small changes to lead a big life

How many of us hope for a big change to dramatically alter our lives? We buy a tattslotto ticket in the hope of suddenly doing something drastically different. Tree-changers move to the country with the dream of suddenly living a better life. Sea-changers move to the beach to change the pace of their life. People move to sunny Queensland where a change of weather and pace of life is hoped to enable them to feel more fulfilled and content. Or we hold out hope for retirement where we will finally have the opportunity to realise all of our dreams.

You might guess that I believe there is a better way than these kind of large-scale changes.

We all have an opportunity to change our lives where we are, right now.

And I believe in small changes as a way of realising our dreams, or at least trialling them!

Many of us have dreams of doing something different—of studying, of starting a business, of changing careers, of living a simpler life, of living a quieter life, of writing a book, of building a house, of sailing around the world, or travelling in your own country, or [insert your own dream here]. I truly believe that taking action and making a start on these dreams will lead to a much greater sense of fulfilment.

I might be making this sound easy—but it is not as easy as it seems.

Making a decision to reach for your dreams and go against the status quo is challenging.

You might decide to work three days each week instead of five to give yourself time to pursue your dreams—a decision likely to raise some eyebrows.

You might pour your heart and soul into writing a book—and then really put yourself out there by self-publishing it, or submitting the manuscript to publishing houses and receiving the likely rejections.

You might start a blog and expose your most personal thoughts and feelings. What if people don’t like what you have to say? What if no-one cares?

You might take 12 months leave (or quit altogether) from your safe, secure job to travel the world to research, or to pursue your dreams. Check out the Facebook community which was started recently by a good friend of mine who has given up her job at the zoo to pursue ‘A Good Life In The City’.

You might decide to start a home-based business. Starting small might give you an opportunity to work out whether you are truly passionate about it—and whether it could be successful.

You might decide to be a stay-at-home dad to your young children.

You might decide to be a stay-at-home mum until your children are school age, or even (shock, horror!) secondary school age.

Stepping out of the traditional model of working Monday to Friday, 9-5 (or likely more!) takes courage, but it also enables you to live a life without regrets. (Bronnie Ware's blog post from 2009 about The Top Five Regrets of the Dying is still incredibly popular).

So, how do you work out what you most want to do?

The most important thing is to take time for reflection. If your first reaction is ‘I don’t have any time!’, how can you make time? Can you take a day of annual leave? Can you watch less tv? I highly recommend finding space away from your home or place of work to think through what you truly want to do—and what you will most regret not doing. And work out how you can start small, where you are right now.

In my last post, I wrote about the importance of values in helping shape your life. I highly recommend taking the time to think about your values. Work out what is most important to you, and then shape your life around that.

The Find my niche book may also help you work out what you are passionate about, what energises you, and will assist you to reflect on your personal strengths. I also have a list of great books that might help on my website.

Once you start looking, you will likely find plenty of people who have done something similar to you—and who are only too happy to share their experiences of how they made it work.

 
So, make a plan to live your best life where you are right now.

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