Soul searching techniques used by thought leaders are everywhere right now — podcasts, Substacks, those fancy $2,000 retreats in Bali — and honestly? Most days I’m still not sure if I’m doing any of it “right”.
Like last Tuesday night. I’m sitting here on my beat-up gray couch in Faridabad (well… technically the outskirts), it’s 1:40 AM, fan making that annoying click-click noise, street dogs barking in the distance like they’re arguing about philosophy too. I’ve got my cracked phone propped against an empty Amul butter box trying to do what Brené Brown kinda-sorta implies in all her books: sit with the discomfort.
Except I lasted 7 minutes before I started doom-scrolling puppy videos. Classic.
Blog 1 — Jules Thompson
Why I Even Started Chasing Soul Searching Techniques in the First Place
Three years ago I hit that point where everything felt… hollow? Successful on paper, miserable in my chest. You know the vibe. So I started copying what the cool thought leaders seemed to do:
- Journaling like Julia Cameron told us in The Artist’s Way (morning pages… yeah I still mostly write grocery lists and complain about my landlord)
- Shadow work prompts from people like @TheHolisticPsychologist on Instagram
- Sitting in “radical stillness” (whatever that means) like I heard Tara Brach talk about on her podcast
- Asking myself the big scary questions Mary Oliver style: “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” …and then immediately panicking
What are the core differences between Zen Buddhism and Western …
My Current Go-To Soul Searching Techniques (That Sometimes Actually Work)
Here’s what stuck around after I face-planted a bunch:
1. Rage Journaling → Actually Useful Soul Searching Technique Not the cute bullet-journal version. I mean ugly crying on paper at 2 a.m., writing every horrible thought in all caps, then sometimes ripping the page up. Thought leaders don’t usually admit how messy the early drafts are. I do. It’s embarrassing and liberating at the same time.
2. The “What Would 80-Year-Old Me Say?” Trick Stole this from both Tim Ferriss interviews and my own grandma’s accidental wisdom. When I’m spiraling about career/some guy/some missed opportunity, I literally picture my wrinkled future self looking at current me with that “really, beta?” face. Weirdly calming. 10/10 recommend.
And this one beautifully shows the split between spiraling present-you and the calmer, wiser future-you looking back:
Learning to experience your anxious feelings | Anxietynomore
3. Sensory Return-to-Body Reset (my fancy name for it) When my brain is screaming, I do the cheapest version possible:
- Hold something cold (usually the steel water bottle)
- Smell whatever random thing is nearby (right now it’s my neighbor’s agarbatti smoke coming through the window)
- Listen to the stupidest sound in the room (fan click, dog, auto rickshaw horn) It’s not elegant. It’s not Instagram-worthy. But it drags me out of my head faster than 20 minutes of guided meditation ever did.
Here are two images that kinda capture the chaotic, very human side of this whole soul-searching journey I’m still stumbling through:
(The messy late-night journaling situation — pens everywhere, tear stains, existential dread included)
(That moment when you finally feel a tiny flicker of peace after the storm… but you’re still sitting on the floor surrounded by chaos)
The Part Where I Admit I Still Suck At This
I’ve read the books. Listened to the podcasts. Followed the thought leaders. And yet… some days I still choose Netflix and self-pity over sitting with myself. Some weeks I ghost my own journal. I still get jealous when I see people posting their perfect sunrise meditation photos while I’m eating Maggi at 11 a.m. wondering why I exist.
