Giving Yourself Permission to Live a Wholehearted Life

September 6, 2016

When I embarked on my summer of intentional slowness, I was fearful, friend. I was afraid that working fewer hours would mean I wouldn’t be able to accomplish as much. I was afraid that taking miniature breaks from social media would result in fewer inquiries and, as a result, fewer clients. Most of all, I was afraid of walking into the unknown. If I’m being honest, I don’t know anyone among my creative industry friends who have taken a pseudo-summer break! I have colleagues and friends who have rocked the multiple month long sabbatical, traveling to secluded destinations in search of rest, refresh and a renewed perspective. But I didn’t know anyone who essentially cut their working hours in half for three months straight in order to be more present in their personal life. And I ultimately wondered that if I wanted this thing, this flow of work and life that none of my friends had tried, that perhaps what I wanted was so far outside what a proper boss lady does that it would fail. That I would fail.

giving yourself to live your wholehearted life + creative a life (and business!) that brings you joy | b is for bonnie design

For as silly as it sounds, there was a part of me that wanted to know that others had gone before me in this half crazy, half brave rhythm of work and life. I’d become so used to seeing what looked like the successful flow of life, the profitable flow of business, on social media that it made me stop dead in my tracks to discover there was no roadmap for the route I wanted to take. And that gave me more than a little anxiety, friend!

That is, until I found comfort in the truth that what I want for my life doesn’t have to look like what I see on Instagram, or what my colleagues are doing, or what I read in the newest business book. I didn’t need a blog post on how to take back my summer in order to dive headfirst into an approach that I already knew I wanted. Within my heart, I already knew what I needed from this season of slowness. I just had to give myself the permission to go after it.

Know this, friend — you are different, and that is such a powerful truth! Understand that you work differently, you view the work differently, you process information and experiences in different ways, and you play, rest and refocus in ways that are wholly unique to you. For all the wonderful things that social media has brought into our lives, I feel it’s never been easier for others to insert their opinions, beliefs and ideas in our lives in such a way that we feel our lives, days or businesses should look like that. And the more we see what others think we should be doing all around us, the more we begin to doubt that we can truly create a life, or a business, that lives up to our vision of success.

If we’re ever going to break free from that opinion overload and run wholeheartedly after an approach to work and life that is exactly what we want, we’re going to have to go off the map a bit. What we want may not have been done before, and we’ll need to forge our own trial ahead as we go. With that in mind, I encourage you to focus on creating a life (and business!) that plays to your strengths, embraces your nuances, and allows you to be embracing who you are fully.

Your work hours may look different.

Your workflow may not be conventional.

Your priorities, goals and strategy for growth may be smaller, slower or quieter than what we hear shouted from the rooftops of social media.

Your sense of work/life balance may not look like some Pinterest-worthy snapshot.

And that’s all okay.

If you’re going to build a business that gives you the space, profits and fulfillment to live your life wholeheartedly, then you have to first give yourself permission to chase with reckless abandon after your ideal life. Not the life that Pinterest tries to sell you, not the life that your best friend thinks you need, and not even the life that I want for you. You get to create a bold, beautiful and rich life that lives up to your expectations, and your business should fit into that in intentional ways, too.

Once I gave myself the go-ahead to embrace what feels like a daring (and what felt like a slightly taboo) way of life and work, I discovered that the life and business I want most goes against the hustlin’ boss lady mentality I see everywhere online. My ideal business looks like working fewer hours so I can devote more of my time and energy to facets of my life like relationships, personal development, and a true pursuit of joy. It’s quiet, not too flashy, and intentional in every way. It’s a smaller client load so I can invest more fully in the clients I do work with. It’s fewer online courses so I can ensure the quality of my content is truly game-changing. It’s a commitment to keeping the Illume Retreat small and intimate in order to preserve the integrity of that experience. It’s not six-figure years or dozens of speaking opportunities or a million Instagram followers. My ideal business exists to bless the lives of those that I serve without compromising the quality of my own life. Because at the end of my days, I want a life that wasn’t wrapped up in the successes or failures of my work.

And you know what, lovely? That may not be your heart’s deepest desire. You may long for something bigger and bolder. And I think that’s fantastic! Only you know the kind of life that fires you up, brings you fulfillment and allows you to fully embrace your values, talents and goals. And only you know the kind of business that fits into that seamlessly. I think that as long as you’re giving yourself the permission to pursue that brave way of work and life then you’re well on your way to creating your life’s best work.

I hope to see you later this week for the third installment of this series, friend!

Check out the post that started it all here

  1. […] series of intentional choices and mindset shifts yielded big results for my life and work, and that you truly have the permission you need to carve out the life that you want, let’s define what that looks like for you, boss lady! It’s […]

  2. […] miss a post in this series! Part I, Part II and Part […]

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My name is Bonnie – I’m a brand designer, strategist, and writer which all adds up to one eclectic conglomeration of qualities that enables me to serve you well! Past clients have dubbed me "the Joanna Gaines of brand design," and I've had more than a few call me a dream maker, a game changer, and a design wizard (my Harry Potter-loving heart didn't hate that one, let me tell you!). At the end of the day, I'm a big-hearted creative who will get teary-eyed as you share the heart behind your business; who will lose sleep over the perfect font pairings and color selections to bring your brand to life visually; and who will work tirelessly to empower, encourage, and equip you to share your work with the world intentionally. 

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