Live Your Best Life: Kate O’Sullivan

I’m delighted to bring you another inspirational individual who is striving to live their best life, each and every day. Living your best life doesn’t mean that life is perfect or that you have everything figured out. It’s about being the best version of yourself that you can be at this moment. It’s about recognising what’s good in your life, working to share more joy in the world and making the most of this one, precious life you have.

And today A Playful Day‘s writer, photographer and creative soul Kate tells us all what living your best life means to her:

Tell us a bit about your life and the path you took to get to where you are today.
My name is Kate and I’m a writer and sometimes photographer. I need to be creative and chasing adventures as much as possible or I grow tired and uncomfortable in my own skin. I created a blog called A Playful Day to help me find that joyful moment in each day at a time when I was stuck in a job and life I hated. This grew into a podcast and helped me realise a long held dream of writing professionally. It was a leap of faith and something I just took a chance on: pitching to magazines and brands, using the blog as a sort of portfolio for the sorts of things I could do. I write, podcast and photograph from the heart at A Playful Day and have used it to help me fine tune my skills. It’s wonderful that we have these opportunities online to develop our creative practice to help us as professionals, connecting with the world.

What inspirational quotes or mantras hold meaning for you?
It very much depends on my mood but I read quotes daily. Tina Fey and Maya Angelou are usually a safe bet with me. Right now I am working on starting afresh having just relocated to rural Dorset with my three-year-old. I’m rethinking new patterns for our life and my work and so I’ve pinned Maya’s words above my mirror:
“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”
I’m a big believer in shaping your own destiny even when life has handed you a tough bunch of cards.

How do you recognise when life’s getting on top of you?
I stop creating. It’s the thing that goes first and is awful as I need to create to feel good and of course, to work. It’ll start with something as simple as three boring meals in a row and I’ll have no desire to bake. I’ll notice I’m listless and not settling into any of my craft projects.

And what do you do to get back to how you want to feel?
I let that feeling in. I’ve learned that trying to force creativity is suffocating. Instead I grab my camera and go for a long walk. I get lost in the textures and seasonal changes around me. I’ll let my thoughts drift and sometimes an idea will wriggle its way in and I’ll come home and write or bake, needing to release that. It takes time.

What are your plans, hopes and dreams for the future?
I would love to grow more opportunities to create professionally. I am growing the podcast with the help of its community and a crowdfunder called Patreon. It allows listeners to pledge for a month and get fun rewards as a result. It keeps me creative and means I can build a base around A Playful Day while collaborating with others in my professional life to support my daughter and I. I’d love to see where this will take us – Publications? Retreats? Who knows? I’m looking forward to finding out though!

What does living your best life mean to you?
Balance. I’ve been pretty busy with moving and trying to establish a regular flow of writing opportunities and I don’t get a great deal of time to just freely create. Now I’ve moved to a new home, I want time to make the curtains and decorate. These things take time and you need a good work and life balance to make that happen. We thrive better as a family when I have that. It’s a definite goal for me!

Kate O’Sullivan is a writer, blogger and podcaster who brings all of her stories together at A Playful Day. A Playful Day is a lifestyle blog and podcast for makers and people who love tales that are rich in creativity. A Playful Day was created as a reminder to seek playful moments that invigorate us and make our hearts glad.
In her professional life, Kate uses her photography and writing skills to help brands tell their story online. As well as creating content and providing business support for creative businesses, Kate also hosts a variety of workshops for bloggers and Creatives such as ‘Telling Your Story Online’, ‘Photography for Knitting and Crochet’ with Emily Quinton and ‘Getting to Grips with Social Media’. It always comes back to the story telling. Always.
You can find more at aplayfulday.com and connect with Kate on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Steller and Ravelry.

Photo: Kate O’Sullivan