With my eyes and heart wide open

I can see some people read this blog and say “right, she’s just another bitter 30-something that didn’t get a guy and is now trying to convince herself it was a choice”.

Truth is, you might not be completely wrong. I mean, you’re definitely not completely right! I’m definitely not bitter!! I’m pretty sure everyone who knows me would agree that I’m a pretty happy and positive person. There is not much I am sure about but I can guarantee you I’m very happy with my life the way it is right now.

But hey, maybe if things had been a tiny little bit different at some point in my life, maybe I would be living the traditional life right now and be just as happy. Maybe, if I had met the right guy 6 years ago I would be married with two kids and a dog right now - actually, it would probably be 3 dogs, 4 cats and 1 kid ;) But yes, maybe I feel the way I do today because I didn’t manage to ‘catch’ a guy in time. Or maybe no guy ever managed to catch me because it was never meant to be. Who knows…

And maybe I’ll meet someone next week, next year or in five years and do the whole family thing after all. Or maybe something changes in my career and I find that I do want to be the hot-shot career chick after-all - with Prada bag and the killer heals (stumbling through a fancy office because I can’t really walk in heals…).

Me and my amazing sister on our way to Milford sound in february this year. 

The whole point of Live Done Differently is not to be different just to be different. It’s about doing what I want, what makes me happy and not what everyone else is doing and what is making everyone else happy. It’s about knowing the difference between what I want and what I think I want because everyone else seems to want it.

It’s about opening up to all the possibilities, discovering what life could be like. It’s about making decisions with intent – not out of habit.

And just as important, it’s also not about criticising others for their decisions. I truly believe that for the far majority of people, family and work really are the two things that matter most, the two things that make them happy and that bring meaning too their lives. And I think that’s beautiful.

But I also think there are many people who just follow that path in life because everyone else is. And not too long ago many people, especially women, didn’t even really have a choice. I consider myself very lucky that I have a choice. That I live at a time where I have options – probably more than I’m even aware of yet.

For me, a life done differently is not so much about what I end up doing with my life. It’s about the way I go about it, the way I think about it, the way I approach life.

It’s just that a “Life Approached Differently” didn’t sound quite as catchy…

Life Done Differently is about living with my eyes and heart wide open and exploring all the opportunities that present themselves.

And who knows, maybe I end up with a husband and five kids in the end - I’d still argue a bunch of cats and dogs and maybe a pony or two are more likely but who knows…