How to Brand Your Life
When companies upload a new social post, hire a new influencer to represent them, or launch a new product, they ask their teams whether the post, person, or product is on brand. They look to their company's list of values, goals, and mission to confirm an alignment. So the question is, how can we use this mindset in our personal lives? Why aren't we branding our own lives?
What is branding your own life?
Taking inspiration from top business executives and CEOs to brand our lives requires reflection and tuning into one's intuition. You start with your vision, which would be your ideal lifestyle and the person you'd like to be in all facets of your life. Once you have that mission, you look at the best way to get there that will work for you. Keywords: it WORKS FOR YOU. No longer are we following the constant outside noise. Rather, we follow our intuition and forge the way in a flow that feels native to us rather than being distracted by others' directions and standards, which causes us to feel either paralyzed or take action from a place of force, resulting in inconsistencies and burnout.
What holds us back from living in alignment with our “brands”?
There is too much noise. We hear and see so many ways how to operate. Knowing what works for us and our lives gets cloudy amid everything thrown our way. It is great to try things out, but ultimately, living in your brand simplifies things and allows you to let go of the ways other people prescribe and to choose your own non-negotiables that create your ideal life.
I’ve compiled a list to help you embrace your non-negotiables and channel your inner CEO to live on brand.
1. What do you want?
This question is often raised and seems straightforward, but answering it is easier said than done. Do you know the lifestyle you want? Or have you been told by your family, friends, society, and social media what you should want? Do you really want to be a millionaire, or do you want to be able to pay your bills without draining your entire bank account while you're at it? Do you really want to drink green juice every morning and get up at 4:00am to go on a run, or do you want to nourish yourself with healthy food and make movement a part of your life? There is no shame in the answers; to each to their own! Knowing what you want and why it matters to you is essential. When you understand why it matters to you, you can fight past any burnout that may try to claim you and power through with passion, and you’ll be on your way to living in alignment with your life’s vision, aka your brand mission.
Tip: Grab a piece of paper and write down your non-negotiables, why they matter, and what difference they make in your life. For example, my morning walk with my dog is non-negotiable. It matters because that walk allows me time to get some fresh air in nature and a positive start to the day before the kids wake up. Not only is it great for me, but it also makes my pup so happy and healthy. Yes, does it suck that I have to get up so early; for sure! However, it’s on brand for my vision for my mental, physical, and emotional health to get in my walk, and the benefits outweigh the negatives. If you are having difficulty making the list, write down everything you are doing currently and see if it matters to you and if the results positively impact your life. Is the stuff you are doing indeed what you want to be in action towards?
2. Ask yourself, “Does this make sense for the season I’m in?”
Brands change each season, and trends come and go. To nod at this rhythm, it makes sense to wonder if what is on your to-do list or what you are thinking about doing makes sense for your season. What if doing HIIT workouts is no longer on brand, or maybe staying up late to finish work projects is not in the cards when your body needs more rest this season?
Tip: Review your list and consider whether each item makes sense for the season you are in.
3. Organize your life on your terms.
Once you get your vision and non-negotiables in order, it’s safe to say we could all use a system to hold us accountable for our brand. Pick what works best for you! I cannot tell you the number of times I’ve bought an expensive planner with pretty stickers that amounted to 2 weeks of usage, and it ended up on my office desk collecting dust. I’ve tried the highly technological route with phone notifications, lists on fancy apps, and color-coded online calendars; it never stuck. Trying these different systems rather than just following my intuition to use a Post-it note to get stuff done ended up in me wasting more of my time planning and trying to figure out organizing systems than I did on the actual tasks at hand, so a simple list on a Post-it and a paper desk calendar will do for me.
Tip: Figure out what organization system leads to the most productivity for you!
4. Trust yourself, make your decisions, and know nothing is final.
Clear the noise and remove others' distracting road maps. Limit social media, turn off the podcasts and the TV, stick to your tried-and-true ways of living that serve you, and trust your gut to tell you what you need to accomplish and live your dream lifestyle. Decide on your daily rhythms and routines that make your non-negotiables possible, and accept the labor of love it will take to complete them. Making these decisions based on your inner compass will introduce expansiveness, peace, and freedom into your life. Know that brands are ever-evolving; it’s okay to go back to the drawing board and make adjustments, and seasons will change as they continue to grow and flourish into what that brand is to become.
