Should you redesign your kitchen... or your life? 5 steps you will need to take!

So you've been living in the same house for 20 -30 years now and you know the kitchen is totally outdated. You've been wanting to overhaul it for years. That dream kitchen is a crystal clear vision by now but a new one is expensive and messy and time consuming, all of which never fit in with your busy life. Well, the kids are gone now, you spend far less time cleaning up and carting them around, work is going well and wow you've managed to actually save some money so it's time to build that dream kitchen NOW right? No, you're still not ready? Why? Perhaps, you like those worn in counter stools that the kids sat in, it makes you feel like they are still there? ( holding on for sentimental value ) You don't really like change ? ( it's uncomfortable!) You have more important projects?( isn't there always one?) Retirements around the corner you don't want to spend the money NOW?( Fear of the future )

I've heard all these excuses and more in my career as a kitchen designer and realized it was just a metaphor for what is really going on inside the persons head and heart!

This is a good analogy for life at middle age! Many mid-lifers have been living and working in the same place, living with the same spouse, using the same life skills and exercising the same daily habits and routines, just plodding along but not necessarily living their dream life, or you need a new dream chapter to focus on. If there is a resounding "oh yeah that's me" or "yeah that's me" after you quieted the "oh that's now me voice of denial in your head" , then maybe your life needs a redesign more than that kitchen does.. or maybe that kitchen is part of your life redesign or upgrade!

Life redesign ..what' that going to take and where do I begin you might ask? For many it seems like a daunting idea and undertaking more than and exciting challenge and adventure. Many are tired and have lost their passion or drive , they have gone in to coasting mode. All the more reason to do it! It's no time for coasting and dull living!

Heck you are only at halftime. The game has a lot of playing time left! Go YOU!!

Let's continue with the kitchen redesign metaphor for the

5 steps needed to redesign or upgrade your life!

1. Do you have a vision? Have you entertained other ways of living life? What are the places, people and things you want in it? Have you looked at others lives and said ooh I'd like some of that in mine? What will be the pace and purpose of your upgraded, redesigned life ? What is the feeling you most want to experience more of ? What experiences will bring you that? Get a vision, a very clear vision! "Create a vision that makes you want to jump out of bed!

2. Do you have the design written down? Like building a beautiful new kitchen you may have to get out pen and paper and start organizing , arranging and measuring what you have , what you want to keep and what you will need! Put it down clearly with as much detail as you can. Maybe it's a whole new house (lifestyle, location, vocation) you need with a brand new kitchen, maybe a refacing of the old, or a gut and rebuild. Cut out pictures, make a vision board on your desktop , create a mind movie and watch it often ( www.mindmovies.com ) If you are stuck here or feeling overwhelmed with possibilites or want some help in the how to process, consider a designer! Ie: a life coach specializing in life redesign! Someone with experience and tools to help you forge the plans , find the resources and get you on your way to a dreamy life! If you would hire someone to help you design your kitchen why wouldn't you invest in yourself and your life? Isn't that a place you live in more than your kitchen??

3. Clear the space , start the process! Once you have vision and some details it's time to get to work. How long is it going to take and how messy it's going to be are up to you. Can you block out time daily, weekly or monthly committed to this process of upgrading or redesigning your life? You can do it yourself with some motivational books , self assessments , watching inspiring videos or listening to some podcasts, calling on friends and relatives for input and advice or you can get really serious about this project called your dream life ! What do I mean get serious? How about enrolling in a redesign workshop or make a commitment to work with a coach for as long as it takes ? Any way you do it is going to require time and focus to get to your goal- your life 2.0 ! That's what it's going to take, time, focus and commitment , but as you know anything worth while takes time, attention and commitment!

4. Adjust as you go! In any major building project adjustment are inevitable and expected. We can have a clear vision of our dream kitchen and half way through, the cabinets come in but don't fit properly, measured wrong, or the granite countertop that just got put in cracks straight down the middle. or a freak storm blows open the back wall and destroys half of what you had started. That storm in this analogy may look like and unexpected illness, job loss, problem with family or relationship, etc. and the temptation is to abandon the project and go in to "survival mode" and just live with what you have. Understandable and maybe even necessary for a period of time but be cautious you don't get stuck with a half redesigned kitchen ( life) that now looks worse than the old and still not like the dream. Regroup, Adjust and persevere! "Adversity is just change we haven't adapted ourselves to yet'

5. Enjoy the upgrades while it's in process! Unlike a kitchen redesign or new build, your life redesign project is a work in process that may not ever be finished but it will have elements that are just how you want them along the way. Like the new refrigerator that gets delivered before the floors are even finished, you can still enjoy that state of the art beauty you have waited for and worked hard to get right NOW. No need to wait for completion to enjoy the upgrades as you go! You can walk in to the half done kitchen at any time and love the beauty already there as you continue to hold the finished image in your mind. Enjoy the pieces of beauty all coming together. Your life is similar - it's moments of joy, successes and fulfillment all pieced together to make that grand masterpiece you envisioned and designed ! You and others can enjoy it , bask in the beauty and intrigue of it and the icing on the cake is it that it will inspire and benefit others for long after you are gone. You aren't just building a dream life , you are leaving a legacy!