How To Navigate Life When You Feel Left Behind as a Christian Millennial.

Estimated reading time: 9 minutes

How do you navigate life when you feel left behind? Have you ever felt like everyone else has their life figured out except you? How do you navigate such a season as a Christian millennial? Just to give you a simple answer, looking at the story of David and Joseph will help you navigate such seasons. And because this is a loaded answer, I would like for us to unpack the keys found in their lives.

Why do you feel left behind?
- Could it be because you are comparing yourself with other people?
- Sometimes you could feel left behind because of some choices you made.
How, then, can you navigate life when you feel left behind?
Embrace your current life.
Conclusion

Why do you feel left behind?

Could it be because you are comparing yourself with other people?

You cannot compare oranges and apples as they look different, feel different, and taste different. And when you compare them, you miss out on the good qualities found in each. And so to ask you, could your comparison be off? Are you comparing yourself to people who are living a different life from yours? And it might seem like the norm, but if it’s not for you, comparing yourself is just a killjoy that will yield nothing.

Maybe you are indifferent seasons from those you are comparing yourself to. An example would be comparing yourself with people who are married while you are single. That’s off. Or maybe you decided to quit your job and are pursuing your own thing and now you are comparing yourself with those that are in employment.

When you make comparisons not factoring in seasons, you set yourself up for sadness and even make room for disappointment. I had to come to that realization myself. At some point in my life, I was prone to comparing myself with others, ignoring the seasons. And because of that, I lived a depressed life until I factored in the season I was in.

Sometimes you could feel left behind because of some choices you made.

Maybe you set out to pursue something that flopped in your face. And now because you have to start over and pick up the pieces, you end up feeling left behind. A perfect example of this would be getting into entrepreneurship only for your business to collapse and now you have to start over. This could look like you getting a job or starting another business. Whatever the case may be, starting over could make someone feel left behind. Can you relate? Have you had to start over?

Another example would be having to go back to school to study a different course or having God redirect you into a totally new and unfamiliar path.

Starting over is never easy, especially when you put your all into something and it ends up being a total flop.

How, then, can you navigate life when you feel left behind?

Confront those feelings.

Unless you can address those feelings, you will always feel left behind. Understand why you feel that way? What triggered those emotions? Was the comparison valid or did it stem from the wrong kind of comparison?

If you are feeling left behind because of a business flop or a redirection, I want to encourage you to focus on the lessons you learned from the business failure.

Even in that failure, there was a lesson that will help propel your next business. Also, you could decide to relaunch the same business and because you now know what not to do, it could end up being very successful.

Failure is not always a bad thing. Failure teaches you what not to do next time. And therefore helps you eliminate the ways of doing things until you settle on the right one.

What does confronting your emotions look like?

It looks like you taking time off to be alone. Silencing all the noise and embracing solitude. Take time out to unpack why you feel the way you do. What’s causing you to feel left behind? Write it down.
Again, understand the triggers. Do you constantly feel that way or are there specific scenarios that trigger that? This will also help you unpack if the feeling comes from real or perceived scenarios.

Clearly find the problem that is making you feel left behind.

Do you know you could be feeling left behind because of a facade? You could think that the people that are ahead of you have it all figured out when that is not the case. What if the very people that are making you feel left behind are living above their means?

Or what if they are unhappy with their current life? Maybe they do admire your courage to travel the road less taken and you are out here feeling left behind. Maybe they admire your courage to start over and follow God’s redirection. Beloved, all that glitters is not gold. And sometimes the people you think have left you behind really haven’t.

And to help you with this, I want to give you an assignment. Instead of only looking at what people are posting on social media, read between the lines of what they are saying. Are they really happy or are they also just trying to fake it till they make it? And let’s even assume they are doing okay financially. Are they happy? Do they enjoy their own company? Financial freedom is wonderful. But if it comes at the close of your mental health, it might not be worth it.

Sometimes you staying off of social media or minimizing the time you spend there could be the fix you need to stop feeling left behind. Therefore, get off social media and you will see a change in your perspective.

Understand what you want in life.

Having clarity on the path you want to go on is essential. Child of God, the Bible tells us that there is a path that looks good to human beings, but in the end, it leads to distraction. Could it be you are basing your feelings of being left behind on the wrong thing? Yes, I understand the feelings of FOMO and all, but could it be that your focus is all wrong?

Are the things that are making you feel left behind congruent with your morals? Do they align with God’s word? If they do, that’s okay. But could it be that they are just wordly and at the core of it all, you don’t want them?

Or maybe let’s assume they are good ones. Like, let’s talk about financial freedom. Let’s assume your friends have achieved financial freedom, but you are yet to. Does your idea of financial freedom align with theirs? And do you really want to make 2 million dollars? Could it be that you are comfortable with 1 million dollars? You need to understand what you want to achieve in life. Just because that’s what the status quo wants, does not mean you should want it too.

And the only way you can understand what you want is by being able to live authentically. This comes from your understanding of who you are and your identity in Christ. You cannot truly know what you want in life until you discover your identity. Just because your friends or family think you should be at a specific point in life, does not mean you should subscribe to the same thing, too.

Take time out, sit and down, and write everything you truly want. If you don’t know, start by first discovering your identity in Christ. And to do this, you first need to accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour. Next, you need to find scriptures in the word of God that talk about your identity.

The only true identity is the one that is found in God. His identity and thoughts of you do not change when you mess up or don’t. It is actually based on who He says you are. And even on your worst days, He does not change what He knows you to be or who He thinks of you. Spend time with God. The more you do that, the more you will discover your identity. You can also ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you who you are in Christ. And He will.

Once you have discovered your identity, then you will know what you really want in life. What you truly want in life is hidden in your true self. Always remember that.

Get productive.

This looks like you actually doing something to propel you forward. Instead of sitting down and wallowing in your pain, maybe it is time for you to do something about your situation. You might decide to start by changing your routine if it is not working out for you. Go out more, start a hobby. Sometimes the feeling of being left behind is because of boredom from your current routine. Try switching things up. Who knows, you might end up feeling different and be inspired to take a bold step. This brings me to my next point now that you know what you want, plan to do something toward your goals, and actually take that step.

Yes, your business failed. What’s next? Will you start another one or actually go get a job? Time waits for no one. Don’t allow yourself to stay stuck in one season. Rather, learn to embrace taking a new path and doing something new. Don’t be afraid to start over if it will propel you to the life you have always desired.

Embrace your current life.

Find the silver lining in your current life. Remember, regardless of how bad your life is right now, you are literally living in one of your answered prayers. Gratitude is always key, regardless of your current predicament. In fact, when you choose to embrace gratitude, you make room for more in your life. What can you be thankful for right now? Even failures come with lessons. And when you take those lessons, you find you can bounce back to where you want to be.

Again, embracing your current life helps you make room for opportunities. You see, when you learn to enjoy your current season, you can easily identify any brook that God brings your way. Always remember that God will use what is within your means to elevate you. Therefore, do not disregard where you are in life. And yes you might feel left behind, but could it be God hiding you so that He can prepare you for what He has for you?

An example would be Joseph. Who knew that the 13 years he was in hiding were preparation for him to be second in command in a foreign country? Who knew God was preparing David to become king one day? Child of God, always remember that God might take you back to push you forward. And you not discerning the season could lead you to stay stuck longer than you need to.

Find the lessons, training, and preparation God is doing within you in those seasons you feel left behind.

Conclusion

I hope you have learned something and discovered the actionable steps you can take when you feel left behind. My prayer for you is that you will stay rooted in Christ and be able to discern the season you are in. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you discern the season, as this will help you navigate life when you feel left behind.

God can launch you from nothing and take you to places of prominence. And Esther is a perfect example. She went from being invisible to becoming the queen. God can do anything because everything is possible with Him. Child of God, do not allow comparison to lead you to depression. And always take other people’s lives with a grain of salt. Always remember that there is always more to the story. And what you see could be far from their reality. And again, you never know the lengths they have to go to maintain what they have.