Friday, February 25, 2022

Living well in challenging times #5...Just start...


Today, can I encourage you to look at your life from a different perspective?

Following my previous post, I received several messages detailing how difficult it is for some of you, to just 'get in and get stuff done'.

So let's have a think together....

Here's what Getting Stuff Done isn't:

1. Trying to emulate someone on social media...

...yes that includes me. 

I mentioned this in my last post, where I encouraged you to just be YOU. 

Your life is completely different to mine. You live somewhere different, your circumstances are different, you wishes and hopes and dreams are different. Trying to Get Stuff Done to be just like 'insert persons name', is not going to work...for YOU. Decide what you want your life to look like, and work from there.

 If a little clutter, a little dust, a comfortable, homey, slightly chaotic environment is part of who you are, and providing we're talking 'comfortable' and 'healthy', then don't feel pressured into decluttering, rehoming, and reinventing. 

2. In that vein, Know Thyself. 

There is no doubt in the minds of anyone who knows me, where my preferences for food, art, appliances, travel, reading, clothing, and decor are. I know myself well, so by nature of that, my loved ones know me. They know what to expect from me, they know what gifts are appropriate, and if I were to pop off to the Nevermore tomorrow, they could do justice to my memory without a second thought.

Who are YOU? Are you living a life true to yourself? And if not, is there a way you can change that?

 We can change our life in small ways, even if not in greater ones. 

3. You can have the life you want.

City living but craving country life? You don't have to relocate to enjoy little bits of country life in your day to day. Use your weekends to explore the smaller communities where you live. Make hiking in the bush part of your regular routine. Bring Country Life into your decor with found items from your hikes, from thrift stores, and flea markets. Grow something...anything. Learn an Heirloom skill. Foster a homeless animal. Become a carer for injured wildlife. Volunteer at a animal shelter. Inject the parts of your imagined Country Life, into your City Life in small ways.

Country woman dreaming of city lights? Join the library and enjoy the glossy magazines at zero cost to you. Follow the Big City Girl type blogs. Keep abreast of events in the city and adapt your budget so that an annual or bi-annual trip to view the Chanel or Matisse or Picasso exhibition is not out of the question. Learn to make your favourite 'city treats' at home. Mine was once avocado on toast and a coffee with cream. Of course, those things are part and parcel of everyones breakfast menu, but they were exotic back in the day! Treats like Flourless orange and almond cake, and Chocolate fondant puddings are ridiculously easy to make, and if it gives you your taste of City Life, then so be it.

What's this got to do with Getting Stuff Done?

Living a life that's not true to self, is guaranteed to be an obstacle when it comes to Getting Stuff Done. 

It's a chore if you're doing it because someone else says you should, or because you think you should.

 What needs to happen is that you WANT to do it, or even NEED to do it, because your desire for the life you truly want, is so deep and strong, that NOT doing what needs to be done, leaves you feeling frustrated and disappointed.

Write it down.

Can you encapsulate the life you want in a single sentence?

Here's mine....

"I want to live a peaceful life, supported by my loved ones, and surrounded by beauty."

That has been my objective and mantra, before I ever knew what an objective or a mantra was. Even as a child, I liked my bedroom 'just so', with my bed made and my curtains tied back with a lavish bow each and every day. It's just part of me.

When you get right down to it though, my life as a child wasn't perfect. There were seven children, and only Mum, and peace and beauty were sometimes thin on the ground. Love never, that was always there. But certainly I can directly tie my need for peace and beauty in my life, to times when those elements were lacking. Those times led to a striving in my adult life, to ensure those elements were a constant, not just for me, but for my own family. 

Writing down your ideal life can be complicated. Finding the words can be hard. Even just thinking about it, can bring emotions and memories to the surface that are confronting. If that's the case for you, please do not hesitate to source a mentor, a counsellor, or other support, to ease you through the process of finding your best life.

Because, at the end of the day, we all only get this life once. Make the most of it. Don't, as someone said to me quite recently, do the same thing over and over for 75 years, and call it a life. That had a profound effect on me, spurring me into action on all manner of tasks over which I'd procrastinated for many years. Maybe it will have that effect on you too.

Tonight, go to bed, and dream of what life could be. What your BEST life looks like.

Then tomorrow.....just start....do one thing, then one thing more. Keep going.



Much love....

...Mimi...



8 comments:

  1. Inspiring post, Mimi. I'm the Country Girl who lives in the City but I have reclaimed my country roots by growing lots of fruit and vege, keeping chickens and my next challenge is growing a cutting garden of flowers to sell in my neighborhood.

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    1. Hello Sonya. I apologise for the delay in responding. I have actually had Covid! I love your Countrify-ing of your City Life. It's really not that hard, is it. And the satisfaction is so rewarding! Mimi xxx

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  2. I have so many missions. If I have to boil it down to a statement I think it is I want to be a Proverbs Woman and help and encourage others for God. And I want to learn all I can. xxx

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    1. That's an admirable and fulfilling aspiration Annabel. I'd expect nothing less from you. Mimi xxx

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  3. This is a post that hit home for me Mimi.

    I don't know if its my age or not {60 this year}, but I am very restless. Since Mum died last July, I have lost myself, my passion and motivation to do things like I used to. I find myself wanting to get rid of stuff and live a very peaceful, quiet, simple life. I am torn though because I have put so much blood, sweat and tears into creating my veggie and fruit garden and it is hard to leave it behind and choose travel instead. I bought myself a little fitted out van when my mum took ill because life is too short not to do the things you love. The weather has been too warm to go far from home. I feel the urge to be in nature and all the healing it can bring to the soul.

    xTania

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    1. Tania, forgive my absence. As you're probably aware, we've been Covid-ised here! I hear you on all counts. Approaching the age where no matter what, there are fewer years ahead than behind, is challenging. I found that too. And the loss of a beloved parent seems to change ones thinking on so many levels. I believe it's the perfect time for a very valid re-assessment. I read something that said that you can't become the person you're meant to be, by clinging to the person you were. That had a profound impact on me. Just because you've been 'Outback Tania' or 'Self Sufficient Tania' up until now, doesn't mean you can't become 'Travelling Tania'. Another mantra of mine, (and my Mums) is, Do What You Want While You Still Can. The future or the future we imagine for ourselves, is not promised. Take that first step. I don't think you'll regret it. I was so sorry to hear of your Mums passing. She would want you to live life to the full, I'm sure. Much love. Mimi xxx

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  4. A wonderful, motivating post, Mimi! I can relate to feeling stuck and not knowing where to begin. For so long I didn't feel like I was living the life I wanted, and then, like Tania above, my Mom died. I had taken care of her and my Dad for the last few years of their life and then after they died (1 year after the other), I was at a loss. I just had to put one foot in front of the other and I am still trying to move forward. I do love your tips, especially the one of writing things down. I think that's a great idea. I've always wanted to write a little memoir for my grandkids, too. Thanks for the inspiration. xx K

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    1. I'm so sorry to hear of the passing of your Mum and Dad, Karen. It's a defining moment for us all, I know. It's confronting, and tilts everything we thought we knew about our own little Universe. One thing it taught me is that the future is uncertain (and don't we know THAT right now), and that our happiness is in nobodys hands but our own. Your purpose will become obvious to you over time, as mine did to me, and so long as you keep 'just putting one foot in front of the other', you'll get there. Sending love. Mimi xxx

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I love hearing from you! I always respond to comments, so don't be shy! Mimi xxx