It’s been a year since I started to blog regularly and a lot has changed. My life has become more reflective and instead of focusing on far-off goals, I’ve started to consider how to make the most of each day and find the freedom to live in the moment.
My blog posts and the things that inspire me to write have changed too and in June I took a mini-break from blogging to reflect on this.
I did this because each time I wrote a post that wasn’t about saving or making money, I had a nagging sensation that my little blog was veering off course and that I’d lost sight of my overall vision.
I’ve learnt that when in doubt, it’s time to be still and take stock. So that’s what I did.
Aa a result, I decided to let go of my old vision for this blog and embrace change and so unfolds another part of my Year of Letting Go challenge.
Live the Life You Love
I concluded that I’m pretty intertwined with my blog. It’s part of me and I’m part of it. I write about what I’m focusing on and those things that align with my values.
When I set up my little corner of cyberspace, my plan was that it would be filled with hints and tips on saving and making money to help people on their debt free journey. As I had recently become mortgage free, my mind and thoughts were very much in that place.
But as with any creative process, things don’t always turn out as expected. What I hadn’t realised when I started this blog was that my mortgage-free journey wasn’t solely about money. It was so easy to focus on the next overpayment and become wrapped up in the figures but something different was at the heart of it all.
It was about freedom – being mortgage-free gave me the freedom to choose how I wanted to live my life without being forever bound to the bank.
And ultimately that’s what life’s about. Whether you’re clearing debt, striving to become mortgage free or financially independent, it’s not about the money, it’s about freedom. The freedom to choose how you want to spend your days and who you want to spend them with. The freedom to achieve your dreams and to live the life you love.
In turn, this blog has turned into a reflection of the things I did to become mortgage free but also how I choose to find freedom rin the moment as I try to create my best life. It’s my journey of discovery as I travel along the path and create a life I love. And I hope by sharing it, you too will find what’s important to you so you can live the life you love too.
The Freedom Triangle
For me, there are three core principles to freedom: health, wealth and happiness. I always imagine them as a triangle, each principle supporting the others. If you take one of these away, things start to go out of shape and you may find that you feel restricted and dissatisfied.
No matter your circumstances, whether you are in debt, unhealthy or feel low, there is always something you can do to strengthen these foundations and create freedom.
Health
This is probably the most important aspect of freedom. We all know that how we feel can have a huge impact on our day. Yet no matter what our current state of health is, there is always something we can do to improve it, whether that’s the food choices we make, our exercise routine, getting enough sleep, practicing mindfulness and mediation… The list goes on.
Prioritising your health is a key part of your freedom journey, allowing you to thrive and truly live the life you love.
Wealth
When I say wealth, I don’t just mean money. Wealth is anything that brings value to your life. For me, it’s about forming strong connections with others, having enough in my life to meet my needs, valuing what I have and having time and space to create, as well as having time to enjoy life. Afterall, what’s the point of curating a beautiful life if you’re dashing from one thing to the next and never truly stopping to appreciate it.
Happiness
Some people are winning with their health and wealth but are miserable. Without happiness true freedom can feel elusive. Happiness is that inner state of contentment which means that you don’t always have to look towards something external. We can cultivate more happiness in our lives by developing a regular gratitude practice, giving to others, taking part in hobbies we love or simply slowing down. Yes, we may not always be happy, but taking time to look inwards and finding contentment can be a huge part of unlocking our freedom vibes.
Life Alchemy – Reclaim Your Life Now
When we’re forever focusing on some far-off goal or destination, it’s easy to forget that we’re actually the alchemists of our own lives. Each day we get to choose what we do and be the director of our life.
We may have to work a 9-5, but we can still find an hour each day to embrace our inner life alchemist and start building the life we dream of – whether that’s paying off debt, studying a new skill, creating art, building a blog, attach your dream here. It really is up to you.
Each day we can take steps towards our own personal freedom by improving our health, wealth and happiness. We can choose to consume less and create more. Just make the choice and take action.
The change doesn’t even have to be big. In fact, that’s one mistake people make when deciding to make a change in their life – they believe it involves drastic action. It doesn’t. Small changes made consistently reap huge results over time.
So focus on making one small change, stick to it and see where you are in a week, 30 days, 6 months, even a year. It’s amazing what you can achieve when you choose to embrace the freedom to live the life you love.
Six Steps to Freedom
If you’re unsure where to begin, follow the six steps below to take control and create more freedom in your life today:
- Select one area you’d like to improve – health, wealth or happiness.
- Decide upon one small improvement you’d like to make in that area. For example, if you want to pay off debt, then make your goal as small as possible. You might chose to reduce your grocery spend by £10 a week or you may want to find a way to make an extra £10 a week. But the key here is to keep it small and manageable to ensure success.
- Write your goal down and put it somewhere you can see it every day. Write it on a post-it, save it as a notification on your phone, create a screensaver. Just make sure you see it frequently.
- Create a routine. Make time for your activity each day. You can create change in as little as 15 minutes a day but be sure to plan when you’re going to do. If you don’t, then it becomes easy to forget. I find planning my day the night before works best for me.
- Take action. Do one thing daily to help you achieve that goal. If you’re aiming to cut your grocery spend, you may find ways to cut food waste or have a ‘something on toast’ night for tea each week, or you may downgrade a brand. If you’re looking to make more money, you may sign up for online surveys or start to sell your unwanted stuff.
- Track your success. Whether that’s in a notebook, on your phone or on a calendar, don’t miss out this crucial step. On days when your enthusiasm has gone out of the window, it’s so important to be able to track your journey and see how far you’ve come. You will amaze yourself.
Commit to the above for 30 days and watch your life transform. But most of all, enjoy becoming your very own life alchemist and watch your confidence soar.
So what’s stopping you, embrace change and find your freedom today!
Image courtesy of Ross Findon on Unsplash.