If you want an extraordinary life, do this
Me, in Valais, Switzerland. Photo courtesy: Scott Harris.
Do you dream of living an extraordinary life? If so, do you have a clear picture in your mind of what that is?
First, let’s define what an ‘extraordinary life’ is and what it looks like.
There is no real right or wrong answer, but there is one clue, and that is the “extra” in extraordinary. So that means an extraordinary life is just that ‘extra’ step beyond ordinary.
The problem is that many people look to Hollywood, celebrities, stars, the rich and famous for role models of people who live extraordinary lives. In the age of Instagram, we also look at influencers on social media. And we inevitably compare ourselves.
Know this: every person, no matter how famous, has upsides and downsides to their lives. There are benefits and drawbacks to everything we do, and that includes the lives of the super rich and famous. So riches and fame may, or may, not necessarily be the measure of what an extraordinary life is to you.
It is easy to look at someone like Britney Spears, the British Royal Family or the glamorous Marilyn Munroe, and think that is what extraordinary lives look like. And they are extraordinary lives, don’t get me wrong, but that doesn’t mean yours can’t be, too. It would just be different and unique to you.
We need to stop comparing ourselves to others and look deep in our hearts as to what we want out of life. The key is to come up with our own definitions of success, meaning and fulfillment. If we want a life that is more than ordinary, we need to define that as well so we know what we are working toward.
For me, an extraordinary life is following my heart, no matter where it takes me. The photo I chose for the top of this post (taken in Valais, Switzerland a few years ago by a colleague, Scott Harris), is one of my favourites because it captures my joy of following my heart of travelling the world (pre-pandemic, of course). More about that in a later post, though.
If you want to live an extraordinary life, begin to ask yourself quality questions and do so on a consistent basis. The quality of questions you ask yourself determines the quality of your life. These are questions that get to the heart of what is most important for you. Quality questions take into consideration your top values and are specific to help you get specific answers that are connected to your heart.
For example, let’s say you want to travel and so you ask yourself: How can I travel the world once the pandemic is over? That is a general question. Instead, ask yourself: How can I do what I love and travel the world and get paid handsomely for it? That is a quality question that gets more specific and right to your heart.
I use travel as a theme here because it is one of my top values. But here is another example:
General question: How can I make more money? Quality question: How can I make more money than ever by doing what I love?
I’ll be writing more about quality questions in the next post, but, in the meantime, here is an exercise that will help take you one step closer to living an extraordinary life.
Try this: Visualize the way you want your life to be, truly from your heart. What is in your heart to create? What do you want to achieve? Who do you surround yourself with? How do you present yourself to others? Write it down and try to define it, by describing it and letting the feeling settle in your heart. Meditate on it (or walk on it). Then ask yourself quality questions that can help you get there.
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This is a series of posts on the topic living an extraordinary life.
Shannon Skinner is an award-winning broadcaster, author, speaker and writer. She loves to travel the world tasting the fines foods and sipping on the finest wines, and meeting interesting people. She is the author of The Whispering Heart. Watch her interviews with extraordinary women at www.ExtraordinaryWomenTV.com.
