Most of us desire happiness and balance but very few of us know how to get it in their life.
This is a tough subject because there are so many factors that inhibit us from truly being happy.
The obvious one that appears a lot is the lack of money and the other is we’re too busy being busy that we’re not stopping to see what’s going on around us and then making the changes we need to bring more happiness and joy in our life.
I was reflecting this morning how for the first time in weeks how I have really enjoyed the start of the school day with my daughter and how it felt when I wasn’t rushing her to get ready for school, with packing her bag, brushing her teeth and brushing her hair ready for me to tie up.
Ruby loves to dance in front of the mirror and often comes up with dance moves. Typical pre-teen. She’s got some good dance moves even though she doesn’t want to do dancing lessons. She often breaks out in dance moves when I feel we don’t have the time.
However, this particular day I just allowed and it was such a special moment. I caught myself really smiling just not a smirk to humour her and I was caught up in her moment. It reminded me of what life was like when I was a kid many moons ago. The freedom to do whatever I wanted without worry, without the hassle of all the things it takes to be an adult today with the many responsibilities.
So why today, what was so special about today…what was different about it. Why did I stop and be in the moment and be present in my daughter’s usual shenanigans?
It hit me about an hour later after I dropped her at school.
The ahhha moment at that time was,….take pressure off yourself – things will get done when they’re meant to get done. You can’t rush life.
Now some of you listening may be thinking that this is not the most motivating conversation for but for me, it was and made so much sense.
It was about knowing what’s really important and why we are working – not just to earn an income and pay our bills. For most of us we’re working – so we can build a life that we want to enjoy. It’s about creating a life we truly desire and makes us happy.
So many people strive for balance but most don’t actually get there. We’re too busy working, shuffling kids to sports, birthday parties and other things that we do when we have a family and taking care of our loved ones or whatever fills our busy adult days.
Life is precious.
Going back to my moment this morning something also hit me….
Last year my Dad’s 3 eldest brothers past away plus his best childhood friend all in the same year.
It was a reality call that highlighted again to me that I can’t take life for granted and I have to make each moment count.
I’ve heard that saying before but never really took much notice of it until reflecting at the end of last year.
Make each moment count as you just don’t know when our time on earth is up – none of us know when we will take our last breath.
Choose to spend time with the people that count. I’m choosing spend my time with the family and friends who make me happy and bring joy into my life and not because I have to see them.
Spend time with people who make you laugh, people who don’t judge, aren’t jealous or envious of you but love you for who you are warts and all.
Choose to declutter and detox not only things in and around your house, but people who don’t bring you happiness.
Choose to live life the way God intended us to – in peace, harmony and joy.
I challenge you here today to do more of what makes you happy. Reflect on all that is good in your life and clean out that which is not.
Don’t be afraid to offend people. Just do what you feel is right for you and your family.
It’s such a good feeling once you’ve done this – trust me!
This is one of the gifts I can give our daughter – teaching her to live her life with no regrets. Not worrying about what people think or say about her behind her back. To believe in herself and not listen to what other people say or think of her, but to listen to how she feels.
People will always have an opinion on who you are and how you should live your life. Choose not to let them get under your skin and choose your own special brand of happiness.
When you worry about what other people think it’s because you either have low self esteem and want to feel accepted or because in some truth there’s something about you that you possibly you need to change.
The people we are attract in our life often mirror something we like or don’t like about ourself.
Your reality is what you’re focussing on and thinking about is having a mirroring effect into what you’re attracting into your life whether it be a positive or negative experience.
It’s important to feed yourself and the next generation with positiveness, hope and the expectation we can achieve anything if we choose.
Choose to be happy and take the inspired action.
What are some of the ways you are choosing to be more happier and decluttering negativity out of your life? Let me know by leaving me your thoughts below.
Today I’m going to share with you my top 10 tips on how you can spend less without feeling like you are missing out.
There are so many ways you can put more money back into your pocket whist spending less money and without having to cut costs or stick to a budget that most of us struggle to work with.
The ten but not exhaustive tips I’m sharing in this podcast – I trust will give you some inspiration on how you can look at ways to spend less and start feeling good about the way you can manage money better.
Where are the ways you could spend less while enjoying more money in your pocket?Leave me a comment and let me know if you enjoyed this podcast.
SUBSCRIBE to hear more tips and information on areas relating to financial and mindset.
Wow it’s been a while since I’ve recorded a podcast – my apologises.
I recently had someone ask hey where are your podcasts I’ve missed them. Actually I didn’t know anyone was listening as nobody seems to comment, which doesn’t surprise me but would be nice every now and then to know someone is listening.
Well I put on hold recording while I was finishing off writing some courses that I’ve released this year. So I’m back into recording and I hope you continue to enjoy.
In this episode podcast 003 I’ve decided to share my thoughts on happiness.
Why, because everybody wants to be happy – but very few people know how to achieve it in their life.
This is a tough subject because there are so many factors that inhibit us from truly being happy. One that appears a lot is a lack of money and the other is we’re too busy being busy that we’re not stopping to see what’s going on around us and then making the changes we need to bring more happiness and joy in our life.
In this podcast, I’m going to share how the little things can bring more happiness if you allow them – so I hope you enjoy.
SUBSCRIBE to hear more tips and information on areas relating to financial and mindset and leave a comment on what areas of your life stresses you out the most.
Here are some resources to support you in your journey for happiness:
A little while ago someone said to me what’s this thing you keep talking about financial muscle – it doesn’t make any sense.That’s probably because I’ve coined the phase “building financial muscle”.So here’s snapshot of what it means to have financial muscle!
So financial muscle is about building strength in your finances and it’s also about building mental stamina, as well as, ensuring your money is working for you and not for some credit company or banking institutions benefit.
It means that in a time of emergency you can pull on money reserves to get you out of a bind.
Having financial muscle is about taking the worry out of unexpected things that can go wrong and often do.
Financial muscle is also about knowing you’ve got this covered – you’ve money behind you and that’s giving you greater peace of mind.
It means you can enjoy more out of life without any added financial stress and worry.
I believe we all want the same things out of life.
We all want prosperity & happiness.
We want to live a life free from stress.
And we want to live a full life – filled with many adventures and the freedom to do what we choose.
The problem I see it is that today people are being burdened down with a massive amount of stress in their life.
Some – if not a lot – of the stress is caused by financial issues.
If you take a look again at this diagram you’ll see that when you don’t have financial muscle – it means you don’t have money working to your advantage.
If this is the case then you’re probably struggling and feeling very overwhelmed.
When this occurs it usually means you’re either spending everything you earn with nothing much left over.
Your relationships are probably suffering and you’re stressed out and if you’re not careful your health will start to suffer.
If you’re not quite at the bottom but feeling like you’re just surviving – by managing to pay your bills.I’m guessing you’re frustrated and possibly feeling angry and annoyed, no doubt still stressed out that your money isn’t working the way you want it to be.
In a recent study done by the Australian Psychology Society’s stress and wellbeing survey – financial issues continue to be the number 1 stress for people.
Today, there is not just one income earner but two in most households.
Families in general have more money coming in today than previous generations –and on the surface, things look really great.
However, we know there are more divorces today than ever before and the average family is looking a lot different now than from a few years ago.
When did we decide that we would give up so much of our core values in order to have the material things that give us the appearance of living a happier fulfilled life but in reality are not!
People are now slowly starting to question things like is it worth really getting into so much debt and buying stuff to impress people that we don’t even like?The onset of this is causing them to suffer in the process.
People are looking for options and want the best out of life without sacrificing their core values and principles.
You see…
“It’s not how much money we earn. It’s our ability to manage our money that can make the difference”!
Regardless of where you might be right now – invest some time into obtaining more financial knowledge that will lead to you making better decisions about your money and life.
This is the first thing you can do to start learning how to build financial muscle.
The second way you can build financial muscle is investing in yourself.
Investing in your belief that you can do it, while earning how to pay yourself first.
You pay yourself first by putting away every pay day a minimum of 10% into an account that you can not touch or access easily with the swipe of an ATM card.
This account should be one that doesn’t have any ongoing monthly fees and gives you the ability to automatically transfer at payday the minimum 10% directly into this account.
Having this on autopilot means you don’t have the think about transferring money and it just gets done.
You’re not going to miss this amount and before you know it you will have built up a sizeable amount of money that can now be used for investing and growing you money further.
Stick to the minimum of 10% until all bad debts like credit cards etc are paid off.Once you’re in a position then look to increase this to 15%.
This is how you build financial muscle.
Did you know that 80% of people are managing their money out of sheer habit with no real understanding why their doing things a certain way.
So often following or listening to someone who is not that knowledgeable in financial matters.Or following “the crowd mentality and subscribing to clever marketing tactics by advertisers” both can be dangerous if you’re not sure what you’re doing.
Managing money requires know-how and understanding on whether its actually good for your own situation.You see we all have different comfort areas and risk tolerances.So check with your financial adviser before embarking on any new investment opportunities to see if they fit your personal investment style.
Research has shown that when people get a handle on their money they end up making making smarter, healthier financial decisions that enable them to live with less stress.
Making changes in this area can be difficult for some than others – and it does require courage and commitment.
But unless people decide to make some major changes, there will be a very difficult future that lies ahead for them.
Obtaining financial education is one thing – having an awesome mindset is another and both go hand in hand for you to achieve a stress free life.
When you start building financial muscle you will find yourself at the top of this diagram.Feeling happy and confident that you are on track to becoming debt free, maybe looking at investment options and overall designing your life the way you want it.
Building financial muscle is about understanding how money works to your advantage so that in the end you can live a financially stress free life.
I hope you now have a better understanding what “Building Financial Muscle” is all about so you can create a stress free life for you and your family.
Until next time…. here’s to you building financial muscle.
