I’m in Vail, CO. One of my favorite places in the world.

The sky is bluebird clear and the sun is shining, warming the morning chill out of the air. So many days here are just like this. It not only warms the air, but it also warms my soul.

This is the place where my life changed, and I didn’t recognize it until a couple of days ago, but…

This is the place of my highest high.

This is the place that gave me the gift of an increased appreciation for myself and this amazing life I get to live. As a “normal” girl, I am very lucky to have had this kind of experience in my life.

The kind of experience that let’s an ordinary girl create an extraordinary life.

Five days after my 29th birthday, I moved to Vail. It was the first time I had ever done something as an adult simply because I wanted to do it. Up until then, all the major choices in my life were based on what I thought I was “supposed” to do or be.

My life looked pretty good from the outside.

I had a good job, good friends and loads of freedom. I was doing fine. But I was screaming on the inside for something that would make everything I was doing, make my life, have some real meaning. Then, I moved to Vail.

Lessons from my highest high:

• How to look for the silver lining
• How to put things into perspective
• How to fully live in the moment
• The difference between real stress and situational stress
• To count all my blessings, even the tiniest of these
• How to go with the flow
• The gift of spontaneity
• The joy in sharing life and connecting with others regularly
• The excitement and adventure of road trips
• My love for travel and experiencing new people and places
• The amazing, special connection between people who choose a mountain lifestyle
• How to live simply and appreciate the simple things in life
• How much I LOVE nature and the great outdoors
• Truly connecting with who I am at my core, my most amazingly authentic self
• Just because “they” say it’s supposed to be that way doesn’t in fact mean I have to go along with it
• That I need to pay attention to what’s important to me (which first means I have to know what’s important to me)

As a normal girl, I was lucky. No, wait. I am lucky. I got to experience and learn my lessons from my highest high, instead of having to overcome a lowest low or even worse simply remaining at status quo, never being shaken up to seek out my best life and my best me.

I encourage you not to wait for that life changing experience. Most of us normal girls won’t ever experience a low truly low enough or a high that is high enough to shake us hard enough to wake us up to consciously choose our best life. This is good and bad… and it just is.

Implement change in your life now just because you deserve your best
and happiest life — right now. No more waiting.

What lesson will you start applying in your life today to start living your best life right now, not because you have to but because you want to? If you’re not sure where to start, choose one of the lessons above and think of five ways to try it out in your own life. Then, let me know how it’s going.