Today I read a wonderful article on Zenhabits about reclaiming your life. It offers advice on how to create the life you want and make the most of the free time you lay claim to.
Free time? what's that?
We all can create free time for ourselves, we just need to work at doing it. Some people already do make time in their daily lives to do the things they love, and others of us just get swallowed up in hectic crazy lives where we cater to everyone else in our lives and their needs/demands.
These words from the author of the article, "I finally got smart and decided that my life is my own, to do with as I wished, and so I took a time out to decide what I really wanted my life to be like. Then I designed my life, and made a series of decisions and steps to get my life to what I wanted it to be," really struck a chord with me. I especially took to heart the words, "...what I really wanted my life to be like."
To be truly happy, it is so important that we envision our lives the way we really want them to be, and then take real action to have it be that way. Otherwise we are simply going through the motions and just getting by each day. Life goes by too quickly--and soon enough we may face the day where we look back with regret.
Are you settling? Is there more that you want from life? If you have a passion, are you following it, nurturing it, and growing with it? Have you had dreams about your life that you have let go of? These are all thoughts that went through my mind as I read the article on Zenhabits. I know life is all about compromise, and that is ok. I mean staying home with my kids does mean I will compromise and not have a new Fall wardrobe, for example. Compromise is good indeed, as long as you are happy with the results. But even so, we need to not feel as though we compromised, got the result we wanted, and therefore can ask for no more. I should be able to feel that while yes, I am at home full time with my kids, I still get to do things just for me. I still get to hold onto my dreams and my vision of how I want my life to be. And if it is not, then it's time to take action, as the author of the article did, and make time for the things you love to do.
Finding time for just you may be difficult, but certainly not impossible. Read the article on Zenhabits, and find 20 ways to reclaim your time. Not everything in the article will necessarily be applicable to your life, but read through it and the suggestions given, and just pick out the tips and advice that you find valuable.