Image by Engin Akyurt
“I’m stronger because I had to be.
I’m smarter because of my mistakes,
happier because I’ve known sadness,
and wiser from all my lessons.”
--Author Unknown
Do you ever wonder if you are living your best life? Do you question if you are truly happy? Do you feel stuck and unsure about how to move forward?
If any of these questions resonate, wow, do I have a story for you....
I’ve always been a designer, even before I understood that about myself. With every hard experience and lesson learned, I made small changes to my life—sometimes consciously, sometimes unconsciously. Only through reflection was I able to finally create the vision I needed for my own life. Only after this journey could I finally start feeling one with the universe.
Inner peace can only be found in one place: our own mindset. For so many years, I did not make myself a priority. Women must wear so many hats in life that this feels like a design feature of the patriarchy. The less we think of ourselves, the less the world must think of us. Yet I eventually realized that my real power arose from my ability to adapt and take in the big picture.
You Are Not Alone
For so long, I thought I was alone in my struggles: in love, work, parenting, mental health and wellness, and relationships. I’m writing now in case others feel the same way. You are not alone.
Over the years, I’ve felt it all—the negative, the positive, the world-shattering, and the life-changing. Join me as I share my approach to living life in a brand new way: Two Feet In!
Two Feet In -- Living My Best Life
At fifty-two, I am living my best life—mentally, physically, and professionally. I live in a beautiful home, in a town that I love. My only boss is me, and I’ve never been more passionate about my work. A newfound sense of calm flows through my days.
Every morning I wake up, place my feet on the ground and know I am where I’m supposed to be. Life is not perfect and I’m still working on that whole true love thing, but now I approach my problems differently.
That’s the Two Feet In philosophy. It means committing to my choices one hundred percent. It means knowing that no matter what challenges I face, I will make it through.
I live Two Feet In because I trust myself now. I stick to the decisions I make for myself instead of endlessly analyzing and second-guessing. There’s no bigger blockade to progress than an internal dialogue clouded by doubt. Life requires perseverance, but it also needs vulnerability. We must open ourselves up to our potential and hold on to our truth when others try to break it down.
A Long Time Coming
This philosophy was not formulated overnight. I’ve faced many changes in my life: divorce, romantic struggles, motherhood, and a professional career that has drastically shifted not just once, but twice. With each passing year, I became more and more myself, refining and reshaping based on the lessons that just wouldn’t stop coming my way.
Building a life is not something one does with a wandering mind or insecure fears. While it can be nice to daydream, our lives can only be created with real commitment. Hence: feet, two of them in particular, should be planted firmly in the world in which we want to live.
I don’t mean to make this sound easy. It took me decades to take command as the designer of my life.
Perfection is the Enemy of Good
However, now that I’m here, I have also realized that my life’s purpose was to learn these difficult lessons to better pass them on to others.This isn’t about perfection—perfection is the enemy of the good and the good is what sustains us through even the darkest times.
We need the good. The perfect we’ll find in those brief moments of contentment and joy, as we breathe in, look around, and think: I’m on my way. I’m truly living.
The world extends outward, from our minds to the space around us. Life is a four-dimensional object, with time included. We can map the territory and plot the land. Our lives are homes we build for ourselves and those we love.
How we feel about ourselves affects how we feel about our surroundings. We must consciously cultivate our internal and external worlds to reflect not just who we want to become—but who we truly are. This is the work of a lifetime:
First, the foundations must be laid.
Then, the framing will be measured, cut, and established.
From there, the finish work hones in on the smallest details that make all the difference.
And finally, we must bring our innate sense of design to life, curating and creating the spaces in which we can thrive.
The Tools With Which We Build Our Life
Our tools are not just hammers, nails, paint, tiles—but chosen family, love, self-care, and wellness. From this, we can build lives we never imagined possible.
I finally have my fabled “house on the hill,” but it started out looking like a rather patchy piece of empty land. That’s how all things look in the beginning, though, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Just flip your mindset and emptiness becomes pure, glowing potential.
Use your imagination. Take two big steps back into your life. Close your eyes and see the finished product.
After that? It’s time to get to work.
Copyright 2023. All Rights Reserved.
Article Source:
BOOK: Two Feet In
Two Feet In: Lessons From an All-in Life
by Jeanne Collins.
With heartfelt insights and hard-won lessons, Jeanne’s story is infused with a sense of love, abundance and hope. Jeanne’s philosophy strives to be one with the universe while staying grounded in what we can all control: trusting ourselves and committing to our personal blueprints. Hence feet, two of them in particular, planted firmly as the inspired designers of our own lives. To find out more about her journey, grab this book today!
For more info and/or to order this hardcover book, click here. Also available as a paperback, Audiobook and as a Kindle edition.
About the Author
Jeanne Collins is an award-winning interior designer who left the corporate world behind to find her true self through design and internal reflection. Her firm, JerMar Designs, works with executives and entrepreneurs, focusing on projects that combine sophistication and balance with inner and outer wellness. Winner of the 2022 Luxe Magazine Red Award, she was also recently nominated as an HGTV Designer of the Year finalist. She chronicles her journey and the approach that changed her life and work in her memoir, Two Feet In: Lessons from an All-In Life.
Learn more at JerMarDesigns.com.
