ABOUT BLOG WORK WITH ME 

BOOKS PRESS CONTACT  .

10 Key Ingredients for a Life You Love –

Have You Got Them?
16th May 2013  Authenticity, Living a Life You Love  3

Updated on November 6th, Get Monica’s book and

2018 conquer your excuses

Are you at a crossroads

Privacy & Cookies Policy or dead end in your life?

Treading water in your
life? Dissatisfied, and
living a life you don’t
enjoy anymore? Do you
Book & P&P
feel it’s time to take
UK - book & P&P £9.90 GBP
stock, and evaluate where
you’re at? Are you dreaming of creating a life you love, yet don’t
know what that entails? Then how about some inspiration?

Find out what my 10 Key Ingredients for a Life You Love are – and
which one(s) you are missing. Read on…

I talk to people a lot about living a life they love. Categories

:
 And when I mention that I coach on this, they often ask me for my best tips.  Adventures (1)
This is when I say that, sadly – or perhaps fortunately – there is no magic  After divorce (1)
formula. Because the life you love is as individual and unique as you  Authenticity (4)
are. And living it is really all about discovering what’s in you, and bringing
 Christmas (2)
that to its fullest expression.
 Corona Virus (7)

However – from my observations of people who live a life they love, from  Corporate life (2)
my own life and coaching experience, and from a bit of informal research, I  Creating change (17)
have distilled 10 Key Ingredients for a life you love.  Experiences (7)

How many of them – and which ones – are present in your life? Which ones  How To Guide to Life
You Love (8)
are missing? And what could you do to introduce the missing ingredients
 Inner wisdom (1)
into your life – and love your life more for it?
 Life direction (1)

 Life purpose (3)

1. Knowing and loving yourself  Life stories (6)

The basic ingredient for a life you love. People who love their life know what  Life tools (21)

they’re truly and honestly about. What they’re good at, and where they  Living a Life You Love
(27)
struggle. What works for them, and what doesn’t. What’s more, they have
learnt to accept, respect and love themselves, warts and all. They know,  Lockdown (2)

own and use their strengths. And are aware and compassionate about their  New year (6)
weaknesses – improving and developing them where possible, or managing  Notes from self-isolation
them, where not. In short: They make the very best of what they’ve got in (7)

them.  Overcoming challenge

(6)

 Overcoming excuses (4)

2. Authenticity  Top tips / how to (22)

Your life becomes one you love when you set yourself free to express who  Transformation (3)

you really are, and live your life according to that – independently of others’  Turning or being 50 (4)
opinions, expectations or judgments.  Valentine's Day (1)

 Yoga (1)
You know you’re living an authentic life when you don’t feel you’re wearing
a mask. When what you do, in work or personal life, feels distinctly you.
Recent Posts
When you are happy and proud to be seen being distinctly you by others.
And when you are prepared and able to stand for the parts of it that really  Living through unease
matter to you. and crises in your fifties

 Some nights, longing-

:
 Notes from Lockdown
3. Purpose  Freedom – Notes from
Lockdown
Have you ever come across people who live what looks like quite a
challenging life with remarkable ease and satisfaction? Having a sense  Every day a new
beginning – Notes from
of why you’re doing what you’re doing in your life, and what higher
Self-Isolation
outcomes this serves for you and the world around you, will greatly
 Love Is the Answer –
increase your motivation to do those necessary, yet challenging or even
Notes from Self-
disagreeable things every life presents at some stage. And make you Isolation
happier with your life by giving you a sense that you’re living purposefully.

4. Meaning
We cannot always choose what life throws at us. And sometimes, our
choices of how to respond to what happens to us are limited, too. But there
is always an opportunity to reflect on, interpret and learn from every
experience.

Finding the valuable nuggets of meaning in what you do, or in what happens
to you – your interpretation of what it means – will help you get over
difficulties, let go of grudges, keep growing – and feel more satisfied with
your life overall.

5. Connection
No life happens in complete isolation, even if it can sometimes feel that way.
Tapping into and honing our connections with others, with nature, or with
something greater than ourselves, supports and carries us. It also brings
enjoyment, and – yes – it creates meaning. People who radiate that they live
a life they love know how to be in loving, giving and taking connection to
other people and the world around them. And they keep learning about it,
too.

6. Balance
People who live a life they love have established a balance that works for
them. They’ve put some thought into who and what is important to them,
:
 which experiences they want, and how much time they give to each of
them.

They’ve tried things out to see what works for them and what doesn’t, and
then made the necessary changes to live their very own mix of relationships,
time alone, activities and experiences. At a pace that works for them, too.

Then they work to maintain their balance – or to get back onto it if life
throws them off, as it often does. They check in regularly to see if it is still
what they need, and they adjust it if they or their circumstances have
changed.

7. Awareness
Living your life with awareness means paying attention to what’s going on,
around and inside you, at any time.

It means truly experiencing the things, people, environments, or activities

you’re exposed to, or choose to get yourself into. Just noticing the small and
the big, the pleasant and the unpleasant, the fast and the slow, or the bitter
and the sweet – and the manifold shades of grey in between.

8. Growth, development,
learning
These are not just much of what life is about – they kind of are life. And so,
anything that fosters these connects us with the life force within us, and
makes for a life we love (more).

People who love their life actively seek out opportunities to keep growing
and developing. They might choose to: Learn a new skill. Take on a new role
at work. Build their own business. Face and overcome a long-held fear. Take
on a challenge. Start a project that benefits others. Work on themselves to
become a better parent, partner, or friend.

It’s about doing something different(ly), and stretching or reaching beyond

the safe boundaries of what we normally do. And then reflect on the
:
 experience, and draw insights from it.

There are many ways to keep growing, developing and learning. What’s
yours? (Want some ideas? Check out my 25 Simple Tweaks to Make a
Difference in Your Life)

9. Freedom
To be who we are. To freely express our characteristics, gifts and talents. To
make our own choices and decisions. To live our life as it suits us. To be the
master of how and where we spend our own time. To have our own
experiences. To live free of danger.

Or whatever this represents for you!

10. Caring
For yourself first. Then for others. This is an absolute cornerstone of a life
you love.

People who love their lives know that only from a steady, rested and
nourished place they can effectively and enjoyably do their thing, contribute
to the world and help others.

They know that restoration is necessary in order to put back (at least some
of) what life takes out, so that they can continue to be immersed in life at
their best.

And they know that good health cannot be taken for granted, and is not
entirely in their power either – but they calmly and steadily do what they
can to support theirs.

And they have learnt to put themselves first in a practical, unselfish, being-
kind-to-themselves sort of way.

So tell me, if you please:

How many key ingredients – and which ones – are present in your life?
:
 Which ones are missing right now?

And what could you do to introduce the missing ingredient(s) into your life –
and love your life more for it?

Over to you
Which are your Key Ingredients for a life you love? Please share
them in the comments below!

Photo: Pixabay

5 Powerful Ways to Reflect on Your Year – With Free Tools 

Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Leave your message here*

Name* Email* Website

Replies to my comments Notify me of follow-up comments via e-mail.

N.B. You can also subscribe without commenting.

Post Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is
processed.

Kate  3rd December 2016 at 9:09 am  Reply

This is very timely. I have had a very difficult time for two years and
‘lost’ myself on the way. Feel like I am just coming back to a sense of
self so only now can start to move forwards after being stuck for so
long. Work to do, but this is a useful reminder of the areas I need to
:
 focus on. Thanks.

Monica Castenetto 
3rd December 2016 at 11:46 am 
Reply

Hi Kate, thanks for your comment. Sometimes I think life is

one big ‘losing oneself – finding oneself’ merry-go-round…
Tough stuff happens, and we change, too. And so does our
sense of self, our felt experience of who we are. And each
time, as we do the work ‘re-building’ or ‘re-finding’
ourselves (and our confidence), we become a next, often
fortified version of ourselves.I am so glad this post comes in
timely for you and is helpful – I wish you very well with your
coming back to self, and moving forward into the next phase
of your life. Take good care of yourself!

Bob 
8th June 2013 at 1:16 pm 
Reply

Really useful in helping to reflect on your own life and how to move
forward. Thanks.

Copyright © 2023 Monica Castenetto

Privacy All rights reserved Design by Abcissa
Websites
: