Wow time flies... at least now it does...
I will be honest with you... after 3-4 weeks, I wanted to give up.... Cuz I had define too many rules and it was all getting too complicated! Remember when I first announced this project is was 108 days to a new life! Because I was moving far and wanted to create a new life for myself!!!
Not a life of pain... not a life of restriction...
But a life of freedom and happiness...
The rules were in the way of that...
I had to find what happiness and freedom meant to me... and I did!
I am a very independent person...
Who loves to share and talk... I know seems like opposite... but it is not...
I like to do my things my way.... and talk about stuff I am passionate about...
I like to be free...
I like to be happy....
and this to me is what was important...
I have refined the way I live and the way I dress a lot over the years....
I have refined the way I make and spend money...
I am now able to do work I love and this is bringing me happiness...
Why? Because I am a minimalist....
Now for those of you who do not know yet, I work at Starbucks... as a Barista! Entry level job. And I just LOVE it!!!! I feel like every time I have an interaction with a customer it is to bring them happiness... a smile on their face... their caffeine fix for the day...
I feel useful... and in the right place! Finally!
Some people told me that I should be more ambitious with my background... to that I would say that I am ambitious... maybe not in the "general" sense this word is use... but I do have my OWN ambitions:
1) Be healthy
2) Be happy
3) Be free
4) Bring happiness around me
5) Show my son that life can be what ever you want it to be - there are no rules
6) Be a leader/example in showing people that you can ALWAYS re-invent yourself
7) Give people hope
Maybe my ambitions are not in terms of salary making... or job title.. maybe my ambitions are not in terms of the size of my home... or number of vehicle I own.... nor are they in number of countries travelled to...or the size of my closet... but they are there!
And my new life is actually allowing me to live them.
How did I manage to get to that point?
Well first of all, it did not happen overnight! Over the last 7 years, I have lowered my cost of living by 60%... yes! THAT much!!!!
I did it slowly... smaller home.... less and then no car.... bus pass for the whole family then only one for my husband who works further away... no smart phone... only one cell phone... changed the way we eat... eat in more and out less... spend less on useless stuff... buy less clothes... no cable TV...
Decrease debt payment which will soon be 0$...
All this with the ultimate goal to be able to work at something we love instead of something we hate to pay bills...
Another goal was a stress free life...
We are getting there...
I am healthier then ever... during those 108 days I am not suppose to eat processed snacks... and I am pretty good on that... I would say that I cheated a couple of times but in general, 95% of the time I did not have process cookies or chips or the like... I also am sticking to nothing else but fruits after 7pm 98% of the time.
I now have to find a way to integrate my fruits and veggies days... It is more difficult since my work requires a lot of standing and moving around... I may have to find another way to do that. Once I figure it out I will let you know.
Another factor contributing to my health is my yoga/meditation practice - which I need to now integrate to my new work schedule. Also, all the walking and biking everywhere does help... we do it even more than in Montreal where public transit was more readily accessible.
My finances are getting better by the day. Not spending really does wonder on one's budget! Who would have thought??? :-) Another objective of my 108 days was to not spend money on useless things... I am doing good... not as good as with the diet but I am a recovering shopaholic! I bought a bike and some clothes for work - this was an essential! I also spend roughly 50$ on 3 scarves, 2 tank tops and a boho blouse - these were just moments of weaknesses... and I am actually wearing these ALL the time! And a vintage velvet dress for 20$... velvet is an essential for me! ;-) Nonetheless, even though we have also decreased our income by about 60% over the last 7 years, we can still save money and pay back debt... this is wonderful!
And the TV thing? Awesome! In the end, 35 days without even opening it! And I really don't miss it... I do like to watch a show with my son... and I can see how when rain and snow comes in, it might be useful to have Netflix to watch a movie or something... but cable? NO! Not going back there... Really, it is very expensive to be brainwashed as to what we need and what we should look like (which makes you spend even more money)! Not sure I would dress the way I do or keep my hair silver if I did watch TV... But this is just my own opinion... I am not talking for anyone else here.
As for work on myself, I am really figuring out what I want in life... what kind of future I see for myself... I am meeting great people here in Moncton and I am still happy about the move. I am working on a few project which I will get to share with you in due time.
Next challenges are the 1h walk for 21 days and the 21 recipes to try... will get back to you on these because when I decided the challenges, I was unemployed and had more free time...
What I am looking at is starting next Saturday (not tomorrow) and do the walk thing over the week end and yoga during the week before work... will try and convince my son to do the walks with me around the lake. As for the recipe, there are a few recipes I wish to try - but time wise, it is unreasonable to expect to try 21 recipes over 21 days... and I really want to give a shot at "pickled" veggies... in mason jars. If any of you are doing that, any tips or tricks? or books on preserving food in mason jar? blog? website? I would really appreciate it!
Once again I am loving my new life for now... and it will only get better during the 8th week when my son returns from Montreal and we finally get to live as a family! As I mentioned before, this will require some adjustment as we never really spent more then 3 weeks together all 3 of us... so I guess this is another challenge between now and Oct 6th when 108 days are over!
This is it for this week...
thanks for reading!
and please share if you like this blog!!!
love&peace,
nath
xox
http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=734016786
No comments:
Post a Comment