The Future is no place to place your better days ~ Dave Matthews
So many people put off enjoying their life until the future. Vacations, spas, climbing a mountain, snorkeling the Caribbean, starting your own business, buying a house, finding love, having kids, getting a new job you love, joining a gym, learning how to swing a golf club, going to a concert, taking a painting class, going back to University, taking up knitting. Whatever it is that makes your heart beat a little faster with excitement when you think about it, start making the plan now for how you are going to do it.
For me, travel is way up there on my list of ways I want to enjoy my life. I remember the first time I went on a tropical vacation and thinking “Wow, I want to do this every year for the rest of my life.” I grew up in the Nova Scotia and the furthest we ever traveled was to Ontario to visit family. I had the luxury of living fairly close to dozens of beaches. (Something I took for granted and miss dearly now that I live days away from the ocean) but the crisp Atlantic Ocean water and cool breeze that I was used to, was the complete opposite of the hot air and warm blue Caribbean Sea down south. To me, this place was magical. The sand felt soft under my toes and the water was so crystal clear I could see down to the bottom even when I was further out treading water. The nights were so warm and the air was either filled with the sound of crashing waves or Caribbean music depending on where I went. I had never experienced feeling so warm outside at night before this trip.
At the time I couldn’t afford this trip, I saved up about half of it and put the rest on my credit card and figured out how to pay for it later. (I now make sure to have this figured out beforehand) But this trip opened my eyes to the world (literally) of destinations out there to experience and explore. From then on, I made sure to budget and plan to take a destination vacation every year. For ten years, I did just that. Explored the Caribbean, one island at a time, because I absolutely loved it there so I made it work. Now that I have a one and two year old it’s a little bit harder and a lot more expensive, but its still the goal. I want to continue going on at least one family destination vacation each year. So I will.
Nearly every single person has something they would like to do or achieve, followed by a “reason” they haven’t done it yet. If this dream of yours is coming from a place of love, then please stop waiting and start planning or start working towards it. We are not guaranteed our future, nor are we guaranteed our health in the future. Start making time for little things in your life that make you happy every single day, and start planning out the big things too.
Time and money are the most common excuses people have, and yes they are just excuses. I bet if you sat down and went through every single thing you spend money on you could find a few things to cut that are not nearly as important as your dream. Finances are something that can be improved, so if that’s what holding you back from your dreams than start working on the finances first. Time is all about priority, if you truly want to do something you will make the time. So lets look at a few of those things, maybe there are a few you can apply to your life today.
I’m going to get more in depth about time and money in future posts; but I the meantime here are a few tips to move past those two big excuses and start looking forward to your goals. These are a few things I’ve done over the years to shift around my priorities and make sure I am enjoying my life right now. Remember that the only thing ACTUALLY holding you back from any goals or dreams you have, is YOU.
Five Tips for Improving Finances
- Pack your lunch
- Make your own coffee (I don’t drink coffee so for me this was cutting out Redbull)
- Shop around for better TV and Internet packages, or even call and just ask for a better price
- Price match your groceries
- Make sure your credit card is giving you something. Travel rewards, free groceries, cash back.
Five Tips on Creating Time
- Wake up earlier, get shit done!
- Eat while you work so you can do something you enjoy on break ( this may not be an option in all jobs)
- Book vacations around stat holidays and weekends (or just book the vacation period, prioritize the time around the dates you book)
- Listen to Podcasts and Audio books and online courses during your commutes
- Delegate, Delegate, Delegate! Get a maid, hire childcare (or family), get a personal assistant, train a replacement to do your work while you’re gone away. Anything you don’t enjoy doing that takes time away from what you do enjoy doing can likely be done by someone else.
So what are your dreams, what brings you joy, what do you love to do, and are you doing it? If not; what are you waiting for?
Looking for more support on how to fit the joy into your life? Coaching might be what you are looking for, read more about it here.
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