If you’re in your twenties and feeling lost, you’re not alone. I spent years in my 20s and early 30s full of ambition but short on direction, making progress slowly and often in circles.

The truth? Feeling lost isn’t a flaw. It’s a signal - one that tells you it’s time to build your compass instead of waiting for someone else to hand you a map.

Why Feeling Lost Is So Common in Your 20s

Your twenties are uniquely disorienting. You’re expected to “figure it all out” while juggling career pressure, relationship questions, financial stress, and the constant comparison trap of social media.

Here’s what makes it harder:

  • No clear roadmap - Unlike school, adult life doesn’t come with a syllabus
  • Too many options - Infinite possibilities can feel paralyzing, not liberating
  • Pressure to perform - Everyone seems to have it together (spoiler: they don’t)
  • Identity in flux - You’re still discovering who you are and what matters

The good news? This discomfort is growth trying to happen. You just need a framework to channel it.

The Modern Compass Framework: Four Directions for Clarity

After years of circling the same patterns, I created Modern Compass - a simple framework that cuts through the noise and gives you four clear directions to focus on:

1. Self - Know where you stand

  • Awareness - Understand your patterns, triggers, and strengths
  • Worth - Build self-respect independent of external validation
  • Confidence - Take action even when you’re uncertain
  • Control - Manage impulses and align your choices with your values

Start here: Spend 10 minutes journaling on this question: “What patterns keep showing up in my life that I want to change?“

2. Trust - Know who to lean on

  • Tenets of Trust - Define what trust means to you
  • Trust in Humanity - Balance optimism with healthy skepticism
  • Informed Trust - Use experience to calibrate who deserves your trust
  • Profound Trust - Build deep, reciprocal relationships

Start here: List 3 people you trust and why. What do they have in common?

3. Character - Know what you stand for

  • Environmental - Recognize how your upbringing shaped you
  • Developed - Actively build the traits you want to embody
  • Authentic - Align your actions with your values
  • Transcending - Move beyond self-interest to serve something larger

Start here: Name one value you want to be known for. What’s one small action you can take this week that demonstrates it?

4. Relationships - Know how to connect

  • Empathy - Understand others’ perspectives without losing yourself
  • Resonance - Find people who share your values
  • Affinity - Build genuine connection through shared experience
  • Loyalty - Show up consistently, even when it’s hard

Start here: Reach out to one person you’ve been meaning to connect with. No agenda, just genuine check-in.

How to Actually Move Forward (Not Just Think About It)

Understanding the framework is one thing. Taking action is another.

Most people stay stuck because they can’t see where their time and energy are actually going. You might feel busy all day but can’t point to real progress. That’s not a motivation problem - it’s a visibility problem.

Track Where Your Time Really Goes

Before you can redirect your life, you need to see where it’s currently headed. That’s where the TimeOS system comes in - a simple 5-step audit that reveals:

  • Your biggest time drains (usually 5-10 hours/week you didn’t realize were wasted)
  • Where you’re already making progress (so you can do more of it)
  • How to start small by replacing just 15 minutes of something else with 15 minutes on something that moves you forward

It’s not another productivity hack. It’s awareness. And awareness is the first step toward intentional change.

Get the free TimeOS system when you join the newsletter →

Track Your Focus Areas With Social Accountability

Knowing where you want to go is only half the battle. Staying accountable to yourself is the other half.

Impulse Wallet is a gamified accountability app that helps you track your focus areas in real-time:

  • Simple “$1 up/down” system for every choice you make
  • Join accountability rooms with friends or family
  • Weekly resets so you’re never too far behind
  • 15-minute undo grace period (because we’re all human)

It’s progress over perfection. Awareness over judgment. And it works because it makes self-control feel like a game, not a grind.

Get early access to Impulse Wallet (free beta) →

The Most Important Thing to Remember

You’re not behind. You’re not broken. You’re in the messy middle of building a life that’s actually yours.

The compass isn’t about having all the answers. It’s about knowing which direction to face when you take your next step.

Start with one direction. Take one small action. Repeat.

That’s how you stop feeling lost and start moving with intention.

Want More Support?

If you’re ready to stop scrolling and start taking action:

  • Get the TimeOS system - A free 5-step time audit to reclaim 5-10 hours/week → Subscribe to the newsletter
  • Try Impulse Wallet - A gamified accountability app to track your choices and build self-control → Early access for subscribers
  • Read the book - Deep dive into the Modern Compass framework with activities and tools → Learn more

You’ve got this. Just pick a direction and start walking.

Always… follow your compass.

- Josh