How to find out what you really want and how to afford it. An Ayurvedic approach.
Yes, I travel a lot but no, I am not rich (yet haha)
I love travelling and I have been travelling all my life. When I returned back home to Switzerland, people would often tell me that they also had this big dream of travelling the world but they did not have the money or time to do it. Maybe they were in a relationship that did not allow that much freedom. Sometimes, there was a little bit of envy in their voices implying that I must have all of these things and more. But I didn’t. I grew up in a single mum’s household, and we have never had a lot of money. Which is why I am probably the only Swiss on the planet who cannot ski (it is freakinnn expensive :))! The simple truth is that I decided to travel anyway! I just made it my first priority. At times, this would mean sleeping in shitholes or outside. Always, it would mean that I spent my last penny on my travels. What I found deeply disturbing about being employed was that I often couldn’t leave when I wanted to and I couldn’t make healthy and happy choices in general. No home-cooked, organic lunch or staying home when I was ill, had my period and, worst of all, when my loved ones needed me. Is not there something wrong when an employer decides if I can see my dying granddad or not? So my dream of travelling also made becoming self-employed a priority in my life.
What I learned: MAKE YOUR DREAMS YOUR FIRST PRIORITY (even if it looks like your life’s circumstances don’t allow for this, bear with me on this one :))
If we are only willing to pursue a path if it is guaranteed to work, we will never move
I am telling you this story because that was when I realized that what keeps us from realizing our dreams are first and foremost two things: first, we often do not really know what we want and second, the people around us often do not want us to do crazy things because it comes with a lot of uncertainty, they may lose us or they may have to question their own decisions and lives. Since the fear of the uncertain is in all of us, we may pick up on other people’s fears around our decision and it becomes even harder to see it through. What if this is not the right thing to do? Will this work at all? What if I fail? What if I don’t like it? What if I regret it? So really what we are saying with all these questions is that we are only willing to pursue a change if it is guaranteed to work! This essentially means that we cannot implement ANY changes because there are NO guarantees in life – no matter how safe the option may look. Another hindering factor is laziness. If something feels safe and comfortable – why change it, right? Being a seeker though, I knew that laziness would never satisfy me. My soul was restless and even though I did not know back then exactly where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do, I knew that this conventional life was not for me. Really, this is all you need to know as well! If you know what you don’t want, you know what you want.
What I learned: PURSUE YOUR DREAMS NO MATTER THE (POTENTIAL) OUTCOME
You don’t know what you want? Dream big!
If you also feel like your life needs a re-design, but you do not have a clue where and how to start: this is what I did and may help you get some clarity: imagine, just for a brief moment, that you could do ANYTHING you want – there are no restrictions: you can take a completely selfish decision right now, you do not have to consider any financial, responsibility or alleged lack of competence… If EVERYTHING was possible: what would your ideal life look like? Write it down or make a painting! It is very important that you actually create something physical like a page of writing or painting an image instead of only imagining it so that your thoughts are manifested in the first stage of the physical realm (this is alchemy in practice – i.e. turning lead into gold in the real world, guys, so just stay with me). Take your time and be as precise as you can! It is especially important to note down how you would FEEL in this new life! Elated, free, light, inspired? There is only one rule: do NOT be realistic about it (my favorite part)! Your critical mind will tell you that there is no point in doing this. DO NOT LISTEN! And in part 2 of this series you will learn more about how to tell your mind what YOU want instead of the other way around 🙂 – stay tuned for Part 2 next week!
What I learned: When it comes to WHAT you want: DREAM BIG!
Read part 2 here
What would your ideal life look like? Share it here:
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