Living Vicariously Through Your Own Life

Words of Wisdom

by Amy Tan

There have been many times in my life where I have played the wishing game. This is something I made up when I was young, and was likely influenced by cartoons and books featuring genies, fairy godmothers, and the act of rubbing things to be granted wishes. I would wish for some random things – more wishes when I was younger, for example – and throughout the years I still love seeing 11:11 on the clock so I can take the opportunity to make a wish.

At some point in my late twenties, after achieving many of the goals I never even imagined could be possible, I came to a crossroads in my career and realized that I wasn’t living my life fully in the ways I would have wished when I was younger.

Caught in the comparison trap of seeing other people seemingly living their dreams, traveling the world, writing books, taking beautiful photographs and blogging about them made me feel like I was missing out.

Although I had experienced success (at least in my mind), I was left feeling unfulfilled.

 

My soul searching journey had begun and I made lists of things I wanted to accomplish in a year. It was my 30 while 30 list. I went skydiving, took a trip to Thailand, volunteered at a foster care center, got Lasik, went surfing, went snowboarding, learned the entire “Single Ladies” dance and performed it with my BFF at a former college roommate’s wedding in Savannah, visited the Great Wall of China, and fell in love with my now husband.

Through all the lessons and experiences, I realized that the only life I wanted to live was my own.

I am very passionate about cultivating a rich and fulfilling life, and sharing my experiences. From traveling the world to growing a family to working in various creative fields, I’ve developed an amazing life that has me excited to jump out of bed every morning (okay, almost every morning). But I haven’t reached this point in my career and life without a few bumps along the way.

Just like everyone else, I’ve made mistakes, I’ve experienced setbacks, and I’ve had to dust myself off and get back up again. However, when I really analyzed my life’s trajectory, the one common denominator that has gotten me through the good and the bad has been using my creativity on a near daily basis. Whether it was styling clothes for photo shoots or designing scrapbooking products or sharing videos on YouTube, I’ve found my life’s purpose by creating.

My wish now is that you feel inspired to be the best version of yourself and to craft a life you love.

A Couple More Things

1. Amy’s book, Craft a Life You Love, is available for pre order. Check it out here!

2. Don’t forget – you can download a free printable of this quote here.

Enjoy your day!