It’s only January 6th and my decision to be fully conscious and aware of each day is already beginning to have little tiny frayed edges…but I think I’ve caught it in time to mend it soundly.
It seems that no matter what we resolve to do differently, life just challenges us. “Right, show me you can do this differently. I’ll believe it when I see it.” (That’s life talking to you.)
The fact is, we have to know our core WHY before we can join life in its own game and do exactly what we want, regardless of what life appears to be throwing at us.
I don’t believe that we are at the mercy of anything, except ourselves. I believe that we have the power to live our lives anyway we wish, anywhere we wish, with anyone we wish. I also believe that often our definitions of what that must look like gets in our way.
Let’s take for example our desire to be financially free. What does that mean to us? Well, at first, it might mean not working. Examined further, it might mean doing what we want with our time each day. A little deeper, it might mean that we want to be doing something meaningful (to us) each day.
And still, underneath it all, we may simply want to be purposeful in some way so as to justify our very existence on a day to day basis.
How do you transfer all of THAT into a personal core WHY which can then drive you anywhere you want to go? Well, that’s the biggest question of them all because there are other considerations and those considerations are of a very personal nature.
One of my own biggest considerations (or constraints, depending on how I look at it) is the question I ask myself, and others, often. The question is simply, “At what cost?”
At what cost, and to whom, would it mean to ‘do whatever it takes’ to accomplish whatever it is to reach whatever goal you’re talking about? What is the cost to your family, your friends, your health, the community, your dog and cat who simply want your hand scratching their backs on a regular basis?
The happiest people I know are the people who love living a simple life. This doesn’t mean they live cheaply or that they don’t have money. It means they don’t have a bunch of real estate to worry about (sometimes they don’t even own the house they live in…much easier to get up and move this way), they don’t have a bunch of furniture or piddlyjunk laying around their houses (much easier to breathe and move through the day this way), they don’t have a ton of stuff to do, commitments to keep, meetings to attend, emails to answer, etc., etc., etc.
The older I get, the simpler I want things. I continue to look around my home and get rid of things that don’t serve me. Books are being donated, clothing discarded if I don’t love it (and it’s not purple!), kitchen utensils are being regifted and a whole lot more.
And it feels good. It’s easier to move about my planet here in Elisabeth Land (my boyfriend calls his place Club Steve and I’ve always found much delight in that!). It’s a constant exploration into ‘what exactly do I want around me to be comfortable at this point in my life.’ (Note: I’m 51.)
The answer is always “LESS”!
So less it is becoming and the lighter I feel…and the knowledge that I am free to do as I please with as little or as much as I like? Now that’s a freedom I’m willing to work for.
And…that’s MY WHY.
What is yours? It will take some thinking on your part and I promise you, knowing your why is worth the process. If you want help uncovering YOUR why, give me a call because helping people uncover their why is one of my favorite things:-).
Just something to think about…