{"id":2084,"date":"2026-02-27T21:01:04","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T21:01:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kaitlynrobinson.com\/printsbykaitlyn\/?p=2084"},"modified":"2026-03-09T02:41:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T02:41:23","slug":"a-deliberate-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kaitlynrobinson.com\/printsbykaitlyn\/a-deliberate-life\/","title":{"rendered":"A DELIBERATE LIFE: GRATITUDE, ABUNDANCE, AND THE POWER OF PLANNING"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

THE SPARK<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I recently watched a movie that stayed with me (cheesy but true). It centered on living deliberately, not drifting, not numbing, not waiting for \u201csomeday.\u201d It focused on making the most of the time you have in the world. It made me uncomfortable in the best way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We all know that time is finite, but I feel most of the time, I don\u2019t actually live in a way that honors the time I have on this earth. It\u2019s so easy to just go through the motions and exist on autopilot. It\u2019s easier even than actually putting in work, trying, failing, trying again. I know I always use the excuse that I\u2019m just too busy to do anything else or focus on anything else. It\u2019s easy to do – but we shouldn\u2019t confuse being busy with actually living. So as someone who has always relied heavily on my achievements, I have been thinking a lot about how I\u2019m actually living, not just what I\u2019m achieving. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

WHAT IT MEANS TO LIVE DELIBERATELY<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s easy to say we should live deliberately, but what does that actually mean? I think it means choosing how we react to every situation. We can\u2019t control what happens around us, but we can choose how we react to it. I think it means choosing our focus at the moment, choosing where our time and energy goes, acting with intention instead of impulse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This looks like doing the opposite of sitting and scrolling on our phones all day and comparing our paths to others. I think it means resisting the rush that society places on us to figure everything out. I think it means choosing to be grateful for what we have, rather than complaining about what we don\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what does all of this boil down to? A deliberate life doesn\u2019t happen accidentally. It\u2019s designed.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

GRATITUDE AS A FOUNDATION (NOT A CLICH\u00c9)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Gratitude is a buzz word that has been circulating for a while. BUT it is so impactful when it\u2019s used as a foundation for how we move through the world, rather than a surface level positivity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gratitude is attention training.<\/strong> It\u2019s training your brain to focus on and then look for the positive in every day. It\u2019s literally a way of seeing the world and moving through it. There is actual science behind how gratitude can change and shape your experience in your everyday life. It gives you\u00a0 chance to reset your mind every day and is proven to help stabilize your nervous system (this is for all my fellow anxious friends).\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your brain is always scanning for evidence to back up your thoughts. If you are thinking about abundance, you will train your brain to notice abundance and find more of it. If you dwell on and focus on negativity, your brain finds more of that too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do we train our brains to notice abundance? We put in the daily work. Daily gratitude journaling<\/em><\/strong> is how I started and what I am still doing. Of course there are days that I miss, but I can also tell when I miss a few days and start falling into negative thought patterns. It\u2019s easy to do, but it\u2019s just as easy to notice abundance if you give your brain the evidence. Start by writing 3 things from the day that went well for you, that you are grateful for, or that made you happy.<\/strong> Like maybe a situation you had been dreading worked out in your favor and wasn\u2019t a big deal at all. That\u2019s a huge win! Maybe someone at work was really kind to you and made your day better. Maybe you put in some extra work on a project and feel really proud of what you did, even if no one gave you credit for it. Maybe your coffee just tasted really good today and gave you a moment of joy. Nothing is too small.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Start noticing things and journal about them. I like to do this before bed to help myself wind down and get off my phone. It’s a good way to end the day on a positive note. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bottom line? Gratitude shifts you from scarcity to sufficiency, and sufficiency creates inner peace.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have something new in the shop – just for you! Grab the new Gratitude Journal<\/strong> HERE<\/a> and start cultivating a positive mindset with me! It’s a high-quality hard cover journal with lined paged that are perforated to tear out easily. I am loving mine, I know you will too!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
<\/div>\n\n\n\n

CULTIVATING A POSITIVE MINDSET (WITHOUT TOXIC POSITIVITY)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This was a hard topic for me when I was in a really low mental state and was trapped in negative thought spirals. Having a positive mindset DOES NOT MEAN pretending that everything is okay. You don\u2019t have to pretend you aren\u2019t stressed, scared, or worried about something. What it does mean is choosing the perspective with which you approach the situation. It\u2019s knowing that the situation could always be worse and that dwelling on the negative isn\u2019t helping you solve the problem. It\u2019s being able to regulate your emotions so that you aren\u2019t a complete emotional wreck when a situation arises. It\u2019s feeling resilient and stable within yourself and having the confidence to know you can deal with the problems when they come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a huge concept that I am constantly trying to grasp and I am not always good at this, but it\u2019s important to know this tool and be able to use it.
Cognitive framing <\/strong>is changing your mindset around the situation. An example could be \u201cThis is hard\u201d vs. \u201cThis is building me\u201d Or \u201cWhy is this happening to me?\u201d vs. \u201cWhat is this teaching me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One thing I have learned is that self-talk is so important. If you talk to yourself negatively, how do you expect to ever have a more positive mindset? The stories we repeat to ourselves will shape how we experience life.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your life is shaped by what you repeatedly believe about it. So let\u2019s both choose right now to start trying to believe in the good around us, because we all deserve to feel peace, abundance, and gratitude. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

FEELING ABUNDANT (EVEN BEFORE THE MILESTONES)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Abundance is not just financial. Abundance can come in many forms like time, energy, and relationships. It can also come in the form of creativity and opportunities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We all get caught in scarcity mindsets from time to time, like \u201cI\u2019ll be happy when\u2026\u201d or \u201cI never have enough time.\u201d But those are just lies we tell ourselves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please know that you can be ambitious and abundant at the same time. Gratitude and ambition are not exclusive. You can grateful for what you have, while working for what you want in life.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abundance is just noticing what\u2019s already working in your life so that your brain will notice more of it and create more opportunities for it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bottom line: YOU ARE ENOUGH. <\/strong>When you feel like enough, you stop chasing validation and start building intentionally. You don\u2019t need external validation from anyone else. Once you are at peace with yourself and quiet the war in your mind, you can figure out what you want from life and start actually building it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/div>\n\n\n\n

WHERE PLANNING COMES IN<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Most people think that planning is this rigid structure that is all about checking a box or filling a time slot. But it doesn\u2019t have to be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is what planning is for me, and what I hope it will be for you as well:<\/p>\n\n\n\n