How do you set up a life you don’t need to escape from?
“Instead of wondering when your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don’t need to escape from.” – Seth Godin
Now, if you follow me on social media hint: @acupunctureriley — you KNOW that I love to vacation. But there is a big difference from a vacation “reset” vs. escapism.
Many people may not realize that their life is set up in a way with escape routes attached to it. We are always thinking about “sure I may be unhappy with my life now, but don’t worry, in a few months, I’ll be in Cabo.” Or “I may only be making this much money now, but if I stick to this job I’ll get a raise soon, I know it.” We make our present moment a means to getting somewhere better, going towards a feeling of freedom instead of allowing freedom to flourish where you already are.
This concept may be hard to grasp for some, and I get it, it’s not exactly instinctual. Advertisements and the media tells us there’s always something better to attain and strive for. And they’re not wrong. But instead of striving for the next best thing, what if we put that energy into striving to make our lives the ones we want to be living each and every day.
Instead of seeing vacation as an opportunity to escape life… why not create a life you don’t need to escape from.
This is not necessarily easy to do. But it is possible to craft a life you love. Here’s how:
- Make Relationships a Top Priority.
By focussing on relationships, they will only grow and flourish in the way they are meant to. To love and be loved is important for emotional and mental well being. And by putting our attention on relationships that matter to us, we will experience the joy and abundance that can come along with quality connections and make it part of our everyday.
- Remove Unneeded Items from Your Life.
Having an excess of physical possessions can actually drag us down as opposed to build us up. By throwing away things you no longer need, you are leaving room for more important and fulfilling experiences. This is one of the main principles of minimalism or becoming a minimalist. It almost works like magic!
- Combine Your Job With Your Work
Your job is what you do for money in order to provide shelter, food and clothing for yourself and your family. Your work on the other hand is what you do to contribute to society, it connects your passion to the greater world around you. When you are able to make your work your job, you are undoubtedly on the right track to feeling fulfilled each and every day.
- Learn To Say No
Learn to say no to things that do not feel worth it to you. And at the same time, don’t overload yourself with unnecessary tasks that will just wear you down. If you find it difficult to say no, just try it once and see how you feel. You’ll find that the more you do it, the easier it will be.
- Take Care of Yourself.
In order to make positive connections and help others, we first have to help ourselves. Giving to others from an empty cup is no use, so we must fill up our own cup first. By taking time away for yourself, away from the demands of others is a good start. Also, applying therapies that allow for quality rest and relaxation such as acupuncture therapy or acupuncture massage will allow you to restore your energy and allow you to be able to give out your energy resources more freely, creating positive experiences in your life everyday.