We Could All Live The Life We Desire Only After We Figure Out What We Want

Puja Puneet: You’ve probably heard the saying that women are expected to work like they don’t have kids and raise kids as if they don’t work. This stands truer than ever for women today where we are juggling work, home, health and children around the clock with limited resources.

And while yes, it is hard work, the one thing we need to take control of first, is our own life and priorities. We need to take responsibility and set our own paths because if we don’t, we’re not giving ourselves or anyone else any happiness.

It took me a while to figure this out myself. I was just 18 years old and had big dreams of studying law at Cardiff University when my parents received a very promising marriage proposal for me; one that they wouldn’t dream of turning down. Suddenly instead of Cardiff, I found myself in Chennai with a husband, a house to run, and a part to play.

And I played it well. From the outside, my life looked incredible: I had the perfect husband (kind-hearted and loving, as well as wealthy), two perfect children that I absolutely adored, diamonds, nice cars, brilliant holidays—the works! And yet, I woke up many mornings wishing I hadn’t. As strange as it seems, I felt hollow and unfulfilled.

A voice in my head was screaming “Puja, there’s something more that you can be doing with your life!” It left me feeling guilty and ungrateful because, in so many ways, my life was wonderful.

 When I could no longer ignore that voice in my head, I mustered up the courage to tell my husband that I couldn’t do it anymore. The extent of his support and understanding truly moved me – he wanted me to live out my dreams.

​I took a Montessori course and opened a pre-school called in 2006. It was my first professional success, and a few years and hundreds of kids later, I realised that counselling parents was my favourite part of the job. My other favourite pastime was reading self-help books, and that’s when it suddenly clicked that I wanted to help people who struggle the way I had.

I flew halfway across the globe in 2010 to attend Jack Canfield's Breakthrough to Success, the first of many, many courses I would end up taking from the world's best teachers like Tony Robbins and Brian Tracy.

 In 2011, I launched Life by Design. I woke up every day with a renewed excitement to live. I discovered that we could all live the life we desire only after we figure out what we want. We need to have a clear vision and goals otherwise we’re like passengers who have no destination and will land up stranded and disappointed no matter what.

Ever since that realisation, there’s been no looking back for me. I’ve always believed that I’ve had a purpose. I fought the odds and embraced my life’s goal. I made it my mission to help women like myself find their purpose and transform their lives. We need to move out of our comfort zone and climb the bridge from challenges to success. My goal is to help women achieve this and make feminine energy rise, not by demanding it but by earning it through Courage, Clarity & Consistency.

Puja Puneet is the CEO of Life By Design. The views expressed are the author's own.