to embrace your wants, wishes, hopes and dreams. You are embracing yourself and you can take steps to working toward what you want in life.

So go break the mold, and shape your life into one you love. The happiest people aren’t the ones who fit in perfectly into society’s expectations. They’re the ones who had the courage to create a life that actually feels like their own.

There is nothing that we can’t do when we accept our true selves.

Living Your Life, Your Way:

You do not have to live up to society’s ideal version.

You get to choose your version of a blessed life. It’s your life, not anyone else’s. Live it so you’re happy!

• Stop pretending. Pretending is for chameleons, not humans. Living a lie is exhausting. You will never need to pretend to be something you’re not with your tribe. Honey, embrace your quirks. Stop trying to squeeze yourself into a tiny box that wasn’t made for you. You are amazing just as you are! You do not have to pretend to be someone you’re not to be loved. Accepting yourself won’t solve every problem in your life, but it’s a whole lot easier to build a life you love when you’re finally being yourself.

• Stop allowing the opinion of others to dictate your decisions. Learn to set boundaries and embrace your own thoughts, feelings, wants and needs. Start making choices that work toward your goals and that move you toward your dream and improve your life.

Recommended Reading: How to Be Happy When You’re Living with PTSD

5 You don’t like yourself.

We all want to fit in. Who doesn’t?

But by pretending to be someone you’re not, all you’re truly doing is creating your own kind of personal hell.

Yes, it might be easier to put on a Stepford housewife persona and blend into suburbia. But if deep in your heart you’re a southern farm girl (cough cough, me) who wants to live away from the hustle and bustle and raise chickens and dogs. You’re not living your best life.

Yup. This was me too. I tried so hard to be the perfect wife, perfect mother, and run a perfect home, I completely lost who I was in the process.

Now I’m a chronically ill, PTSD, service dog loving, gamer girl badass who sets her own pace in life.

By creating your own boundaries, rules, and ideals in life you are embracing your true self.

You cannot find yourself and your tribe if you are hiding from yourself.

How to Love Yourself Again

I used to “fake it until I made it” to fit into groups of people that were accepted. But I really felt a deep depression that no one knew the real me. No one knew what I really loved, felt, or experienced. I just always felt that I did not fit in.

In truth, I was holding myself back. It was how I was different that made me special.

By accepting that, I learned not only to like myself, but found people that liked me. My life feels much fuller and richer by truly enjoying myself and the people that love me for my uniqueness.

But learning to love yourself won’t happen in a day. Here’s how I did it.

Women need real moments of solitude and self reflection to balance how much of ourselves we give away.

Barbara De Angelis

When you focus on self love, you can grow into a stronger version of the woman that you want to be. You might just come out wiser, more resilient, and confident.

Not a workbook kind of girl? Journal instead!

Having a record to look back on and learn from will help you progress as you go. And therapists LOVE when clients take charge and start getting it out of their head.

Here is my 8×10 hardcover spiral bound Journal pick!

Recommended Reading: 20 Healthy Mindset Habits You Need to Improve Your Anxiety

6 You’re Overwhelmed and Need a Break

Okay so where are my overwhelmed ladies? Oh, way in the back, this one is for you!

Girl, I get it. We can’t turn the world down.

It’s not only full of stimuli for your five senses but there is a hell of a lot that happens mentally too.

You have decision fatigue, hunger, and navigating our emotions, as well as trying not to slug every disrespectful jerk we meet. Not to mention job pressure, navigating relationships, and home responsibilities. How has everyone on the planet not gone stark raving mad? I feel exhausted just from writing it!

If you think you haven’t experienced burnout and overwhelm, think again. We ALL experienced it several years ago. It was called the Covid pandemic. You had your normal every day issues, but you throw in some pandemic casserole and we’re ready for a dumpster fire floating down the river. I’m pretty sure none of us came out of that experience exactly the same.

The problem with overwhelm is that it sneaks up on you. You don’t wake up in the morning today thinking, “I’m burned out. Think I’ll stay in bed.”

Instead, you slowly stop enjoying things you used to love. Your favorite hobby starts feeling like another chore. Texts and emails are just another thing to answer. Even taking care of yourself feels like Mount Everest.

It happens so gradually that many of us don’t realize we’re burned out until we aren’t thriving anymore. That’s how burnout happens. We go from living our lives to simply surviving until bedtime each day.

How to Reduce Overwhelm and Prevent Burnout

Burnout is a quiet thief. And that bitch likes to take it all.

Recently, I have been slowly recovering from a two year long burnout. Yikes. And I didn’t even realize what it truly took from me until today. Today the rose colored glasses came off. and I saw what I had lost during my burnout.

I’m a sensitive girlie, trust me it’s not a dig at myself. My nervous system is turned up a few notches too high. So things hit me hard.

The first thing that burnout stole was my drive (aka my motivation).

No matter how strong my plan was, my execution was a flop.

My house slowly turned into mini minefields. Piles of laundry I didn’t have the energy to throw into the washer. Dog toys I tripped over because I couldn’t cue my dog to help me pick them up. Doggie fur dust bunnies because I forgot to run the roomba. Piles of empty Amazon boxes that just needed to be broken down. Seriously, it looked like I ran a shipping depot in a corner of my garage. I even had an unopened Chewy delivery for two weeks that I couldn’t be bothered to get out of my way.

My favorite hobbies were replaced with TV and my phone. I would spend hours each day scrolling social media feeds with no clear end. We’re not talking twenty minute lunch break scrolling but oh shit the sun came up scrolling. No walks outside, no doggie play dates. Everything that had once given my life hope and joy felt like too much work.

Cooking? Not really, but unhealthy fast food, soup in a can, or there were even nights I just didn’t eat if someone didn’t shove food at me.

And even making decisions became exhausting. Even simple ones like do you want this cookie?

I spent so much of my time stuck in freeze mode. I couldn’t go forward or back. I just existed with the bare minimum.

But, remember when I said we can’t turn down the world? Well, we can choose how we prepare and respond to it. Because it took me a long time to realize I wasn’t going to magically wake up feeling like myself again.

I needed something I could reach for when life got too “loud”. Think of it as your Disaster Overwhelm Relief Kit. Or DORK, for short. Because every girl needs a DORK.

There are three things I keep in my DORK: Imagination, A Support System, and an Exit Strategy. And before your brain goes there, I mean ditching stress and burnout, not life.

I use my imagination to make my immediate world a place I want to be in. A world of softness and warmth, filled with late afternoon sunshine, bird songs, and a yard full of flowers. A quiet bench where I can read smutty books and write amazing self care articles. That may look like spending time outdoors, using one of my hobbies for stress relief to combat anxiety, or even making little moments opportunities for me to create. For me, it’s about relearning safety, trust, and play! And I do this through creating safe enviornments and experiences for me.

I lean on my support system HARD. I chose to go back to therapy when my burnout was at its worst. I only took calls from people who could inspire and support me instead of draining my mental energy. I kept my tribe small and intentional to keep toxicity out of my life.

I learned the value of having a way to escape. It really made my flight response a happy girl by having a safe space. I chose to take a step back from stress, and use my coping skills before I went into shutdown.

When I don’t want to hear the outside world, I toss in my Bose earbuds and listen to my favs while running errands (not driving, I’m a safety girlie.) It helps my brain take back control when my fight-or-flight response kicks in. I kid you not, I have used earbuds and music to stop a panic attack. Plus, it feels kinda fun doing errands to your own personal soundtrack.

When I really have trouble tuning out the world’s nonsense, I plan a self care vacation to clear my head and relax. Sometimes the healthiest thing you can do is say no, step away, and do what’s best for you.

7 Your Mental Health Is Suffering.

Poor mental health isn’t always dramatic. Sometimes it’s a slow descent in the ability to care.

You stop caring about what you’re wearing, even if you’ve worn your favorite sweatshirt two weeks in a row.

The dishes sit in a pile beside and inside the sink waiting to be put in the dishwasher. The dishwasher stays full, and your utensil drawer is perpetually down to the last fork and spoon.

You stop dreaming of your future and just accept that things can never change so why bother trying. That happened to me.

Your sleep isn’t refreshing anymore. You sleep too little, or too much, or even toss and turn or wake up all night. Sleep feels like an impossible goal that a past version of you set when she felt normal.

You avoid people, not because you don’t love them, but because interacting with them takes up too much mental and physical energy. And forget about hobbies, you barely have the fortitude to eat, much less engage in activities that require brain power.

Not because you’re lazy. Not because you’ve given up. But because your mental health has chipped away at you piece by piece until you just accept that things are what they are, and stop believing you can change it.

What Helped Me Start Caring Again

When your mental health is suffering, everything feels so impossible.

We tally our days as complete failures if we didn’t check everything off our to-do list. But we forget that every stepping stone becomes the path we travel.

Here’s what I wish someone had told me sooner: Small steps become big wins.

You don’t have to leap to succeed. You just have to take one step forward.

Just this morning, my first thought wasn’t, “What am I supposed to accomplish today?” It was, “Man, it’s 8am. I haven’t even gotten out of bed yet, and I can’t get my brain to care. How can I move the needle forward without overwhelming myself?”

So, I resisted the urge to grab my phone. I’m trying really hard to have a no phone in bed rule, even though it’s stored in my side table at night. I rolled over and gave my pups some love instead. I was already 10% happier.

That little mood boost was enough to help me roll out of bed and give my pups some water while I washed my face and brushed my hair. Once I washed my face, brushing my teeth felt like the natural next step.

My one step was already creating a path of activity, all before I had even left my bedroom.

Some stepping stones you might try are:

• Going back to therapy. Hey, we all need a hand sometimes, and a therapist can help you learn coping skills, give you a safe space to voice your concerns, and help you learn more about your own triggers and how to navigate life with anxiety.
• Building a support system. We all need a network of people who will cheer us on, motivate and inspire us, and help us stand back up when life knocks us down.
• Practicing healthy habits like drinking a glass of water when you wake up, sitting in the sun for 5 minutes minimum daily, or not using your phone in bed.
• Finding stress relieving hobbies that you love to help you reduce your stress, discover your find your creative side, and bring you joy.
• Doing little things just because they make you happy, like planting flowers so you can watch butterflies. Dressing up to go grocery shopping just because you’re feeling a little magical and pretty today. Or creating a cute story about a frog turned knight that is protecting the realm from tyrannical bug invaders just to create whimsy in your day.
• Using your ACT Method Positive Thinking Worksheet to challenge negative thinking.
• Breaking down your day into smaller SMART goals. Like I pick up all the bedroom laundry from yesterday each night and toss them in the washer every morning while I pass by to let the dogs outside.
• Celebrating every single step you take in the direction you want to go.
• Including the seven types of self care into your day so you have less stress and more success!

As a girl with a sensitive nervous system and chronic illness, my energy is limited. So when I feel like I am failing, I always remind myself small steps become big wins.

For me that looks like:

• Loving on the dogs before I get out of bed.
• Not getting on my phone while in my bedroom each morning.
• Taking the laundry down while it’s easy to carry instead of waiting for large loads.
• Washing my face to feel cleaner and more alert.
• Sitting outside in the morning while my dogs potty instead of browsing social media.
• Eating a nourishing meal, instead of unhealthy takeout.
• Taking my medication each night.
• Reading a chapter of a book instead of being on the internet in bed.
• Creating a cozy nighttime routine to soothe my body and mind before bedtime.
• Journaling a few lines to get a negative thought out of my head.
• Tackling tasks according to how much mental or physical energy I have that day. (Curious how this looks in every day life? I shared more about cleaning with anxiety and chronic illness on the Bliss This House podcast.)
  

My day isn’t built on large goals, but achieved through small steps. Yours can be too.

8 You’re Feeling Lonely.

Face it, making friends as an adult isn’t as easy as it is as a child. Back then, all we needed was to show up to class together. Some of us are lucky enough to find true friends through work. I was not one of them.

We were a military family, which meant moving every few years. And we’ve done this more than five times now. Each time, I had to get new (in-person) friends.

Now I’m a disabled blogger who works from home and spends most of my time at the doctor’s office or behind my desk writing. Not exactly a recipe to make friends.

Loneliness has a way of making the world feel much smaller than it really is.

How to Make Friends as an Adult

Some of my best friendships have come from joining groups with interests similar to mine.

In our last city, I joined a Dungeons & Dragons group because I wanted one evening each week where I could laugh, get out of the house, and simply have free fun with other people.

Well, the free part didn’t quite work out because I somehow became the person who always brought enough snacks to feed an army. I should have known. I love snacks. And my secret love language is food.

These friends are still some of my most cherished. Even years later, we still get together each week virtually to chat and play.

That wasn’t the only place I found friendships over the years.

I have made friends through:

• Volunteering with dog rescues
• Church activities
• Local neighborhood activities
• Facebook groups
• I have even created a doggie playgroup for my new puppy (Koda)

We all deserve people who make us feel seen, supported, and accepted for who we are.

• Just because you don’t live near someone, doesn’t mean you can’t remain friends. Get online and have a watch party for some favorite movies!
• Join Facebook groups and connect with people who share your interests.
• Get a pet! Pets can be wonderful companions, and dogs especially have a funny way of introducing you to people you might never have met otherwise.
• Visit the elderly. You help relieve their loneliness too. And they never say no to a visit. Some of my favorite conversations have been with people who had decades of stories to tell.
• Call your family. We are more connected than ever through the internet, yet many of us have never felt more alone. Hearing someone’s voice and sharing time with each other, even over the phone, helps you feel connected to another person.
• Create your own network of friends. Find people that share your interests, your needs, your wants, and your journey. Those people are your tribe!

You don’t need dozens of friends. Sometimes just one or two people who truly understand you can change everything.

If making friends feels overwhelming, here’s a book that can help. Grab your copy of “Here to Make Friends” and learn how you can make lasting friendships. I wish I had this book when we first started moving around.

9 You’ve Forgotten What Brings You Joy

We all have experienced jobs we hate. They zap our energy fast and leave us feeling empty and numb. It becomes a chore to get out of bed and start the day. We feel our lives have become meaningless.

While not everyone can navigate a big career change in their lives, you can pursue your passion!

Doing what you love can fill your soul with joy again.

Start that dream garden, volunteer your time and work with pups that need help, or create a blog and begin writing!

I volunteered with local dog rescues to help train foster dogs for their new lives. In later years, I started photographing rescue pups to help them get adopted. And now I have a blog to help others with their mental health. I am a woman of many loves and passions, so I dabble in all of them to create joy.

Adding your passion to your day will give you a reason to look forward to it. It may even give you the confidence to make big changes!

Finding Little Moments of Joy in Life

Joy isn’t always found by changing your life. Sometimes it’s cultivated in small, purposeful ways.

Think of your life like a garden. If you tend it, flowers and crops will bloom, but if you leave it, you allow weeds to take over.

This morning, I fed the birds and watched them hop around with joyful abandon picking out their favorite seeds from the bunch. A seemingly meaningless encounter to some, but to the birds, it could have been their first meal in days. And to me, there was great joy in helping the other little residents of my backyard. Just thinking about how happy these little guys were to find my feeder still makes my heart feel light.

Maybe you want your mornings to feel a little more relaxed. Instead of getting on your phone when you get up, grab a cup of coffee and your breakfast in the warm morning sun.

Make the little moments in your life the most meaningful.

Little moments of joy look different for everyone. Here are a few ideas to help you get started:

• Create a writing ritual to help you get your thoughts out of your head and onto paper instead.
• Start hobbies and activities that help you in the long run.
• Take a class to help you improve your skills.
• Start small at-home projects to help develop your process.
• Curate your social media feed with inspirational people.
• Weed out toxic influences in your life.

I want to encourage you to think outside the box. What does your ideal and joyful life look like? Is it quiet, peaceful, full of family and friends who love you, or do you dream of a little cottage in the woods filled with a garden and maybe a few “Snow White” moments here and there like me?

You have the power to create a life that matters to you, no matter what obstacles stand in your way.

All you have to do is start carving out little moments that make you smile in spite of those obstacles.

One small step at a time.

PRO TIP: Need ideas? I share little moments of joy and every day inspiration on Instagram to help remind you that beauty can still be found in ordinary days.

Chasing Away Emptiness, One Small Step at a Time

Feeling empty doesn’t mean you’ve failed. Sometimes it’s simply your heart’s way of telling you that something in your emotional garden needs tending.

Sometimes we’re going to pull weeds by getting rid of toxic influences and experiences.

Other times, we’re sowing new seeds in our soil by making room for joy, laughter, peace, and hope in our lives.

Each small step you take becomes part of the path that leads you forward and away from the emptiness in your life.

I want you to know I’m here at With Love, Me to help you walk the path.

And if your path feels too heavy to walk alone, I also want you to know that there are mental health professionals who would be honored to walk beside you. All you have to do is reach out.