Life-Design

Hello again, friends!

I missed you last week but it was essential for me to pause and simply be. My grandmother recently passed away and I needed time to sit with the news, to reconnect with family, and finally — to rest.

With the news of my grandmother’s passing, everything was put on hold for a little, as feelings demanded to be felt and surrendered to. The grieving process is a strange one, with unpredictable waves of peace, then disbelief, mixed in with pangs of sorrow that hit you out of nowhere. I’m not sure that I can (or ever) will fully comprehend the totality of losing someone you love, or of the sureness of death. We fall for forever every time, despite knowing that death is natural and will happen to us all — and generally, to our grandparents sooner rather than later. Still, it catches you off guard.

I wasn’t planning on fully delving into grief today. I wanted more so to connect on the issue of time. But the process of losing someone reawakened something in me. This need to be the observer in my life again — to take a step back, to reassess, and rebuild.

I’m recognizing more and more how the feeling of being constantly rushed, along with my own expectations of productivity had a hold of me, even though there was no need for the acute intensity of it all. Sure, the energy of modern life is quick and easy to become submerged in — but I have more control of my experience with time and productivity than I initially thought.

Life-Design:

Something I’m deeply passionate about is what I like to call “life design.” To me, it means being boldly intentional about our goals and desires and creating our own individual blueprint for how we want our lives to look like. Each person’s values and personality are unique, and the way the different facets of our lives come together (our careers, relationships, and schedules to name a few) should reflect that as best as possible.

If we’re not consciously aware of our own desires and value systems, it’s easy to fall into societal conditioning and give into that gnawing pressure to do this or that on some sort of timeline — whether it be marrying by a certain age, or striving for a version of “success” you may not even agree upon.

The point of life design is to determine your own definition of success and of a good life. Not society’s. Not your family’s, nor your friends. It poses you to determine what is of most value to you, and to consider what you’re willing to do in order to reshape the way you structure your time and energy according to those values.

Part of my own journey has involved shedding what others expected of me — particularly the pressures I felt most strongly from my grandmother to succumb to a type of life I didn’t want to live.

In grandma’s ideal reality, I would’ve been a doctor, an accountant, or worked in any sort of office, honestly. Something conventional and easy to define. (She never understood what “life coaching” was, and I stopped trying to explain). I also would’ve been married to a handsome prince (literally, a prince) and stayed close to home, forever.

But my wild soul was stubborn and loud, and I answered its call, which took me around the globe, searching searching searching for my own version of a good life. Most of the time, that just meant freedom. Freedom to travel, to explore, and to be on a creative path. It then evolved to finding my purpose and turning my passions into a living, which is what I’m currently working on.

But the striving became too tiring. I demanded a lot of myself on a daily basis, struggled with comparison, and became worn out. Luckily, I didn’t fully burn-out, but I suspect I was headed there. This pace became my norm, my auto-pilot — until recently.

Every so often, life calls for a re-design.

These days, I am working on appreciating time. Not being so quick to spend it on accomplishing task after task, but really sulking in the moments. It looks like:

Giving myself the space to enjoy the process. Focusing on one thing at a time, and delving into one fraction of a project at once. Meditating for longer, allowing myself to do things for fun, or simply relishing in a cup of coffee or the way the sunshine feels on my skin after a long winter. It was a decision to redefine success as the enjoyment of the little moments that make up a day; a lifetime.

The days feel longer, with more profound focus, and there’s been a birthing of new ideas. Overall, it’s a better relationship with myself and with time. I can breathe, and remember that it was never a race to begin with, it was more like a road trip headed home.

xxGabriela

Radical Optimism

It’s a gorgeous day in New York today. The sun has broken through winter and the air is refreshing rather than bitter cold. My body is singing.

I’ve been working on a new website and thinking more about “my story” and what has given me the courage to make moves in life. Why have I lived in various places, traveled (oftentimes alone), given my all to love, and “put myself out there” in ways that were sometimes scary and uncomfortable? Why do I dream big and why do I believe in myself? It feels a little scary to admit, but I do, and I wish that for you, too.

Oftentimes it’s good ‘ole optimism! Whenever I take a leap of faith, I believe things will work out for the best, and that if I do come across any challenges, that I can find the silver lining in them and grow.

I’m the type of person who is more afraid of regretting what I didn’t do in this life rather than what I did do. Meaning, I’d rather lunge forward and try a lot of things/see a lot of places, then to play it safe and stick to what I know. I consider myself to be a risk-taker and make decisions based on my heart’s desires.

It’s not always easy to live this way. I have struggled with feeling misunderstood by others, as though my choices were a little crazy sometimes. My family has worried for me plenty of times, and though they truly love me, I’ve felt pressured to make “safe” choices, mostly when it comes to my career. A steady 9–5 was always more rewarded than trying to create my own business or taking time off to travel and live abroad.

I’m highly stubborn though, and know what I am capable of: creating a life by design. I believe that we can (and should) thoughtfully make choices that move us closer to our ideal lifestyle, regardless of how those choices may look like to others. This is about creating our own definition of a good life. Not society’s. Not our family’s, nor our friends’. For me, it means having the time and the luxury to be creative everyday, sharing my message with the world, inspiring and helping others on their journey to an authentic life.

I’m radically optimistic that we can have it all.

Instagram Inspo:

Optimism is a guiding light; a perspective that opens doors, and lends you the courage to take massive action and leaps of faith. Optimism has ignited me to move, to travel the world, to fall in love and to take creative risks among many other things.

There’s been plenty of times I’ve felt the pressure to be more “realistic,” whether it was coming from individuals or society as a whole. There’s a push to settle for what’s safe and known rather than to venture out and choose your own creative path, building a life that’s authentic to You. Doing You, Being You, and living a life by design is a form of rebellion. Knowing you were made for greatness is a form of rebellion. Shoot your shot. Be the light. The world needs your optimism.

Creating Mini Goals

Happy Friday!

I’ve missed writing and connecting with you all! The more time I take away from doing it, the harder it becomes. I start second guessing myself and thinking of reasons why this isn’t the best time to write.

As a creative, I often struggle with the middle ground between creating on my terms and maintaining discipline. I have all these amazing ideas about work I’d like to complete and put out to the world, yet taking consistent action is tough. I like to take things day by day, enjoy the spontaneity of the present moment and simply create when I feel like it or have the energy.

The problem is, I don’t end up taking that much action or bringing my ideas to life. Even though I’m learning on a soul level that productivity does not define my value (I wrote about this previously), I can’t deny that my desire to express and share with the world is a part of my fiber, and brings meaning and purpose to my life. So when life speeds by me and I find I haven’t worked towards my most important goals, I end up feeling frustrated.

Can you relate?

The most effective game plan will push me to get sh*t done while not feeling bogged down by “work.”

I’ve been able to do this effectively with exercise. I always wanted to have a work out routine but never seemed to make time for it. I thought I had to go to a gym or a class and spend at least an hour there, plus the time traveling there and back. This idea didn’t suit my schedule nor was it something I actually wanted to do.

I simplified it so much for myself. For about a month now I’ve been exercising at home (or in my hotel rooms) for just 10-15 minutes a day. I simply lay out my yoga mat, put on an exercise YouTube video to follow along, and knock it out. My body thanks me for it and I end up feeling accomplished every time because I’ve set myself up for success.

When I have an exceptionally early start to the day or feel exhausted, I skip out on it and pick it back up the next day, without attaching any guilt to it. I try to listen to my body and respect when it just needs sleep or rest.

I can happily say I’ve made working out part of my routine, even if this is simply a baby step, though I actually don’t feel the need or desire to push myself to do more right now.

What I’d like to work on now is making my creative projects a part of my weekly routine. I’m challenging myself to work 10 hours a week on my “side hustle.” 10 hours seems like a doable goal, yet it will also push me to potentially create a lot more than I have before. Having a weekly goal instead of a daily one also allows the wiggle room to simply relax some days.

Tracking the time I work on my projects and watching each hour chip away at my weekly goal is both motivating and encouraging.

If you’re in a similar boat and know that there are some areas in your life where you want to start seeing progress, try this out with me.

How can you create mini goals towards your desired outcome?

It’s important to also treat this as an experiment and have fun, while not feeling bad about yourself if for some reason the mini goals are too much and you need to scale back a little.

It’s all about collecting data and figuring out what works for you.

Let’s support one another on this journey. I’d love to hear about what you’re working on and whether this resonated with you.

Love always,

Gabriela

Let the new chapter begin.

Happy Monday, everyone! Mondays are sort of strange for me these days, I’m actually excited for them! After taking it easy on the weekend and spending quality time with my partner and foster doggy, I know it’s time for me to get back to my work.

This Monday is special because I am launching an updated website, that feels more like me. I believe my current mission to is to see how my coaching business can positively impact others and change my life. There’s a fire in my belly, urging me to get this work out, and see what type of feedback I receive from the world.

Throughout this journey, I’ve stumbled with my own self confidence. I’ve thought: who am I to be doing this–to be coaching? Or, how can I just decide to start my own business and dictate my own life and schedule? Sometimes I felt like I was living in my own fantasy, waiting for the bubble to burst.

For months now, I have been experimenting and learning. I hired a business coach and took several courses, worked thoroughly on my own self-development and came to the conclusion that now it is time for my own inner-guidance to take the lead. From this point on, I am trusting myself to know best & to take forward only the information and lessons that resonate with me.

The truth is, after listening and experimenting with so many other opinions on how to grow this business, I’ve been waiting to give birth to my mission in a way that feels authentic to me.

The re-vamp of my website represents this new chapter. It was created to express what feels true in my heart: I want to help others connect to their inner-guidance and live joyous lives, and I am bringing forth the confidence that I am prepared to do it.

Love,

Gabriela

An Invitation to My Journey

Sharing, I’ve come to realize is one of the things I’m always certain to be excited about no matter how much I grow and change throughout the years.

Since I was little, I’ve often fantasized about having an audience to share with. Whether it be a song, a dance, a poem or a spiritual lesson, bringing my unique take to the world has always been important.

I assume it’s a natural desire to have a space to share your ideas, and the chance to inspire and be understood.

I believe that our dreams and desires are guides. They are places on a map, if you will, that you are called to try and get to. I can’t imagine how heartbroken and confined I’d feel if I I let those dreams just sit there and rot. If I pushed them to the side, over and over again to try and be “realistic.”

It’s a blessing and a curse, to be stubborn against all the world’s notions of “reality” and fight for your right to dream large, to stumble, and to build yourself up, over and over again.

If I know anything about myself, it’s that I’m a dream chaser. One of my longings includes to write, and to inspire, so here I am–treading along this vast journey of mine.

I invite you to join me on this ride of gaining clarity and precision on exactly what I want, on finding and exploring the tools to get there, and creating a freedom-based lifestyle, where I have the time (and funds!) to make this a joyous, authentic life.

Sounds doable, right? 🙂 That’s what I keep telling myself.