Life in Style

Author: Jessica Dahl
August 16, 2019

According to Webster’s Dictionary, Lifestyle is “the typical way of life of an individual, group, or culture” and “associated with, reflecting, or promoting an enhanced or more desirable lifestyle.”

I don’t know about you but sometimes I’ll jump online, look at photos or hear about someone elses’ life and feel a little envious like I want to do some of the things they are doing or go to the places they are going!  I hope I am not the only one. Well, I know I am not the only one because just about everyone I talk to says they have the same feelings too. So if that’s you, take a deep breath and know you’re not alone.

I think there is no problem with admiring what others are up to in life because it can be inspiring yet we have to be careful not to get caught on the other side where we feel worse about ourselves as if our life isn’t as great as theirs.  This can make us feel as if we aren’t worthy of having what they have or doing what they are doing or it can cause us not being present with our life now that we get so caught up in “what could be.”  

These can really paralyze us from being who we desire to be and living the life we desire to live because..well…. FEAR creeps up.  It could be fear of not being enough, not being successful or of being too successful, letting others down, of failing, or whatever you think enter here _______.

Sometimes when we look at others lives and think it looks glamorous, we don’t realize the work and commitment that went into the lifestyle they live.  It could be that everything seems fine on the outside yet on the inside it’s very lonely. Or it can be that the life you desire would mean that the day to day grind is not what you wish your life was.
I think we tend to make up false fairytale ideas of what the perfect life is without keeping into consideration the lifestyle it takes to make it happen.  

I’ll give you an example from my own life.

When I was running my first non-profit, the vision was to be local and global in the services we provided for those in need. Since I was young, I have wanted to travel the world and help people.  As we continued to grow the mission became more locally focused, which is not a bad thing, my co-partner and I were on different ideas of what lifestyle was. If I was to keep running our organization it wasn’t going to give me the lifestyle of global travel and impact like I had desired most of my life.  I was clear on the lifestyle I desired to live and that was a way to travel, have something I can do from anywhere in the world and make an impact in the lives of others locally and globally all at the same time.  

Now, the lifestyle I desire may not be appealing to you.  And HOW you make that lifestyle happen will look different even if you did desire the same type of lifestyle. The things that need to happen is to get to know WHO YOU ARE and WHAT YOU REALLY WANT.

People begin living lives that one day they wake up and wonder how they got there and realize that they never wanted that kind of lifestyle at all. I have been there myself.  I’ve had a few wake-up call moments. Have you experienced this?

The good news is that it is not too late, no matter how young or old you are.

It is possible to start over at any time in your life!

Why is it important to get clear on the type of lifestyle you want to live?

Something hit me strong when I was listening to a podcast about a year ago.  A woman did a study by interviewing hundreds of people who were at their last couple years of life to live.  She asked them what it was that they would do differently if they could?

Almost every person answered that they wished they would have lived a life that was what they wanted instead of what everyone else wanted for them. That they would have lived truly themselves.

It surprised me because it made it VERY REAL on how much we as humans don’t live out the fullness of who we are.
Of course, there are going to be times where you have to do things you don’t want. You may have to work a job you don’t like for a season, or work hard in ways you wish you didn’t, but ultimately coming back to who you are and where you want to go will allow you to take the steps possible to be that.

In order to figure this out, our identity is the most important factor. We have to know who we are in order to figure out what we want. We also may have to experience many things that you do and don’t enjoy, your story and relationships will play a huge part in what you desire your life to look like.

Guys, life is way too short. If you want to write a book, write a book. If you want to move to a certain state or country, move. If you want to have a family, have a family. If you want to go to school, go to school. If you want to start a business, start a business.  You are here on this planet for a reason and the world is waiting for you to SHINE. You don’t know what tomorrow will bring, so do the things you want and be the person you desire to be! If you aren’t living the lifestyle you desire, and being who you are meant to be, then it’s hard to have happiness and joy!

At the end of the day, what do you really want?

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