Many people struggle with finding their life direction. While finding your purpose in life might sound like a luxury, or a pursuit best left to philosophers or spiritual seekers, most people want to feel that their lives have meaning. If you’re struggling to find meaning in your life, what do you do? We’re talking with Jane Rubin, Ph.D., about how to go about finding your life purpose.

One of the more difficult situations in life is recognizing that an important life choice hasn’t worked out. We’re very aware of how difficult it is to end a long-term relationship, but we often don’t fully grasp how difficult it is to come to terms with other life choices that don’t go as we had hoped. That’s why we’re talking to Dr. Jane Rubin about what to do when our life plans don’t work out.

When we think of people who lack direction in life, we’re often tempted to think of them as “lazy” or “unmotivated”. But blaming people for their lack of direction in life doesn’t help them find it. This month, we’re talking to Dr. Jane Rubin specifically about idealization and its role in providing direction in life.

Many people are burdened by feelings of shame. They feel there is something deeply wrong with them, even though they often can’t identify what it is. What they often don’t recognize is how their feelings of shame can prevent them from finding their direction in life. Dr. Jane Rubin explains how shame can interfere with your ability to make good life choices.

People often have a sense of failure when they make important life decisions that don’t work out as they hoped they would. But blaming yourself often prevents you from recognizing the real obstacles that get in the way of good decision-making and taking appropriate steps to overcome them.

People who struggle as adults with whether or not they are making good choices in life need to look to their past, such as childhood issues connected to their families. I provide several examples of these issues, with the details changed to protect confidentiality.