When you think about a ‘Designer Life’, what springs to mind? What does having a ‘Designer Life’ actually mean?
Clue: it’s not a wardrobe full of Dior or Chanel.
Living a Designer Life is about living the life you want to live. We all want to achieve the life we were born to have. But over the years, we can lose sight of our dreams and our goals, and become focused on the day-to-day of running our lives.
The problem with this is that one morning we might wake up flooded with regrets or realise that we have become comfortable with the ‘uncomfortable’. We forget that the life we have is a gift. It’s not set in stone, it’s like a lump of clay that can be molded and shaped. Or like a blank canvas ready to paint – it can be tailored to our very own ‘fit’.
I agree with this quote: “If you don’t design your life, you’ll get the one that shows up.”
By re-designing our lives, in other words, by taking control of what we really want, we can achieve a less stressed, happier and a much more congruent life.
Do you need to change? Do you want a change? How will you know?
Many people will not take time to sit down and think about their life, where they are heading, or what their goals and dreams are. In fact, they will spend more time organising a dinner party or a summer holiday rather than thinking about their future or their goals or even who they are.
Are you in your comfort zone but not comfortable? Do you often find yourself feeling frustrated or unfulfilled? Chances are that there are elements of your life that you’re not 100% happy with.
To discover if you want to re-design your life then you must first decide how far you are from your ideal reality. On a scale of one to ten, how happy or satisfied are you with your life?
You can break this down into certain areas: Career, Finances, Social Life, Significant Other, Health, and so on. The Wheel of Life, pictured here, is a classic coaching tool. With the centre of the wheel as one and the outer edge as ten, draw a line across each segment to see where you need change the most.
The most important thing to keep in mind here is that you can only change yourself – you cannot change others. So if “Significant Other” scores low, or “Career” scores low because you don’t like your boss, the focus is still on you, not them.
Do you know who you are?
We can’t change unless we begin to understand our personality type, our behavioural patterns and our true passion in life.
What are your major characteristics? What are your talents and gifts? What are your beliefs and values? What habits have you developed over the years? What are your passions?
On a blank piece of paper write these all down, the good, the bad and the ugly.
What’s important to you?
Once you’ve got to know yourself a bit better, you can analyse what’s really important to you. More money? A better job? These are some of the most common things people say. But you need to dig deeper. If more money is top of your list, why do you want it? You might say that you want to pay off debts and have more freedom with lifestyle choices. But dig deeper and you might find that what you really want is a sense of peace or security.
Are you ready to embrace change?
Living a Designer Life is about going on a journey, a journey that is paved, designed and directed by you. It’s not about conforming, but about doing things that are in sync with your highest values. Are you ready? Can you give it 100%? Start today.
