Create Your Ideal Life Recipe — Part 1
You don’t have to sit on top of a mountain to discover what is right for you. You always know in your heart what you need to do. But you do have to ask yourself if you’re willing to make choices. Put yourself in a position where you’re making choices about your life, rather than letting other people make those choices for you. That’s what balance is all about.
~ Liz Dolan
While there may be no “recipe” for creating the ideal life, there are quality ingredients that help make our life experience richly rewarding. Use the list of questions below to decide on and gather the ingredients for your “ideal life recipe.” Simply read this chapter for now. Answering the questions is covered in the exercises section at the end. Be patient with the process of developing your recipe. Just like cooking, it may take some experimentation to arrive at the perfect ingredient mix. And, as with fine food, the act of creation can be as pleasurable as the final result. Bon appétit! Enjoy the first three “ingredients.”
Who am I?
The main ingredient in your ideal life “recipe” is you. Knowing yourself is key to selecting all the other ingredients. Your answers to this question help identify your values and reveal important relationships. For example, some of my roles in life include wife, businesswoman, vegetarian, mother to six cats, trail runner, and backpacker. Looking beneath these roles, you can see some of my values—independence, intimacy, health, being connected to nature, loving animals. When you answer this question, remember to go beyond your occupation to really tell “who” you are.
What am I passionate about?
A life without passion and meaning is like a hot fudge ice cream sundae without the hot fudge. Answering this question helps you recognize what sparks your internal fire. You can use these ingredients to add flavor and zest to your life. Perhaps the items you pinpoint will help you create a list for playtime activities. Or you might sprinkle them into the mix to brighten your life when it has become dull. By focusing on your passions, you are pulled through life rather than pushing and prodding yourself to achieve goals that you don’t truly care about.
What qualities do the people I admire possess?
This question can be an inspiring journey toward finding the ingredients you are already comfortable using, as well as ingredients with which you might like to experiment. While the question asks you to list qualities of other people, it provides a back door to identifying your own strengths, which can sometimes be a challenge. Your responses also highlight characteristics that you might like to develop in yourself. For instance, a man who admires the group Doctors Without Borders for their “courage, resourcefulness, compassion, and tenacity,” might rediscover his own resourcefulness and compassion. Considering his answer to this question, he may also decide that he’d like to display more tenacity in achieving his goals.
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[…] Ready to start creating a truly delicious nutritious life? Here are ingredients 4-7 for your ideal life recipe. Part 1 of the recipe can be found here. […]
Pingback by Lavender Log: Thoughts on Living an Inspired Life » Create Your Ideal Life Recipe — Part 2 — August 16, 2006 @ 8:24 am
[…] Here are the final three tips for creating a satisfying life that fits you to a “T.” Reduce stress, get the love you want, and live your life to the fullest with these tips. The rest of this recipe list appears in two earlier posts–part 1 and part 2. Drop a comment with your suggestion of an ingredient for your “ideal life recipe.” Do I have enough time just for me? Whether you’re an introvert or extrovert, time alone is essential for your spiritual and emotional well-being. Start experimenting to discover how much time and space YOU truly need. You might find out that you prefer several types of alone time (e.g., to reconnect with your source, to create and exercise your right brain, to journal and reflect, etc.). However you choose to spend your time, take this opportunity to learn how self-care will make everything in life come out better. Once you’ve found ways to nurture yourself, make sure to take time for you each day. […]
Pingback by Lavender Log: Thoughts on Living an Inspired Life » Create Your Ideal Life Recipe — Part 3 — August 19, 2006 @ 12:30 pm