As a creative confidence coach, and as a person, I’ve always lingered between worlds. I have a Master of Music but an aversion to music academia. I eat a lot of meat-free and dairy-free meals but I’m not a vegan. I have what you might call a spiritual approach to life but I’m an atheist.
There are very few categories I neatly fit into. I’ve lived my life outside the box, but the box was always right there. It’s more like I hop inside when it’s appropriate and hop out when I please.
I’m what I like to call a box-hopper.
Maybe that’s why I’m so comfortable being a creative confidence coach. I get to become a bridge for others between their normal lives and the custom-fit lives they dream of living. It’s just a box, after all. They’re not so hard to bust open.
You may not consider yourself box-hopping material. Maybe you like your 9 to 5 life and the stability and structure it provides. But if there’s some way you dream of tweaking life so that you can experience more joy and fulfillment, and you tell yourself you can’t, then you live inside a box of your own making. And you can find ways to hop out of that box from time to time without completely leaving it behind. That’s literally what a box-hopper does.
It used to be considered a financial death sentence to live life the way you want. I’ve heard many an artist declare acceptance that they will never make a lot of money because they choose to follow their artistic passion. You know, because you can’t be a musician or artist and be financially sound.
Get in the box or get out.
Same goes for full-time RVing. There is this idea that either you’re wealthy or you buy a crusty old van to live in and shower twice a month, if you’re lucky.
Get in the box or get out.
These constitute Bullshit Stories. Confidence coaches hear them often. I’m sure you’ve heard them, too, perhaps sometimes coming from your own mouth!
“I can’t pursue my passions because I have children,” would be a bullshit story. “One of us has to be realistic!” is another. Or here’s a good one, “I’m too old to follow my dreams.”
There is no reason why you can’t be a box-hopper starting today. There’s only one trick to doing it successfully and sustainably. Planning.
That’s what I help others do as a creative confidence coach. I help them build the confidence to be and live as they really are, in the box, out of the box, or while box-hopping.
When Michael and I decided we wanted to become fulltime RVers, we were neither wealthy nor willing to accept the crusty-old-van version of nomad life. So, I became my own coaching client and we made a plan. It took three years and was tweaked and updated often during that time, and now we’re doing it.
Wherever you are today, you can also make a plan to build your best life, whatever that means for you.
Here are some great questions to get the ball rolling.
- What thing(s) do you wish you could add or grow in your life that you’ve been telling yourself you can’t.
- What are the obstacles or challenges you perceive (and are they real or only feared)?
- What are your options for dealing with or bypassing these challenges?
- What aspects of your current life would need to change or go away to successfully implement this new aspect you dream of?
- What new skills, knowledge, or circumstances would your need to build for success?
- Who are you most afraid of disappointing, if anyone? And:
- What would happen if you disappointed them?
- Are you willing to live with their disappointment for the sake of pursuing your best life?
- Are you ready to practice saying the following statement? “This is totally possible. I just have to navigate it!”
I’d love to hear your answers to these questions and your thoughts on the entire topic.
Judy Fine
Full-time RVer and Vocal, Performance, & Creative Confidence Coach
Got a creative lifestyle dream you’d like to work toward. Consider creative confidence coaching with me. Visit www.voice-your-potential.com to request a free consultation.