I come from a background of residential construction. My father was a plumber and so was his father. I had a painting business for several years prior to becoming a coach and speaker. One of the questions that I was frequently asked was “What colour should I use?” I would always respond with “how will you be using the room and what do you want the room to feel like?”
If say for instance, you want to your kitchen to be a lively and energetic place, then paint it yellow as one client did. However, she chose a bright school bus yellow and with 4 kids, 2 dogs, a full-time job and going back to school part-time, it was no wonder that she felt a little stressed every time she entered that room!
Several times my clients would just pick a colour and then after they saw it on the wall would realize that the colour was not exactly what they were looking for and I would have to start again. If they had been willing to work with me and spend a little time in the planning, it would have saved us both aggravation and them money.
Planning out what we want our life to look like takes time but it keeps us from wasting our precious time and can save us a great deal of heartache. How many people do you know that married and are now divorced because they were no longer quite right for each other? Or as many of my peers have found, invested time and money into developing a career only to find that they are frustrated and disappointed.
A friend of mine has gone through a number of businesses and careers over her lifetime. She thought she had finally found the right one but decided to invest in a coach to make sure it was right. She is now glad she did. She found out that her “dream job” was not not a good fit for her. By working with her coach, she was able to find another path that suited her much better and she is now extremely happy that she made that investment.
Be deliberate in the design of your environment. That means not just your physical environment. What you decorate with, and what other things and people you surround yourself with. But also what thoughts you think and what books you read. What shows you watch. Your internal and external environment.
Be deliberate in the design of your life. Life is too short to be anything but happy.