What if we dreamed about life as we want it to be and not what we’re led to believe it should be. 

I spent years being “too sensitive”, “too crazy”, “too much”, only to find out that actually, being ‘too’ of all these things is exactly who I am. I just think a little differently to others.

I’ve come to the understanding that “One Size Fits All” just doesn’t work. How can we all be unique and vibrant individuals if we’re all going down the same road, doing the same things and pretending to love it, just because that’s the way things are. It doesn’t make sense.

If I’m an auburn haired, left-hander with a penchant for good wine, the ocean, travelling and adventure, why on earth should I be on the same road as an auburn haired, left-hander who would rather stay home with her cats and a library full of movies about travelling and adventure, happy to work her nine to five. We’re the same age, same sex, have the same opportunities, live in the same city, yet we’re totally different. Our thought processes, our moral compasses, our beliefs all stem from elsewhere, yet we’re expected to take the same train to the identical destination. Piffle!

One of the greatest gifts I have received is the realisation that doing things like everyone else does, does not necessarily lead to the same conclusion. On the contrary, it is bound to look, feel, taste and be different. Why? Because we are different. 

One Size does not Fit All, so it’s time we stopped trying to squeeze into someone else’s ideal. It’s time we all found our own ‘fit’. 

We’re all unique and beautiful human beings who don't think or behave like everyone else - because we're not robots. We have our own thoughts and beliefs and our own unique way of doing things. Let’s celebrate this.

Our minds are constantly with us - they don’t go on holidays, there’s no early mark, there’s no 9 to 5. No, wherever we go they go, so it’s time to listen in and then have a conversation with them.

Right. Now.

It's a tricky instrument, the mind, and it can take a huge shift to come to terms with the fact that what’s going on in our minds is not real. It isn’t fact; it isn’t real; it’s all made up ‘stuff’ that our amazing imaginations create for us. The more vivid the imagination, the more involved the story becomes. Objectively, that sounds completely wonderful to have such a fabulous mind, but in reality it can cause us such angst and a sense of overwhelm.

So how do we get a handle on it?

Knowing that our thoughts are just that - thoughts - we can re-arrange them and assemble them to create a more positive outlook for ourselves and in turn, the ones we love.

So how do I want my life to look? 

If this is something you’ve grappled with, you’re not alone. I honestly believe that every single one of us at some stage - or many - in our lives has thought this, and here’s the thing, we’re somehow wired to do what we should do even if it’s at odds with what we want to do.

Not only that, if we do what’s expected often enough - and we do - we’re at risk of forgetting what it is we actually do want to do with our lives. 

So, what would happen if we took some time out, to consider what we want our lives to look like? I mean really look like. I know there’d be a wish list of things, because I have one.  It’s the list that for years was kept at bay and only came to the surface when I felt completely sad, with the sentence starting with “If only… " Then one day I stopped, re-evaluated and decided to do something different, be something different, and things began to change for the better.

I now understand that as soon as we realise that we only have to fit in for ourselves and nobody else, we are free to fit in any way we choose. Do what we choose, BE who we choose. It also means everyone around us gets the joy of us as we really are. 

How exciting is that!