Do you love your life?
If you can respond with a rousing, “Hell yeah!”, congratulations. If you look at your life and feel like you should love it, that it looks good, or you kind of shrug and say, “We all have stuff to deal with,” you’re not alone.
It may not feel like it, but a life you love is within your grasp.
Imagine looking back on each day and seeing the things that lit you up, that energized you, that connected to the values you care about most deeply. It’s possible — even if you’re working full time, running a business, taking care of kids or aging parents or a pandemic puppy. It’s possible even though you have bills to pay and laundry seems endless and you wonder if there will ever be enough time.
Love Your Life Day to Day
You may have some big goals and dreams that are part of the life you want, but some of those may not feel practical right now or they may be long-term plans. What can you do right now to love your life more?
You don’t have to burn it all down. You don’t need a 36-hour day or hired help or a lottery win.
You need clarity about what matters — to you.
Have you lost your way? It can be easy to get stuck on what other people need, what they want for you, what you’re supposed to want. You can even get busy with something that you once enjoyed that just isn’t bringing you joy any more.
Some questions to ask yourself:
- What do I love to do so much I forget the time while I’m doing it?
- What excites me or gives me energy?
- What drains me?
- What do I value most? What do those values mean to me? What do they look like in my life?
- Are any of these things (the ones that engage or energize me, the ones related to my values) showing up in my daily life? Are any of the things that drain me things I can let go of?
Get out your journal and spend some time with each question. What do you learn about what you want in your life and how you are actually spending it?
Be honest. Writing what you think is supposed to energize you or values that “sound” good won’t get you any closer to a life you love.
Be specific and real. Say you value family. Define what that means for you — and what it doesn’t. It’s OK to say, “I love doing creative projects, but doing crafts with my kids is draining.” Or maybe all of your friends love Zooming on Friday nights, but you find it draining after a long week; connecting in a different way might feel better.
Be open to possibility. Your first reaction to whatever you discover may be, “But I can’t …” or “I don’t have time to …” Ask: What can I do to honor my values? What can I do to add more of what energizes me to my day? What could I let go of to make that happen?
Start really small if you have to. Want more nature in your day? Step outside and look at the sky first thing in the morning. (Too cold? That’s noticing part of nature too.)
Craving more connection? Text a friend every day to check in or plan a walk with a local friend or sit down and write a letter telling them what you would share over a cup of coffee if you could.
Looking to add creativity? Get up 15 minutes early to journal. Do mini projects daily. Play with a new medium. Try just breaking out of your rut by doing something different—taking a new route to the market, listening to a new podcast, reading a genre you don’t usually read.
None of these things require an overhaul of your life. Most of them could happen in the time you scroll through social media or by shifting how your start or end your day. Some, like the idea of walking with a friend instead of Zooming, mean looking at what works for you and what doesn’t — and maybe telling somebody else that.
Little changes that bring you more into alignment with the things that light you up and matter to you add up to happier days.
Ready for a life you love even more?
Let’s figure it out. The Everyday Experience starts on February 8. Join me for 5 days (10–20 minutes per day) to explore what lights you up, what you value most, what you want in your days. At the end you’ll have a roadmap to help you honor your true desires and what you value everyday.