“You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last, you create what you will.” – George Bernard Shaw
How often have you been excited that you were going to work and that you get to see your clients or coworkers?
If your answer to those questions is never, or laughing because you find the thought of not dreading work absurd, why do you think you feel this way?
Comparing notes about Monday blues, or leaving the office on Fridays is a popular way to pass the time. There are any number of social media posts about how long the work week is and just when will the weekend finally arrive. There are many social media sites about positivity and gratitude. It seems though that a complaint about how you are recovering from vacation can garner far more responses than a post about gratitude for coworkers who are capable of covering while you are gone. It is not popular to be grateful for work.
There is a social aspect to wishing away our daily lives. There is comfort in commiserating with others. Common tasks can create a bond over time. So why can we not find ways to commiserate about the positives? Gratitude practices take effort and changing habits mean effort must be put into that change. It is much easier to like and share that meme about Thursdays being “day four of the hostage situation” than to post how grateful you are about the benefit of having a capable coworker to back you up.
Life is not about just paying bills and getting through the week. Life is what happens when there is no plan. Vacations are actually plans. We plan where to go, where to stay, what to do. It can be a lot of work to have a successful vacation away from home. Getting all the details planned out and setting all the arrangements. Working hard just to save money and have time off to enjoy a vacation can take a lot of planning. What if we used that same type of mindset to plan our everyday life?
Start with what you want to accomplish. A few questions can help narrow down the planning process, just as when choosing a vacation destination.
Where do we want to go? If you enjoy your job, is there something else you are working towards? Moving to another locale? Staying where you are? Knowing what you want to accomplish and why you work can be a clue to where we want to end up.
Can you begin to live in the now? Moving and changing jobs when you have debts and obligations can be a huge hurdle. Can you start with a budget to eliminate debt, create savings, maybe even invest in short- or long-term savings? Culling belongings can bring in money to jumpstart those plans and increase resources by not caring for things.
Arrange your living spaces so they bring joy and create that sense of vacation every day at home. Clean sheets and uncluttered spaces are what many people say they love about going away from home on vacation. Create a home where you capture that feeling and every day you can wake up ready to face the day knowing you get to return to that space each night.
Start with a sheet of paper, just like planning a vacation. Imagine where you want to go. Now start planning how you will get there. The plan will guide you and show you the way to having a life you no longer need to escape. Instead you will have time, money, and energy to do the things you love, with intention.
The process of creating a life you don’t need to take a vacation from can take work and planning. Ultimately, having the life you planned to live, and not just the life that you happened to be living can bring you joy and contentment. Where do you plan to take your life?