Designing Your Freedom: My Personal Blueprint for Building a Life You Love
Reading time: 6 minutes
Written by: Annmarie Borosic
I often think back to all the things I had been asking for. The common denominator on every one of my wish lists over the years, the one constant was and still is “freedom.” I think it’s fair to say that word represents something different for each of us. For me, it’s freedom of time. To choose where I go, when I want, and with whom I want; to be able to come and go as I please from any location and to feel peace around me. Stillness, nature, people enjoying life. To look around every day and be mesmerized by what surrounds me. Pride in the life I have created. That’s my freedom.
The day before I moved, I was flipping through old journal entries and my manifestation lists. This one particular page that caught me off guard was written during Covid. During one of my lowest points. I had created a list asking for what appeared absolutely and utterly impossible at that time. Four years later I had far exceeded many of my goals. There was proof in black and white of what was and is possible.
Fast forward to 4 September 2024. It was 1:00PM on a Wednesday while I was writing this. I felt like a change in scenery while I did some writing before I started work. This is my freedom. This particular view is a 20-minute walk from one of my favourite neighbourhoods in Split, the area in which I now live, Varos. It’s been four months since I made the move. I look around and so much of what I’ve been longing for, hoping for, and needing; it’s here. This is my life. It is my reality, surrounded by views that make me question reality. Views that put me into an immediate state of calm when I feel overwhelmed. I’ve created a life where when I need a refresher, I can walk to the sea, dive in and be free beneath the surface, embodied by the cool salt water of the Adriatic Sea.
Everything up until this point has been worth it. The uncertainties. The heartache. The stress. The grief. Every. Single. Moment. This is what my goal has been. The freedom. Am I done? Not even close, but I am one step closer to it all.
I am very much of the mindset that if you want it bad enough, it can be yours. Just believe it’s possible. For anyone reading this who feels it’s impossible, it’s not. At times, in the strangest of ways, or sometimes most obvious, opportunities present themselves. It may not be within the exact timeframe we hope for, but at some point, life opens up and says, ‘Here, it’s yours. Take it.’
Do you know what you want? The life you long to live? The person you wish to become? The way you would love to feel daily? This is what I made sure to get clear on. I did the following things every day for years and still do. Maybe these will help you as they help me.
What are the must-have things in your life? Get very specific about each thing and write them down - pen to paper.
What are your non-negotiables? The things that no matter what, you will not budge on because it would mean giving up on some of what you truly desire.
Write down a list of words that describe your dream life in very descriptive detail.
Write a list of words that describe the person you wish to be, whether emotionally, physically, or spiritually, write it all.
Write a story describing your dream life from a 3rd party perspective. Describe your day-to-day life. What you eat, how you speak, where you sleep, who you know, how you dress. All of it.
Take some post-it notes, and on each one, in present tense, write, “I am..” statements that align with your goals. Tape them in a spot so that you can read them every day.
Create a vision board as a visual representation of the life you wish to have. Save it on your phone as your lock screen, or create a physical board and hang it somewhere you can look at it every day.
Use guided visualization meditations that will help you focus on your wants.
You are the company keep. I know there are certain situations out of our control, but being very intentional about the type of people you associate yourself with, where your values align and they are a positive influence in your life is incredibly important.
Listen to Inspiring music that gets you moving, ones where the lyrics resonate with your beliefs and desires. I refuse to listen to music that contains lyrics that don’t align with the life I want. I’m serious. I’m not trying to sing things into existence that I don’t want. Words are extremely powerful.
I would love to say that by doing the above everything will magically just appear. I mean, sometimes it does, it’s happened, but what I find is by becoming hyper-focused on what we want for ourselves, things around us begin to align with those desires, ultimately opening up opportunities to get us closer to our goals and dream lives. For me, I can pretty much outline every single step or moment that happened that redirected me to something to get me closer to the things that I want. The way I see it, we have a lot of life to live, wouldn’t it be far more exciting to live it in a way that makes us feel at ease, as opposed to feeling stagnant and living in regret?
