Your ideal life is one that is genuine, honest, and authentic. If you want to create an ideal life, you need to ask yourself, “What do I really want?”.
I didn’t always know what my ideal life looked like because I didn’t know what it was I truly wanted. If I’m being honest, I was also afraid to get what I really wanted out of life.
It became apparent as I grew older that although I achieved most of my life goals and thought I was living my ideal life, deep down I felt like I was living someone else’s ideal life.
If you’ve ever felt like you’re not living your ideal life, I’ll share 10 ways to live your ideal life to help you get started.
How to Live Your Ideal Life in 10 Ways.
Living your ideal life is a journey that requires self-discovery, self-awareness, and intentional action.
You have to be completely honest with yourself and go deep within to find out what makes up your ideal life.
In my personal experience, finding out what it is you want out of life can be easier said than done.
This is because we may have limiting beliefs that hold us back or there may be unpleasant emotions attached to the things we want.
So when you’re ready, take your time and use the following tips to help you create your ideal life.
1. Find What Makes You Happy
The first step to living your ideal life is to find what makes you happy.
You need to know what makes you happy because it can help you live a life that feels uplifting and satisfying.
Identify the things that make you happy on a daily basis and the goals you want to achieve that will make your life feel content and fulfilled.
One way to do this is to make a list of things that bring you joy each day. This could be spending time with friends & family, pursuing a hobby, or traveling the world.
Then make it a priority to do one or more of those things regularly.
Here’s an example of my personal list of joyful things. I discovered that it doesn’t take much to make you feel joyful & happy.
- Going for a morning walk.
- Eating a favorite healthy food.
- Laughing with friends.
- Stopping to admire a row of flowers.
- Listening closely to birds chirping.
When you create a joy list and start doing them regularly, you will discover other things that resonate and align with your values.
The more you practice, the more you discover who you really are, and the more you create an ideal life.
2. Figure Out Who You Are
To live your ideal life, you need to know who you are. If you don’t know yourself very well, you can embark on a self-discovery journey.
Self-discovery is an ongoing process that involves exploring your values, beliefs, and personality.
I discovered that although the journey doesn’t completely end, there are some things in my life that don’t change, like my core beliefs and values.
These are the things that are worth exploring if you want to create a life that truly resonates with who you are.
Take some time to reflect on what makes you unique and embrace your individuality. You can start by answering the following questions to discover yourself:
- What do I truly love?
- What makes me forget the time?
- If I could live anywhere, where would it be?
- What makes me feel uplifted?
- What drains my energy?
If you want guidance on finding your true self, you can answer 100 self-discovery journal prompts to connect more deeply with yourself so you can create a life that is aligned with your values & beliefs.
Or you can download and print the following self-discovery questions below:
3. Find Your Purpose
Your purpose in life is the reason why you do the things that you do. In my experience, having a purpose involves being of service to others, whether directly or indirectly.
Having a sense of purpose is essential to living your ideal life because it can help you carry out your life’s mission, especially when the going gets tough.
Having a purpose can also help you live a higher quality of life. To figure out your purpose in life, you can start by identifying what you are passionate about.
Your passions could be your hobbies, interests, or occupation. It could even be a passion project that you always wanted to try.
If you grow tired or don’t like your passion after trying it, you can move on to another one and keep going until you find one you can turn into your purpose.
4. Make a List of Passions
A passion is something you enjoy and you do it regularly. If you don’t know what to do with your life and you want to find out what you’re passionate about, you can make a list of passions, aka things you love, and find ways to pursue them.
Here are just a few examples of passions to help you get started:
- Scrapbooking
- Gardening
- Birdwatching
- Traveling
- Dancing
- Coaching
- Mentoring
- Nursing
- Building
- Writing
- Meditating
- healing
Pursuing something that you’re passionate about can help you create an ideal life that feels happier, more meaningful, and more satisfying.
5. Create a List of Values
Your core values are the things that matter to you the most. It’s important to identify your values if you want to create your ideal life.
Living in alignment with your values can help you set priorities, have greater clarity, and have more direction.
It can also help you boost your happiness, feel more successful, and live a life that feels authentic and purposeful.
Here’s an example of a table of values to help you get started with your personal core values:
| Family | Love |
| Friendship | Faith |
| Creativity | Health |
| Money | Integrity |
| Freedom | Achievement |
| Pleasure | Security |
6. Make a List of What You Like & Dislike
Knowing what you like and dislike can help you increase your self-awareness and get to know yourself better.
It sounds so basic, but knowing what you like and dislike can help you live your ideal life because you will know exactly what you want to keep in your life and what you can let go of.
Knowing this can help you create personal boundaries so you’re not giving your time and energy to things that drain you or won’t add value to your life.
Being more aware of your likes and dislikes can also help you make decisions on how you want to live your ideal life.
It brings to light the things that bring joy to your life as well as the things that can have a negative effect on you.
Take some time to make a list of what you like and dislike to help you make informed decisions about how you spend your time and energy.
Eliminate activities and relationships that you don’t like so you can focus on the things that you do like.
7. Do Some Shadow Work
Shadow work involves exploring the parts of yourself that you may have repressed, denied, or may not even be aware of.
This could include things like limiting beliefs, negative emotions, or unpleasant experiences.
By acknowledging these parts of yourself, you can become more self-aware and live a more authentic life.
Shadow work brings to light the things that you may have been afraid of in the past. It can be hard work so be sure you ask for help if it gets difficult.
Shadow work can be healing by bringing your shadow parts to light and reintegrating them back into your system.
You can start by asking questions that you normally would not ask yourself such as
- What is a secret talent that I keep from others?
- What is a belief that keeps me from taking action?
- What is something that I always wanted to try but have been afraid to?
If you want to know more about your shadow self, you can answer these shadow work prompts and keep them in a journal.
Or you can download a helpful guide by filling out the form down below:
8. Know What Your Soul Wants
Your soul is intangible and it is separate from your physical, mental, and emotional self.
Knowing what your soul wants can help you live your ideal life because your soul, also known as your spirit, comes from within and knows your truth.
Take some time to connect with your soul and listen to its guidance. This could be through meditation, spending time alone, or self-reflecting.
You can start a self-reflection practice through writing to know what your soul wants and create your ideal life.
You can start writing morning pages, which is freestyle journaling without filters, to get to know yourself better.
Or you can write down your answers to journal prompts like:
- What makes me feel uplifted?
- What makes me feel free?
- What makes me feel like I have a purpose?
- What do I love so much I would do it for free?
- What makes me feel at peace and at ease?
If you need a guide on how to know yourself better, check out the following guide to find your identity, purpose, and more.
Just fill out the form below to download & print your guide.
9. Be Your Authentic Self
Living your ideal life requires you to be your authentic self, which isn’t an easy thing to do because it could mean exposing parts of yourself that you may not want to.
Things like your quirks, beliefs, style, flaws, and imperfections.
Though it is hard, it can feel liberating to be your authentic self. Being your true self could mean:
- Letting go of the need to please others
- Letting go of the need for approval & validation outside of yourself
- Attracting people who like you for who you are
- Taking advantage of opportunities that align with your true self.
The sooner you embrace and embody your true self, the better you’ll be at living your ideal life.
10. Become the Person You Want to Be
Knowing who you want to become is a path that can lead to your ideal life.
Becoming the person you always wanted to be could mean:
- Letting go of what is not you.
- Embracing your true self.
- Defining exactly what you want to be.
- Having a vision of your ideal life.
- Creating goals that align with your vision.
- Taking action toward becoming your true self.
The road isn’t easy, but it’s worthwhile because when you become the person you always wanted to be, you can align with your true values & purpose, which can lead you to your ideal life.
Any of these 10 tips I just shared can help you get your life together and lead to the perfect lifestyle for yourself.
An Ideal Life vs Real Life
An Ideal Life
In an ideal lifestyle, you have the freedom to pursue your passions and interests without the constraints of financial or societal pressures.
When you visualize your ideal life, you create more opportunities to live it. Crafting a plan from your vision can give you a step-by-step process to making your ideal life a reality.
Even though you may not reach it, creating a vision of your ideal life can give you a real sense of purpose and direction.
Real Life
Real life, on the other hand, could feel constricting and limiting. You may not even be aware of life’s limitations and constrictions.
This is because when you come into the world, you are born into certain circumstances that are beyond your control.
These things are not your fault but they can nevertheless affect your reality. This is why we can’t ignore our real lives.
As hard as it can be to accept reality, and as much as we’d like to live up to our ideals, things don’t always work out the way we want.
So we need to embrace both our ideals and our reality. It helps create balance in our lives as we learn, grow, explore, and evolve through it.
Why It’s Important to Live Your Ideal Life.
It’s important to live your ideal life because it creates an opportunity to live a life that aligns with your beliefs, values, and passions.
Living your ideal life could mean having more focus & direction, contentment & satisfaction, more happiness, and personal growth & transformation.
Focus and Direction
Living an ideal life could mean having a clear plan and vision for your future. A clear plan can give you more focus & direction, motivation, and clear goals to work towards.
Contentment and Satisfaction.
An ideal life could mean opening a door to greater contentment and satisfaction because you’re creating a life that feels more genuine and fulfilling.
It could mean taking care of yourself physically, emotionally, and mentally. It could also mean creating a work-life balance that allows you to enjoy your life outside of work.
Happiness
Having a strategy to reach your ideal life could mean greater happiness because you’re doing what you love.
When you are you are doing what you love, you create a trajectory toward a path of contentment and fulfillment.
Personal Growth & Transformation
Living your ideal life could mean constantly striving to improve yourself and your circumstances.
This can create a sense of progress in your life and provide motivation toward achieving your goals.
These are essential for personal growth & transformation and living a life that you truly enjoy.
More Ways to Live Your Ideal Life.
Living your ideal life is important for personal growth, motivation, fulfillment, and happiness.
It’s about creating a lifestyle that aligns with your values, passions, and goals so you can create your dream life. It’s not about achieving perfection, but rather finding happiness and fulfillment in the journey.
If you want to get to know your true self, learn how to start your own self-discovery journey with 5 powerful questions.
If you want to know your heart’s greatest wishes & desires, learn what it means to follow your bliss in 6 simple steps.
Finally, if you want to know who you really are, find your identity and learn how it can have an impact on your life.
