what does that even mean?
Taking ownership in designing your current life.
You may not be in a place to be able to completely change or control all of your time, because of bills/not being able to quit your 9 to 5 yet, etc, but you can try design your current life in a way that minimises the effects your 9 to 5 has on your time, energy and wellbeing. This, so you can live more fulfilled, have a fuller cup, and have more of yourself to give to creating your dream life.
Here, we talk about minimising any negative effects our full-time job may have in our life, in our self, and in our energy.
gratitude
First off, we need to increase our feelings of gratitude.
Why? Because:
- our current life is already a dream.
- there is so much beauty in the present moment.
- we need to appreciate what we have now, that we might not have in the future.
- we need to reframe our definition of a fulfilled life, because we can live a fulfilled life, even with a 9 to 5; redefined to: as fulfilled as can be.
This is a mindset shift to truly help us appreciate more of what we already have, and are already experiencing, instead of always thinking ahead, or feeling like we are chasing something that is not quite tangible yet.
Here, in her Full Effect, we want to truly enjoy our current life in the process of creating more of our dream life.
We don’t want to put our heads down during our 20s, and only allow ourselves to enjoy life once we achieve a certain milestone or goal, because life is happening all the time, as we speak, and we don’t want to miss out on it.
We want to live life to the fullest every step of the way; even during steps where it might not feel as fun to embrace; such as working a 9 to 5 you don’t enjoy.
detachment
You are not your 9 to 5, and your 9 to 5 is not you.
Do not self-identify as your full-time job; this all flows into detachment, and the powerful benefits from creating firm boundaries within your life, and self-identity, away from your full-time job.
We do not live to work, as girlies in our 20s, and we don’t work to live either.
We work as a temporary means, whilst something greater is being created in the background (through crafting your dream life, in the midst of it all).
Life is still happening, and what happens at the 9 to 5 doesn’t matter as much as what you think. Ofcourse, if this full-time job takes a massive toll on your mental health, I would advise changing, so that you can enjoy the process of life in your 20s slightly more. However, this is not about finding a full-time job you enjoy, because that’s not what any of us, here, are about.
I am talking about finding something you can put up with, for the time being, if your current job isn’t it already.
If your 9 to 5 is toxic, there is no way any of these steps are going to minimise that for you. This is the first realisation and decision you need to come by. If it’s not toxic, but you just don’t enjoy it at all, then the following will help ease you.
create your individuality from your 9 to 5
This is all about paving a more definitive path of who you are, that does not involve your 9 to 5 job.
And no, I am not about to tell you to do the most after work, and in your free time, because besides creating your dream life, and business online, you do also need some downtime.
This is about designing your individuality in the way that is true to you.
actionable examples
Here, are some ways you can do this, so you can better understand what I mean:
- Make a list of what brings you joy: for me this would be coffees/going to a café, time with loved ones, hobbies, trying out healthy sweet treat recipes, and so on.
We are doing this to balance our life more, so that it isn’t all about our 9 to 5, or constantly hustling to be successful online. - Each day be aware and think about what you’re looking forward to that day: (or add in something from your joy list above). Maybe it’s simply leaving the 9 to 5 to go home, or grabbing your favourite coffee during lunch, or calling your family after work, or having a delicious meal for dinner, or watching your favourite movie before sleep.
NO MATTER how small or big the action, let it fill you with joy. That is the KEY here!
For others, it may look slightly more social, or outdoors-y, such as looking forward to seeing a friend after work, or trying a new workout class on the weekend. My point is that creating your individuality from your 9 to 5 does not have to drain you, and use up every last second of your free time.
In my other blog post “How To Make Time Creating Your Dream Life Outside of your 9 to 5” you can more deeply follow the breakdown questions that help guide you in prioritising your joy and, time outside of a full-time job.
- Schedule time to be bored (downtime): it is good to be bored sometimes, and to sit in this space. We are so over-stimulated at-times, specially if your dream life consists of an online business (which I’m assuming if you’re here, it is), that it is good to combat that with time to simply do nothing, have no expectations on yourself.
This will enable your creative ideas to come back in even fuller force after you prioritise rest. - Quality over quantity: we don’t have much free time as girlies in our 20s, so finding time can be hard, to work on our online businesses, let alone to create a social life outside of it all.
The main concept here is to focus on the quality, since if something brings you joy, even if you only do it for 10-minutes, it will already break-up your routine, and feed positive energy back into you! - Tunnel Vision: constantly remind yourself that your 9 to 5 is TEMPORARY. This one here is all about reassuring yourself, so that when the biggest negative effects of your 9 to 5 kick-in, like those sunday scaries, monday blues, fighting your alarm each morning, putting up with unnecessary or unfair stress in the workplace, you KNOW that this is simply a phase.
Find peace in that.
You will be looking back in the near future, laughing at what you had to put up with, compared to where you will be.
You will feel empowered and proud of yourself.
You will feel SO grateful to have not given up, and to have kept going, even when you felt like you had no clue what you were doing.
I go into more detail on how I try to self-soothe, and sharpen my tunnel vision and detachment, in my other blog post “Build Your Dream Life Whilst Working 9 to 5″ here.
paving your identity
All that we have discussed, encourages you to be more intentional with how you live your life, in order to feel your most fulfilled self.
Knowing more of who you are, and what works for you, will work in your favour if you know how to be mindful and self-aware of how to implement those stress-relievers, and joy-fillers, into your daily routine, so that you can have a happier life, whilst still building more of your dream life.
Paving your identity, with the steps discussed throughout our girl talk here, directs you to act in a more aligned way with your authentic self, and is the core of what we want to bring more out of in our 20s.
You are not your 9 to 5 job, and acting on this statement in your 20s, is what will minimise any negative stressors that come, as an effect, of your full-time job.
what it all comes down to
What we have discussed, is all to help you be more strengthened to appreciate the now, whilst moving forward towards an even dreamier life as a girlie in her 20s.
That’s what we are all about, the now, and always.
Comment your thoughts on the effects the 9 to 5 life has on you, and if you can relate with any of the above ways to make your 20s easier!