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TUNE INTO SEASON 3 of the HEALTH HOME HUSTLE podcast

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On Designing A Life You Love

November 10, 2017

Design A Life You Love | The Elgin Avenue Blog


Designing a life you love. Sounds like a tall order doesn’t it?

Or . . . does it? When you think about it, without the ‘shoulds’ and comparisons?

I’ve been friends with Amanda, founder of the Online Stylist blog, for a good few years and an ‘Amanda date’ is always one I look forward to!

Amanda is so incredibly warm (and wise!) and a recent post of hers really got me to thinking.

In this post it was Amanda’s comment about “designing a life she loved” which really struck a chord.

We all have different ambitions in life, and it’s important to acknowledge what yours look like. It’s important to understand what a life you love looks like, so that you can work on one which suits your goals.

I can’t wait for you to get to know Amanda a little better, and I’m so honoured to share The Elgin Avenue with her today!

Without further adieu – over to Amanda!

Love, Monica x

P.S. please go and say hello to Amanda over on her blog – Online Stylist – and Instagram @OnlineStylist – you’re in for a treat!


“In the era of the female entrepreneur

and the blossoming world of the online creative

that we find ourselves in,

never before has it felt more possible to,

perhaps unwittingly,

live out this very Pinterest quote.”


Design A Life You Love | The Elgin Avenue Blog


Designing A Life You Love

by Online Stylist’s Amanda Start

I love a good Pinterest quote as much as the next person. I mean . . . what on earth did we do before the place of pretty and endless inspiration??

Apart from hang out on blogs and Instagram?!

One of my favourite Pinterest quotes, and a fairly early addition to my Wise Words board if memory serves is: “She designed a life she loved”

That one really struck a chord with me the first time I laid eyes on it . . . and then frantically pinned it.

Not least because it fits right in with the Elevate The Everyday mantra that I heavily subscribe to but . . . can you imagine?

What would it be like to truly design a life you love?

In the era of the female entrepreneur and the blossoming world of the online creative that we find ourselves in, never before has it felt more possible to, perhaps unwittingly, live out this very Pinterest quote.

To some it might sound like I’ve been at the green juice again or maybe spent too long in a headstand.

(NB: The juice maybe – but I never did manage that yoga move ????????.)

It may seem like a ridiculous notion and perhaps a bit of a tall order to build a life that fits in with your core values and therefore is fulfilling on every front – bringing happiness in spades.

But I guess it’s where you look for those things that ends up becoming the deciding factor.

As I push on through my forties and reflect back over the various stages of the story of me so far, it’s with hand on heart that I’ll tell you there were more than a few life stages that certainly weren’t “designed” with love in mind!

Big mistakes were made. Huge!

Errors in judgment, putting trust in the wrong people, wasted opportunities and a near miss, life stage decision that would have meant, had I chosen the alternate path, I certainly wouldn’t be sitting here sharing my thoughts as a blogger and business owner.

The irony is that without those experiences, I can pretty much guarantee I wouldn’t have even known what a life I loved look like . . . even if it leapt off a brush lettered quote and slapped me round the face.

The past has taught me what I want from my future.

With the passing of time, I learn more and more about what’s really important to me. And those key elements are the things that I channel energy and love into.

If you asked me: “what’s your formula for designing a life you love?” – I’ll reply with a recipe. As a food obsessed female (who would rather use five hundred words over fifty any day), that recipe goes like this . . .


“The irony is that without those experiences,

I can pretty much guarantee I wouldn’t

have even known what a life I loved look like

. . . even if it leapt off a brush lettered quote

and slapped me round the face.”


THE INGREDIENTS

Home And Family

Without the life we’ve built as the three musketeers (and not forgetting the dog – Dog-tanyan?), the other elements wouldn’t feel quite the same.

There are numerous challenges to overcome as a family. Some are harder than others, but we’re strong at the core, therefore I have complete faith in us a unit.

My tiny tribe are the ones I always want to share my highs and lows with, and come home to when I go away.

Work Lifestyle

As a lifestyle blogger, I feel proud to say I’ve built something that means work and life feed each other and merge into one entity.

Note I say proud as opposed to lucky – luck had nothing to do with it. I’m sure there’s a Thomas Jefferson Pinterest quote for that . . .

After numerous false starts as a hairdresser, sometime window blind workshop Girl Friday (don’t ask!) and one L O N G stint in finance, it wasn’t until I reached my early forties and blogging became my work, I can honestly say (on repeat) that I love my job.

Friends And Fun

Spending time with friends has always remained high on the priority list. And I mean both me with my friends and us as a family unit with those that we share.

Last but never least – fun. Laughter – the real tummy clutching, sides hurting, face aching kind. It’s the best thing in the world and needs to be experienced often.

THE METHOD

Make time for reflection – a lot of it. So much is learned from our experiences.

Foster an endless appreciation of the simplest of things. Everyday.

Accept who you are and what you can achieve. And therefore be happy to set your own limits and live within them.

Practice being kind to yourself and nurture your needs. Martyrdom will leave you empty and fit for nothing.

Take time – beg, borrow or steal it. Carve out small blocks of it to do the things that bring the most joy. Or do nothing at all. It’s allowed!

I have a sneaking suspicion that most of us are already living the life we love. We just need to take time to stop, breathe and take it all in . . .

And, if you’re not currently living a life you love, I hope that this post will help to steer you in a direction which will unveil one you do.


What’s Your Take?

Have you subscribed to designing a life you love? What’s your take on it all?

Thank you for having me on The Elgin Avenue today! It’s so nice to virtually e-meet you!

Love, Amanda x

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