Is It Time To Change Your Life?

I was talking with my husband, Dave, on our daily dog walk and we were on the subject of life insurance. Super boring, I know, but stay with me here.

We were discussing how much life insurance we thought we needed, specifically in the event that one of us died prematurely. Even more exciting right?! 🙈

Thinking forward to a possible future where Dave wasn’t there, I was wondering if I would keep our house, and how I would maintain it on my own.  Would I decide to sell it and live in something smaller? Would I stay in the same city or move somewhere else?

A few facts were crossing my mind as we were talking: 

• As beautiful as Alberta is, this is a landlocked province and I grew up by a large body of salted water and I miss it greatly;
• I don’t have immediate family around (thank goodness for friends and great neighbours!);
• There is already too much space for 2 people here, what would I do with all this space on my own.

From time to time, we also both dream of being part-time tiny house dwellers or van life roamers. 

As the discussion evolved, we realized that one possible option, for both of us, was to sell the big house* and move somewhere smaller, with possibly more nature around. A major life change for sure.

So why aren’t we doing THAT now, together? That is an excellent question! 

Why wait for someone to die suddenly or a worldwide event, like this pandemic, to realize we don’t want to go back? So, is it time to change your life?

*By the way, our house is no way big by any means, but it’s not tiny either. It’s a simple 1950’s bungalow (1,250 sf²) with a garage and shed. Pretty standards for these parts.

When This…Then That…

Oh, how that one hits home! How many times have I said to myself, when A happens, I will then have time, energy, motivation, resources to do B. 

But life doesn’t really work that way. YOU have to make it happen DESPITE the circumstances, not just when the stars align (although when they do, it feels like a freakin’ miracle).

Consider, as an example, the hobbies you thought you would work on, or the new skills you would learn “when you had the time“? 

Well, have you started? Can you play that guitar you bought 5 years ago? Are you using your colouring books and pens to relax like you thought you would or are they gathering dust?

If the answer is no, maybe it was your fantasy self that wanted to do that hobby. Or you realize that even given the time, as many of us had more of during these last few months, you would much rather do something else.

You know, it’s OK to let that aspiration go. The personal development police are not going to come around to reprimand you. No one is judging you or this event as a failure; only you are.

So be at peace and pass the materials or equipment on to someone who will use them.

I Should Really…

If you’re human, for sure you tell yourself 100 times a day: I should do this, I should start that, I should really change this… 

We think we should because we’ve seen other people do XYZ or we believe the advantage of a habit, new product or specific course will bring us. You think it’s going to finally change your life for the better. People, marketing is powerful and it tricks us in thinking we are lacking in certain ways.

Take exercise as an example. Most people think they should be physically active to live a longer life, with good reasons. But doing exercise you hate, because someone else (or some ad) convinced you you should, is not sustainable.

Ask yourself if you like the gym you were going to before the pandemic. Would you much prefer doing classes online or do you simply need to find a different one? Regardless, you can let that gym membership go. 

Maybe you thought: “I’m home, I will finally use all my exercise equipment and get fit“, only to realize you absolutely hate doing fitness on your own. That is usually me and it’s why I take 4 different classes at an awesome dance studio. Fortunately, we don’t have big bulky exercise machines and the small handheld weights and yoga mat here at home came in handy when the studio pivoted to online classes. 

What about you? Do you have gym equipment you never use? Lose the real weight of that stuff and let that equipment go. 

Maybe you simply figured out you don’t even like exercising the way you have and would much prefer simply going for a walk in nature. Do THAT instead, go for a tiny life change and donate your stuff.

Let That Shit Go

The pandemic as forced a lot of us to stop doing what we usually do on autopilot. It’s a little like our life insurance discussion, it’s a great opportunity to re-examine it all.

Maybe during this “pause“ period, you’ve been really enjoying not hosting people so often. Maybe you’re the Go-To person for every holiday around the calendar in your family. If you enjoy it or miss it, that’s great, but maybe you came to the realization that you don’t enjoy HAVING to host people and would like to do it less often and more on your terms.

How about having a conversation with your family. It may be a bit difficult or uncomfortable, but you might realize that other family members would love to host, but thought YOU wanted to do that and didn’t want to “steal your thunder“. 

Maybe you figure out that you had expectations for yourself that no one else has.

Not Going Back 

Many of you have been dreaming of working from home. Was it all you expected it to be, now that you have experienced it? I bet you lots of companies are going to be way more open to that possibility now, and if it has been a dream of yours, take that opportunity.

As for us, we don’t know if we’re going to make the jump to a different lifestyle or a different city any time soon. We may eventually, but in the meantime, we’re going to continue working on finishing our house. And we’ll keep exploring possibilities and asking ourselves, why aren’t we doing THAT now? How would this change our life?

But, what if you know in your bones you absolutely don’t want to go back to your regular life after this pandemic?

What if you were able to become the person you were always meant to be or want to be?

Why not take this time of disruption to switch gears, ditch the heaviness, and finally get the clutter-free life you want?

So why aren’t you doing THAT now?

That is an excellent question! 

Want help decluttering to live a bigger life and make those changes happen now? Work with me, I’ll help you get there.