“Once I can do this full time, life will be different. I can’t wait to live my ideal day…”
This was a common thought in my head a few months before I quit my full time job to pursue my passion of running my own business. I was going through an online business training program that had me write out my “ideal day” and envision what it would look like. What would my schedule be? Who would I talk to? What would I eat?
Honestly, for anyone that is feeling stuck, or wants to make a change in their life, I totally recommend doing this exercise. Spending time on this helps you raise your standard in life and realize that if something is not what you want it to be, you have the power to change it. For me, it also woke me up from a state of “autopilot”. I was moving so fast in my own “mom-fog” that I didn’t realize I hated my day-to-day routine. When I stopped to really think about what my ideal day would look like, it opened my eyes to possibilities hadn’t even imagined before, which ultimately led me to where I am today.
But, with that being said, the caveat is…. that no one seems to tell you at the time you do this exercise… when you lock down what that ideal day looks like, and you can see it and feel it, and you know deep down inside you can make that day a reality, that…
not every day will look like your ideal day!
Because after all, if every day was your ideal day, you’d start to lose perspective on how awesome your ideal day is, and what it took for you to get there.
For example, I remember a few years back when all my friends were getting married and everyone was headed off to these fabulous two week long honeymoons in their new amazing life. I always found it so interesting when they got back from their honeymoon and I’d ask, “How was it?!”, they would always respond, “It was so much fun, but I was definitely ready to get back to real life again.”
“WHAT?! You were just on a fabulous dream vacation, and you’re telling me that you wanted to get back to REAL life? Why?”
Well, it’s simple. Because that ideal day on vacation starts to lose its luster. The perspective on how amazing that vacation was started to fade, and there’s a need to change it up to get that perspective back. Because even though it’s not part of your ideal day, doing the hard stuff (a.k.a. work), gives you a sense of purpose, accomplishment, and a whole different sense of fulfillment. Sadly, as much as we think we hate “working”, it’s actually a needed part of the whole “ideal day” formula. Without a less than ideal day, how would you know what to compare your ideal day to?
The reality is, you should absolutely have a clear vision of what your ideal day looks like, but appreciate the fact that not every day can be spent sitting in a bubble bath drinking prosecco and listening to Enya, or going to the spa for the day and getting pampered head to toe, or spending the day with your children who are magically well-behaved and complete angels at Disney World. Because if that were the case, you would get INCREDIBLY BORED.
Life is most fun and interesting when every day looks a little different. On my site, I talk about the recurring mama “groundhogs” day. When every day looks the same, you feel stuck. And, the exact same thing would happen if you lived your ideal day everyday.
So, at the end of the day (ideal or not), know that not every day is going to be a dream, even if you are working your dream job, or owning your dream business, or living your dream life. And that’s totally okay. Because then, every once in a while when you do have a day that looks like your ideal day, you have a MUCH greater appreciation for it and the work you’ve done to make it happen.
To all my driven mamas out there, you can.
Talk soon,
Jen
