What is really behind this feeling that I am missing something?

“I feel that I am missing something essential from my life.” If this resonates with you, then this self-inquiry exercise may be valuable to you.

Self-Observation on my feeling of missing something from my life

• I am missing something but I cannot say what.
• I feel sad.
• I blame other people and the world around me for not giving me what I want. It is their fault.
• It is not worth doing things. 
• This thought makes me nervous and panicky.
• I don’t know what to do about it, how to get out of it.  
• I cannot breathe normally. I keep my breath back.
• I feel as if this is my main belief about my life. How I am.

Chain of thoughts coming when I am able to go deeper

• I am sad because I have this image that ‘I did not get the things I wanted. The things that I deserved.’
• I know that I have been feeling like this since I can remember.
• Then I start to think that I am selfish and spoiled to think such things. But it does not help.
• Then I start to think that it is not that bad. It is better but I still have the pain in the back of my mind. I know it is just a matter of time that it comes back.
• Then I sort of realize that I am trying to convince myself that my feeling of missing something is not real. This is how I protect myself. 
• Then I realize that I am right. I did not get the things I wanted and thought that I deserved. It doesn’t hurt that much now that I could be honest with myself. It is a bit better now, there has been a small shift.
• I see that my honesty helped me to let go of my protection a little bit. I call it honesty, it may be something else. 

The above self-observation exercise is just one possible flow of associations. It is meant to stimulate you, and by no means is it implied that it is about you.