Q. After the recent tragedy in Stillwater, I have been shocked, once again with the reality of how fragile life really is. It has made me rethink my life choices. Do you think many people really make choices with this reality in their mind?
A. I think your question is insightful, real and challenging. If we used the reality of life as a motivation for life choices, what would we do different?
Are we spending time with the people we love and enjoy?
Are we working the job that brings us fulfillment?
Do we live in the place that creates joy, a place that blocks out the stress in the world?
Are our finances where we want them to be?
Could we downsize and be happier?
A friend of mine recently stopped her cable service. She has the major channels and subscribes to a movie/TV package if she chooses to watch more. But what she realized was how much time she was wasting with mindless noise. Plus she is saving money and finds herself spending more time with friends.
Lauren is a travel nurse and in her early 30’s. She does not own a car or pay rent on an apartment. She chooses to live simple and travel with her job. She has some amazing life experiences, meets interesting people and does not complicate her life with “stuff.”
Jenny went to law school because that’s how her parents pushed her. She never really wanted to be a lawyer and after one year she had had enough. She now works for a non-profit, makes much less money but found what makes her happy.
John had worked his way to an impressive CEO position with an impressive six figure income. He was at the top of his game. (He was in therapy to figure out why happiness was eluding him.)
Before he had a heart attack or became an alcoholic he quit his job, moved his family out of the busy city and made a business out of his love of carpentry.
Fortunately this list is longer but not as long as the life some of us desire. It goes quickly. If right now you woke from the life fog you live in, you would change something, right?
After my daughter recently made some big life changes we discovered the following: SOMETIMES THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU WON’T UNDERSTAND YOU JOURNEY. THEY DON’T NEED TO, IT’S NOT FOR THEM.
