abeatofmyown's analogy about the rocking chair is excellent! 'It gets you going but doesn't get you anywhere'.

I guess some analysis is useful, just trying to understand why things go sour, or change in importance or meaning. For me, it's been useful to really concentrate on myself and develop my own interests. Looking at yourself through someone else's eyes is so dangerous, although it can be wonderful if they are kind eyes. There's the rub, as they say. At some point the kind eyes don't look as kindly anymore, or we need ever more kindness and it's just not enough.

Trying to understand where things changed is useful, but I think the trick is to give a little more attention to oneself and one's own feelings. They are easy to forget for some people. I have also found it useful to try to accept that some things may not have an answer at all, or that it might just appear by itself when we're not actually looking for it so damn hard.

It really is constant practise that makes one better at this, constantly reminding yourself that you are you, even if you don't know who this you is just yet. You are in there!

Following some new interests, giving them time to become genuinely interesting, practising focussing on yourself and how you feel about things, maybe writing down when something really works for you as a reminder for when you suddenly don't know what you're doing or what the point is. There's lots of those times too, but they do become shorter and fewer as time goes on.

It's true what someone else said here; your life didn't begin with him and won't end without him. Baby steps, there's a whole world of experience and learning out there. The start is hard, true, but it's a shiny new chance in some way, and there's a lot of beauty in that. It's ok to be sad, just remind yourself that there are other things to think about too and pace yourself.

Wishing you peace.