Become an Expert at Life Design
What if you designed this life before you were even born? Imagine your light-being, soul-self sitting at a touch-screen drafting table designing the life you were about to lead. You shape the elements that compose your family dynamic, childhood, relationships and career. Now lift the lens on your own life and look down at it. Why would your soul design it this way? What are the major lessons and learnings of this life? If life isn’t about #winning, being pretty and landing hot dudes/girls, then what is it about? Design is often considered the work of engineers, architects, art directors or graphic designers. Designers take a vision in their heads and bring it to life.As humans, we unconsciously and consciously design our lives. We make our dreams our reality. The spiritual awakening process seems to be one in which we are born free, get hurt, build armor around ourselves for protection, and then spend all our time trying to get to that mythic state of “happiness/success.” The armor and beliefs we carry tend to get heavy, and when they do, we have to learn how to shrug them off and be free again. Somewhere in the taking off of our armor, we realize we are holding the pencil-- we are the ones who sketch our lives into being. The first step in becoming a life designer is to own it. You are the only one responsible for this magical, unique configuration of your life. In order to really own your designer status, you have to first heal from feeling like a victim of the world and learn to unconditionally love the human suit you are in. All self-judgment has to go. The next step is slowing down and asking the question, “What are my underlying assumptions for being alive?” (There is no right or wrong answer, it is a living inquiry.) Then, find what makes you come alive. Throw some shit against a wall, hang out with people that dream bigger and better than you do, hunt down a mentor and google weird ass things that light you up. Enjoy life.As you begin to integrate all the vulnerable parts hiding under that armor, you will begin to recognize your inherent worth and wholeness. You will tap into the biggest, baddest consigliere of them all-- your inner child. She is the resident expert of you, unfiltered in expression and manifestation. Before all the trauma that life threw at you, it is your inner child that knew the truth of who you really are. Find that person again-- chances are, she’s ready to play.Bristol Baughan is an Executive Producer of Emmy-winning and Oscar-Nominated films, author, and private coach. She is a TED Fellow and Founder of Inner Astronauts, a custom experience and private coaching company supporting people in coming more fully alive in service to the world. Bristol holds a B.A. in International Studies from the American University School of International Service and an M.A. in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica.