Since beginning my interior design business about a decade ago, I’ve used the term “Living by Design”. It is not something I consciously coined and marketed, but rather was a philosophy I adopted for myself. It is what kind of kicked off my Monday Motivation blog posts – basically just trying to live my life intentionally. And if I can inspire others to do so, we are all better off!

I believe life is all about design, and I’m not talking about just interior design.  Living by Design is about identifying what you want and DESIGNING a plan to accomplish it, whether it be fitness, health, sales, business, your home, your family, faith or fun. If it influences your life, you have power to design it.

I was very intentional in making a choice to design my life when we made the decision to adopt a newborn this year. This was a big picture intent, because I stopped to imagine what I would regret if I met the person I could have become (read more on that HERE). And ultimately, I realized that I wanted my life to include a child.

But Living by Design is just as applicable as as intentionally cutting sugar out of your diet, or adding a side hustle to create some extra income or to stop swearing (this last one also comes with bringing a child into your life  – haha!). Big and little changes can make an impact on your life.

Living by Design is to intentionally create a life that means something to you.  At some point in our lives, most of us get caught up in worrying what other people think of us. AmIRight? Maybe it’s our parents or friends or our co-workers…or that hottie at the gym. Admit it, we have all done or said something – or dressed a certain way – motivated by what even a stranger would think of us. Admittedly, I was  momentarily concerned about what people would think of me adopting a newborn at 48 years old. It’s not normal. But WHO defines normal anyway? What is right for me may not be right for you. And vice versa. So stop worrying about what others think.

What Living by Design really comes down to is creating a life that feels good to YOU.

You may not end up with the exact life you have envisioned, but eventually, you have to learn to trust yourself and listen to what feels right. Yes, listen to that feeling…your instincts are usually right on point, but sometimes they don’t line up with our preconceived notion of what we’re supposed to be doing so we ignore them.

There is something magical that happens when you let go of what you believe your life “should” look like and dig into what really means something to you. In the end, you will probably end up with a life that is more amazing than you originally imagined!

This process is not unlike designing a home for one of our clients: you have to begin with the end in mind and then work into that with the elements needed. Step by step you build a space or a life that you WANT to spend time in. A well designed room has to FEEL good to come home to, and not just LOOK good as you enter the room. Who wants to come home after a long day and lie down to rest their weary body on a couch that looks really really pretty but is as hard as a rock?

Now that you know what it means to Live by Design, examine your life. In what areas of your life do you want to “be” somebody different? But note, that somebody is you – only better. Make the choice. Because it’s your life to design.