This is the fourth feature in our new series, How I Live Well. Our aim through this series is to sneak a peek into the daily lives of creative, entrepreneurial and inspiring women who seem to have and do it all. What seemingly small choices do they make throughout their day in order to live fully and with purpose? How do they design their days with living well in mind? Today we are featuring Natasha Geddes, founder of Good Goddess.

“Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.” – Marie Curie

Goal-setting as an exercise is all well and good, but it can feel futile and unfulfilling if you aren’t getting to the heart of the matter. Which is really, getting to YOUR heart. If you’re living mostly on the surface, how do you even know what you want? This is what I learned this year — you can’t get clear on your true desires and purpose until you’ve positioned yourself to receive those messages. Here are 5 tips to get you there.

This is the second feature in our new series, How I Live Well. Our aim through this series is to sneak a peek into the daily lives of creative, entrepreneurial and inspiring women who seem to have and do it all. What seemingly small choices do they make throughout their day in order to live fully and with purpose? How do they design their days with living well in mind? Today we are featuring Catherine Choi, from So Young, a lifestyle brand.

As an entrepreneur, mother and human trying to get the most out of life here on earth, I've always been fascinated by the real, concrete ways that creative people (especially those that I admire) live. I'm a big fan of memoirs and books like Daily Rituals: How Artists Work that allows us to peek behind the curtains of the daily lives of creative people. What seemingly small choices do they make throughout their day in order to live fully and with purpose? How do they design their days with living well in mind? All You Are is launching a series, How I Live Well, with the goal of uncovering how the women who seem to have AND do it all actually create and design their days. We'll share the previously unknown tips, tricks and rituals (you could call them life hacks) as well as the products they use to live well. We'll learn from the simple but creative ways they design their days to maximize joy, fulfilment and growth.

Our relationship with fear is ongoing. It will never completely leave us nor should it — it serves us well at crucial times. But if it shows up just when you are about to grow, build or create, it is the right time to take a hard look at it and ask, “Really, here again?”

Birthdays are a celebration of life and the true miracle it is to be here on this planet. Instead of just the usual gifts, I decided to write a letter to my daughter every year, passing on things I hope for her and want her to know. This is my inaugural annual birthday letter to her.

Growing your tribe can feel daunting at first. Anything that involves going out of your comfort zone does. One of the wonderful things about social media is that there are so many ways to make that connection—a comment on someone’s post, a direct message, or an email are all ways to reach out to those you want to know. Or find someone who knows who you want to know. Approach with an open, personal note and more than likely you will get a response (I have met so many incredible people this way—both by sending and receiving a note like that!)

Self-care can be play. It can be giving yourself time to be creative. It could be giving yourself permission to take the WHOLE weekend off. It could be spending an extra 10 minutes on your make-up just for fun. Self-care can be trying something new. It can be unplugging for 24 hours. It can be letting yourself feel bored (and actually feeling the discomfort that comes along with that boredom).

Books became the deepest source of wisdom for me. And funny enough, one of the most common questions I get asked is, what books would you recommend? There have been so many books at different times in my life that have made an impact on me.

Living intentionally means to wake up every morning with an intention to be fully in your life, embracing each moment as it comes, accepting things that you can’t control while enthusiastically and creatively crafting those things that you can.

There are times when I hold it even though I have other, more important things to hold (like my baby maybe?). But no, I MUST HAVE MY PHONE. Why is this? Why do we mindlessly, manically cycle through all the potential updates and incoming messages from email, text, instagram, facebook, snapchat, every few minutes? Why do we allow ping and dings to interrupt our most precious resource — our time? What is it about this devilish little device that we now feel empty or lost without?

4am is the strangest time of the night. It is too late for most night owls and too early for even the earliest of risers. It is also the time when every worry, from the mundane to the existential rises from your subconscious to torture you in the dark of night, sending you down a rabbit hole of panic. Some nights when I wake up at 4am, I fall easily back to sleep. Other times, the worry sets in and it is hours before I’m in dreamland again.

I’m not referring to the frustration we feel when we can’t open a really tight jar, or are rushing around and stub our toe or can’t believe that the cashier is taking sooo long to check it people out at the grocery store. I’m talking about the kind of frustration directed within, at your deeper self. The kind that causes an internal restlessness, an unease. The kind that makes you question your own motives for doing what you’re doing (or not doing!). This kind of frustration is powerful…

Having more fun isn’t necessarily about riding roller coasters or partying with friends or even going on an epic trip. Having more fun for me is about finding pure joy in the everyday. It is about being able to see our lives through the lens of joy - that despite whatever everyday stresses we are dealing with or challenges we are facing, it is still OK and even good to feel good. And beyond just feeling good, we can see that there is a lot to love about our lives. From that place of joy, it is a lot easier to have fun without having to put it on your list. But for now...here are six ways to put fun on your to-do list.

The holidays are the time of year where we feel the most pressured to have fun, yet often, we let the stresses of the season take over and while we are doing fun things, we are very likely not having that much fun. Here are thirty fun things to do over the holidays with the intention of bringing you pleasure and joy.

Happy New Year! I hope you woke up this morning feeling refreshed and hopeful. How was 2019 for you? If you read the news regularly, you likely feel that the world falls somewhere on a scale between a complete mess and total anarchy. I find this way of thinking so disheartening. Every year has its good and bad, its sadness and joy, its low moments and bright spots. It is a very personal thing as well — some people may have had a much harder year than others depending on where they live in the world or their current life situation. But whether we claim the year to have been a good or bad one, we can all say we have learned something. Many things, most likely, but at the very least something life-changing if we pay attention. Rather than dismissing the year which when you think about it, was a whole 365 days of your life, why don’t we instead take some time to reflect on our experiences and lessons learned in 2019 and start planning and dreaming for 2020?

We are forever changed by the loss of someone we love. It is one of the few experiences in life that we can’t think or decide our way through. We have to feel our way through. But there are ways to guide ourselves, to steer our ship through the muddy waters towards those that are clearer than we’ve ever experienced before. We can emerge stronger, more grounded, more sure of ourselves. 

I came across this question at the end of an article I was reading about love. I was reading about love because I wanted to understand how something as simple as increasing our capacity to love (even when it’s not easy) can better our world. I wasn’t just interested in how to better love our partners or our families or our friends. But also how we can collectively make the world a better place through the power of our love.

Building a daily practice is like lovingly laying out a path for your future self. Here are some ways to create one.