Image by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke 

What if you asked yourself, "Do I make myself a priority?" How would you answer? Most of us would hesitate before boldly declaring "Sometimes yes!"

For so many years, that was my story. I simply did not make myself a priority. However, as I approached 50, I began to realize the importance of thinking of myself.

I realized that my real power arose from my ability to adapt and take in the big picture. I started to change the way I approached my life by going all-in on being true to myself. As a result, when I turned 52, I was living my best life—mentally, physically, and professionally. 

I live in a beautiful home in a sweet Connecticut town. I work for myself and love what I do. Flowing through my days is a sense of calm and inner peace. When I wake up each morning, I place my feet on the ground and know I am where I’m supposed to be. That doesn't mean life is perfect, but it does mean that I approach my problems differently now. I tap into my inner faith that I can, and will, prevail no matter what. 

Try going all-in for yourself and see what happens.

5 Ways to Get Started

1. Build up your own determination, resourcefulness and passion.

You can't go all-in without cultivating these qualities — and they all go together.

Determination: Practice being determined. Determination is a way of tricking our brains into believing that anything is possible.

Resourcefulness: Then comes being resourceful: we need to know how to find the best resources to support our desired future. If we acknowledge that change is always just around the corner, that helps us find that support.

Passion: Finally, we need to be passionate: passion energizes the mind, the soul and inspires a sense of purpose in the world.  Building our future takes being passionate about something greater than ourselves and our daily lives. 

2. Make a full commitment to your own choices. 

Going all-in means committing to your choices 100 percent. I know that no matter what challenges I face, I can trust myself to make it through. That kind of faith enabled me to let go of second-guessing and over-analyzing and stick to my own decisions.

No more doubt, no more questioning: I just overcome that internal dialogue and move forward. 

3. Be true to yourself. 

No matter what challenges you face, honor your inner voice. Over time I’ve faced many life changes: divorce, romantic struggles, motherhood, and a professional career that has drastically shifted not just once, but twice.

With each passing year, I found myself becoming more and more clear on who I was. I used the life lessons I was learning to refine and reshape myself, listening to my inner voice. Year after year I got better at knowing what was right for who I am — and following through with it.  

4. Go back to the beginning. 

I've heard therapists say we go back to childhood to tackle our deepest issues and figure out why we did what we did. When I started therapy as an adult, that's what happened. I realized that I had carried a lot of childhood feelings well into adulthood: not belonging, not feeling loved, and lacking emotional connections with others. 

My early memories of being excluded were the concrete of self-loathing and insecurity that would forever lie at my foundation. Through therapy, self-reflection, and lots of books, I have been able to reduce the impact of these negative childhood emotions and find a greater sense of inner peace with how I was raised. You need to return to your beginnings to truly understand and change your story.

5. Be vulnerable. 

Commitment and perseverance don't mean closing ourselves against the world. We must open ourselves up to our potential and hold on to our truth when others might question our actions. I'll never forget a job interview when I decided to share my vulnerability and laid it on the line. I admitted to the recruiter that I was on probation at my current job, and I was about to be fired. I talked about why I needed this new position not just as a professional, but as a mother. It worked. 

Going All-In

Going all-in also means honoring yourself in all dimensions, and realizing that you, alone, are the designer of your own life. As you learn to trust yourself, you become more in tune with your emotions and the connections you have with others. You shift your focus to your own inner health and overall physical wellness. 

Granting yourself permission to take control of your life is empowering. Learning to seek approval and direction from yourself — and not external forces — connects you to what truly makes you happy and fulfilled. I'm living proof — and it's never too late. So plant your feet firmly in the world in which you want to live, and just start.

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Book by this Author:

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.