What Kind of Life Do You Plan to Create?
This winter, my husband and I took a trip to Ann Arbor, MI because we wanted to check out the much heard about Zingermans everything. They have a deli, a coffee shop, candy store, bakery and a few restaurants as well. It’s kind of crazy, and I definitely got a sense that these people know what they are doing. In particular the co-founder, Ari Weinzweig. Each of the different shops was filled with delicious foods, quality products, knowledgable staff, quirky artwork, extra space for classes, workshops and other happenings. It was certainly a well-oiled machine and a grand experience for their customers.
As we perused the coffee shop, we noticed a number of short pamphlets written by Ari on several different business-related subjects. Because I’m a sucker for short bits of information and inspiration, we grabbed a few. When we got home I paged through “The Art of Business” pamphlet and wasn’t disapointed. He managed to pack this little pamphlet full of great bits of information with an underlying uplifting and attainable message.
One line, in particular stood out to me. He described the confusing time in your life, often in our early twenties when we are trying to figure out what to do. At that age, post-college, we are often asked “What are you going to do now?" Ari describes how this question is a difficult and sometimes intimidating one. We just don’t always know what we are going to do, and it takes time to figure it out which can feel confusing and a bit scary.
Instead, Ari advises that a much better way to ask the question is, “What kind of life do you plan to create?”
I love this because it allows us to visualize our life a bit more and feel in control of it. Instead of having to know exactly what we want to do next, it invites us to think about how we want to live and what feels good to us (at least right now). By asking ourselves these kinds of questions - at any age - we can make a plan, prioritize and adjust our life in a way that allows us to do what feels right.
There are a lot of ways we can go about this life and you don’t have to know what to do right now. But it is important to align what we want with how we manage our day to day happenings. Looking into the future can be a hard thing to grasp, but if we do small things everyday and lean into what feels good and right for ourselves, we can begin to move in the right direction. And that will allow us freedom to explore and expand into the life we ultimately want to live.
So I’d encourage you, at any age, to think about how you want to feel each day, how and where you want to spend your time and what kinds of things can you change or prioritize to create the life you want to live.