If You Want a Different Kind of Life You Have to Live Differently
Do You Ever Want a Different Kind of Life?
Do you ever find yourself wanting more adventure or maybe more relaxation? Maybe you wish you lived a healthier lifestyle, dream of moving somewhere warm, or changing careers.
I think it’s totally normal for us to want to grow and evolve our lives. Life ebbs and it flows, we have ups and we have downs, and we have different seasons of our lives.
Sometimes you want to upgrade your loungewear and sometimes you want more reasons to get dressed up. It really doesn’t matter to anyone but you, what you want for your own life.
Just don’t sit around dreaming of things you’d like to do or try or worse, not even consider that you can become an outdoor adventurer or cupcake baker extraordinaire, if that’s your desire.
You can have the life you want, the alternative is regret.
Recognize You Can Change Your Life if You Choose to
If you have wished for or dreamed of something but never really considered the actual possibility for you, I challenge you to take another look at your dream. Almost anything is possible and sometimes even when we don’t get the thing we want, we get something even better. But you do have to put yourself in the arena, as Brene Brown says.
For a long time I wished for another life. I wanted to be healthy, fit, and adventurous. I wanted to travel and hike, and have a great circle of friends and closer relationships. I don’t even think I realized I was pining for this.
I was just looking outside of myself and feeling envy and lack, not even considering, these were all things within my ability to change. I just had to recognize what I wanted, and do it. It seems so simple but look at your life and see if you have any of these unrealized desires.
Know what you want.
The first thing you have to do when creating a different kind of life is to know what it is you want. Describe in detail exactly what you would like your life to look like. What do you want to more of and what do you want less of? Do this in your journal and actually write it out.
If you did nothing else, just this act of exploring what you want and writing it down will set an intention. It will move you closer to your dreams, even if you do nothing more in pursuit of the change than knowing. Your choices will subtly guide you closer to that path. Pretty cool right?
Decide what needs to be different and do it.
All you have to do, is do it. If you want to be more active get up and go for a short walk. Do it again the next day. Maybe after that you go to a local park and take a longer stroll.
If you want to be less shy, you have to be less shy. Take action and say hello to the barista or the cashier. That’s it - “Hi” then maybe you practice that a few times. Next you might even compliment something about a person that you like. “I like your shoes, top, bracelet.” Whatever. Do that a few times.
If you want to live a healthy lifestyle or be a yogi you just have to start doing it. Buy a healthy cookbook for beginners. Start doing YouTube Yoga. Buy a yoga mat. Create a healthy meal plan and skip the 2nd glass of wine. Continue to make tiny changes until you are literally living a different life.
What’s standing in your way?
Do some problem solving.
Maybe you don’t have enough money for the lifestyle you desire. Can you create the lifestyle in ways that don’t cost money? Maybe you can create a frugal life of luxury, I challenge you.
If you are still thinking I could never do that. I could never drive that kind of car or dress up for work. Stop telling yourself no and start telling yourself yes. Ask yourself how you CAN drive that car how you CAN dress up for work?
How can you make it happen? That is so much more empowering than I can’t, am I right?
Maybe you want to be a hiker but you can’t even walk around the block. Don’t give up before you even begin, start with baby steps. Walk around the block and grow your stamina from there.
Decide are you willing to do the work - or are you just talking, wishing or even complaining?
Maybe you really want to lose weight but aren’t willing to change the way you eat. Maybe you wish you didn’t drink so much but won’t even consider the possibility of not drinking.
Recognize if you are truly ready for and do you really want - to make the changes? It will take effort and action.
If you are not willing and ready, your work will be to find contentment where you are and with the life you have. There is nothing wrong with this, I know that not everyone has the same desire to grow and change as others.
The key here is to decide, will you regret not doing it?
You Have to Actually Live Differently
Push outside your comfort zone
What does that even mean? We do the things in our lives that we are comfortable doing. We create habits and do things over and over again. Pushing outside our comfort zone is well, uncomfortable. We have to do something different and new and maybe even challenging or scary.
And I don’t just mean scary like going bungee jumping. I mean scary like going to a movie by yourself or trying sushi.
It’s when you push outside your comfort zone that you grow. It’s where change happens.
So like I said, if you want a different kind of life you have to live differently.
