Sorry, I Can't, It's Aspirational Lifestyle Week!
I faked it until I maked it all the way to the moon!!!
This year is NO! GOOD! And we're only in February! It's rough out there and I got myself into a real nasty headspace. All the sudden I realized that I was either working or rotting on the couch. There was no mental space for anything.
Work felt overwhelming. I was procrastinating more than doing. Moving my body? Not anymore! Any kind of mental recharge? Nah! Nutrition? Tummy aches daily! My sense of purpose and any kind of feeling of control was gonzo. Bye bye!
I felt stuck, detached from myself, like I was actually rotting. Not in a fun, enjoy some cozy social media time on the sofa kinda way. Like, legitimately rotting. My brain was turning into an unsafe space. I could feel its chemistry changing. I knew I needed to make a change, but every step felt hard. And you know how it goes, right? Once you’ve abandoned the gym or stopped doing the things that make you feel good, starting again feels impossible. Everyday was the same pattern: excuse, guilt, excuse, guilt.
But I really didn’t want to be stuck anymore! I wanted to do! To live! To feel like me again! I just didn't feel strong enough to actually convince myself to do it, ya know? That Sunday, I finally decided that I couldn't take it anymore! I sat down at my dining table, cracked open my laptop, and wrote out my, hopefully attainable, aspirational lifestyle. The version of how I wanted my weeks to look if I actually felt my best, made all the "right" decisions, and followed through with them all. Then, I decided I’d live that aspirational life no matter what. A real fake-it-till-I-make-it kind of experience. Enter…Aspirational! Lifestyle! Week!
That Sunday, here's what I wrote down for my Aspirational Lifestyle Week goal...
For the next week I’ll:
Hit the gym 5 times.
Crush my work tasks without pushing anything to the following week.
Go on 2 big adventures to try new things.
Leave space for spontaneity (!!!).
Spend time with friends.
End the week with a relaxing AND productive weekend.
0-1 tummy aches (I'm a realist).
The goal was simple but intimidating all at once. Could I really get myself out of this funk? Could I actually follow through or would I just feel guilty all week long? Could I live like the best version of myself without getting in my own way?
The results? I HAVE RISEN!!!
Drumroll...Aspirational Lifestyle Week was a HUGE success! Are we surprised? Sometimes you just gotta pretend to be the best version of yourself and then it actually happens. It was messy, but I did it!
I went to the gym 5 times! Did I want to go every time? No. But every time my inner monologue started creeping in with "You don’t *really* have to go today," I shut it down with, "Sorry! I can’t! It’s Aspirational Lifestyle Week!" And BOOM, off to the gym I went.
I crushed my work tasks! Did my to-do list stand a chance? Absolutely not. I would start to poke around on Instagram.com (on desktop like a champ because I took it off my phone) and then immediately shut it down saying, "Sorry! I can’t! It’s Aspirational Lifestyle Week!".
Adventures? Oh, I had adventures, alright. I trekked ALL the way to the tippy top of Manhattan for an organ concert in a campy old church. It was a hairy one because I was going alone and had no one to hold me accountable. I almost bailed because it was so far away but, again, I screamed at myself, "I have to go! It’s Aspirational Lifestyle Week!". So I did. I also went a movie theater for a "Spoons, Toons & Booze" event, where they served unlimited cereal while playing cartoons from the ’90s. I'm honestly shocked I didn't get a tummy ache, but I did leave myself room for 1 just in case.
Spontaneity? You betcha! One day, I decided to work from a brewery instead of my desk, another I decided to hit my local book bar to pickup and start reading Happy City: Transforming Our Lives Through Urban Design, and then topped it off with an impromptu dinner out with friends!
Friend time? CHECK. Spent time with some wonderful humans who asked me how Aspirational Lifestyle Week was going, I got to update them, and then we went thrifting and ate some smoked potato tacos!
Tummy aches? NONE. Turns out, when you eat your yogurt and a fair amount of greens every day, it's easier for your body to process the occasional bean dip and 3+ bowls of all-you-can-eat cereal!
Was it a perfect week? Nope! I wrestled with my brain quite a bit. I almost bailed on some plans early on because I didn’t want to push myself out of my comfort zone. But "Sorry, I can’t! It’s Aspirational Lifestyle Week!" became my rallying cry. It stopped me from making a million excuses and kept me on track, even when I wanted to quit.
What I learned!
Living my aspirational lifestyle helped me feel better and gave me momentum! Now that I’ve seen what it feels like to live my days the way I actually want to, I don’t want to stop. I’ve conditioned myself to actually DO instead of ruminate endlessly on the concept of doing. One week can now turn into two, and then three, and four, and maybe even forever?!!
Listen, I get it. Not every week can look like Aspirational Lifestyle Week. You’re not going to magically wake up one day and have the perfect life. But this experiment reminded me that I can still be in control even when everything else in the world feels totally uncontrollable. Funks don't have to last a lifetime. Sometimes they're needed to recharge, to buffer, to short circuit for a minute. But funks can be incredibly hard to break through and this was a great way to get me out of mine!
If Aspirational Lifestyle Week resonated with you, take a second, close your eyes. Imagine your own aspirational lifestyle that you can technically obtain right now, even if it feels mentally difficult. What does that look like? What are EXACTLY the things that make you feel like YOU?
Now, write it down. Plan it out. You'll try to bail, that's okay. But then tell yourself, "Sorry! I can't! It's Aspirational Lifestyle Week!"
This week, focus on: making silly faces!
Maybe you're already living your aspirational lifestyle or maybe you don't want to. That's okay, just don’t underestimate the power of a little silliness! This week’s focus, whenever you catch yourself in front of a mirror, pause and make the silliest face you can! Go big, go goofy, and don’t hold back. Try the old faces you loved to make as a kid or invent entirely new ones. Do it just for you or send them to that friend you can be your weirdest self with.
See if you can make yourself or someone else laugh. Because sometimes? That moment of levity is all you need to remind yourself that you are alive and there is still joy to be had.
What the heck else I’m up to:
This week in Full Time You we building careers that afford us the time to do the activities that make us whole!
This week I’m speaking at the free virtual conference, Design Prom, (from Designer Boss Summit) along with Aaron Draplin, Annie Atkins, Goodtype, and more! You can go for free or use this link to get the VIP pass (access to a Q&A with me + $2k in free goodies).
I just got my plane ticket to Oklahoma City where I'll be speaking on The Power of Play and teaching a Full Time You workshop at MARCON next month! If you're in marketing, I'll see ya there.
Paid subscribers to The Big Slide are doing their first monthly adventure and I'm doing it too! It's all about spotting the things that are actually spotting YOU!? What does it all mean? Find out by joining the adventure with us, it's just $5/month, with a new adventure each month!
Love you lots!
Your buddy,
Meg!
I LOVE this! I’ve got much smaller goals as someone who has wound up with accidental agophobia post pandemic and getting out the door for 10 mins a day can feel like WORK! I will be shouting “ITS ASPIRATIONAL LIFESTYLE WEEK!” To myself (probably for longer than a week)
"when you eat your yogurt and a fair amount of greens every day" SO TRUE!! I feel so boring but it's what impacts the quality of my days the most because I don't have a constant tummy ache. THANK YOU FOR YOUR WORDS!