Permission granted: name & claim the life you desire!
Ten years ago when my son was in preschool, my cup was feeling really full and in a moment of supreme clarity, I sat down one morning and wrote:
The life I desire is marked by deep connections to my child and partner. It’s a life filled with joy and meaning. It’s a life in which I feel supported and nurtured by an incredible community of men and women— young and old. I experience regular, meaningful, heartfelt connections with people I care about. I am continually open to growth — as a woman, a mother, a partner, and a spiritual being. I enjoy supporting and serving others in a way that feeds me rather than drains me. I feel that I always have enough time in my life for those things that are most important to me. My life flows, I trust my intuition, and I expect good to come to me. I feel peaceful. I am loving, and I feel loved. This is the life I desire. (From Ch. 2 in my book Nurturing the Soul of Your Family: 10 Ways to Reconnect and Find Peace in Everyday Life):
While this is still true and accurately describes my life over the last ten years, I’m ready for Life 2.0. For a life that is even more spacious, supported and less plugged in. A life where I enjoy:
• The space to pursue new, emerging creative and service projects with passion and zeal
• Support from a team member who does an as good or better job than I do at replying to emails with diplomacy and efficiency and allows me to be unplugged completely twice a month for one to five days
• Weekly nature excursions with good friends who also have a deep affinity with nature (I’m starting a G.R.I.N. group, which stands for “Girls Renewing in Nature!”)
• Time and space for long teas or walks with dear friends and mentors whenever I like (ideally twice a month)
• Romantic getaways with my husband at least one night a month and at least one weekend a year
• Family nature-based vacations locally and nationally every two to three months minimum (these help us recalibrate and all get on the same page–invaluable!)
• Unbelievable support on the parenting front from amazing heart-centered parenting experts, coaches, teachers and school staff
• Spiritual direction/support from world-class colleagues, teachers, retreat centers and training
• Speaking opportunities–both domestic and international–that are extremely well-paying, fun, easy and feed me on all levels
And of course all of these desires are in complete alignment with my financial needs. Sound decadent? It does to me, too. But I thought the life I envisioned back in 2004 sounded outrageous and low and behold, it unfolded just as I described it.
In my “dream life,” I feel free, generous, open, passionate/juicy, aligned, grounded and playful. I am imbued with a sense of incredible confidence, clarity and discernment and can easily see what is a “Yes,” “Later,” or “No.” I have time for the unexpected and connecting with other (people first, things second) is the norm. My life is S-P-A-C-I-O-U-S.
I feel a bit shy about putting this out there as it may sound crazy, impossible or only attainable for the self-employed (my team and I work with many clients who would love to have just one day off a month!). But I know that giving voice to a desired vision is one of the most powerful things you can do to bring it to fruition. I also believe that in sharing my life 2.0 vision, perhaps, maybe, it may inspire you to reflect on what yours might look like, as well.
INVITE: Would you like my support for naming and claiming the life you desire? I’d love to have you join me this fall and side by side, we’ll do exactly that. My new telecourse Permission Granted: The Art of Extreme Self-Care (Sept. 11-Oct. 9) was inspired by this post and I am so excited to gather a circle of women and share the practices I’ve learned that can help you envision/design a life that feeds you both inside and out. (Early bird rate of $129 ends July 31st.) Learn more.
Subscribe here to Live Inside Out, a weekly blog written by life balance teacher/author and Career Strategists president, Renée Peterson Trudeau. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Good Housekeeping and more. Thousands of women in ten countries are becoming RTA-Certified Facilitators and leading/joining self-care groups based on her award-winning curriculum. She is the author of The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal and Nurturing the Soul of Your Family: 10 Ways to Reconnect and Find Peace in Everyday Life. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and 12 year-old son. More on her background here.
