Design Your Life

The other day, one of my coaching clients said to me,

“I’m accepting that my path can look different than I envisioned.”

When she was a young adult, she had the mindset that if she didn’t meet the vision she had for her life at that particular time point, she’d be a failure. It’s taken her many years and life experiences to let go of that rigid thinking. Recently, she’s had a handful of friends and colleagues of a similar age and life stage to her go through career transitions that she never would have imagined for them. And she watched them navigate these changes, and be ok with them and maybe even be happier. So this was a whole shift in mindset for her.

These people served as examples for her; they’re doing the thing she thought wasn’t allowed.

This is precisely why I started the Lean Out Podcast, and why I continue to do it. I want to give you examples, to show you that it’s possible to have a joy-filled life as a professional, to have an unconventional life, or maybe to have just a different life than you originally imagined as a young adult.

Life design is about looking at your life like a sculpture, one where you are the sculptor. You’re not living by default, letting the elements design the sculpture, and you’re not letting others design it, either. You are in control.

That doesn’t mean your original vision can’t ever change. It doesn’t mean you can’t undo and change the sculpture. Work-life balance ebbs and flows in seasons, and it inherently involves experimentation. You try on solutions to what’s zapping your energy, you add an activity you think will bring you more joy… But your balance will change over time, and that is perfectly ok.

I recently wrote this guest post on lifestyle design for The Menopause Menu, and today, I want to share with you a reading of the last chapter of the book Lean Out: A Professional Woman’s Guide to Finding Authentic Work-Life Balance. The conclusion chapter is called Design Your Life.

In this short chapter, I discuss some of these concepts, along with sharing more stories of women who’ve experimented with other lifestyles despite continuing to work as professionals.

Have a listen below, and let me know: How are you designing your life?