I know someone who engages in ‘lifestyle design’ without even realising that there’s a term for it. They work hard for a few months of the year, save up their money, and then do whatever it is they feel like doing for the remainder of the year. That might be travelling to different locations, or just hanging out at home, catching up with friends occasionally. It’s their choice, their life. I admire them for that. They’re living the dream.
But the thing is, we can all do the same. We can all live the dream, as long as we know exactly what dream we want to live.
Maybe your dream is to work your 9-5 job for 10 months of the year, and then have a great holiday for 2 months, enjoying some exotic location in the world. Maybe your dream is to travel to other countries and enjoy the experiences they offer you while finding work there to pay your way. Or maybe your dream is to hang out in a beach house while you write a book, while enjoying the surfing.
Whatever your dream, it can stay a dream or you can make it a reality.
My friend makes their dream a reality. It’s just a part of their life and they’re very matter of fact about it. Just like ‘normal folks’ look forward to their daily life with a 9-5 job, my friend looks forward to not knowing where they’re going to go when they’re not working within the next few months. Their dream is freedom, and they live it every day.
If your dream is freedom too, but you have responsibilities because you have a house mortgage, car payments, and a family to look after, you might wonder how you can be free when freedom seems impossible.
It’s not impossible. You just need to change your definition of what freedom is for you.
To be free in today’s world we need a means of supporting ourselves and this freedom we might enjoy. It’s entirely reasonable that you can’t find freedom without working for it. You can’t travel without having earned the money to first pay for it – or to work while travelling so you can afford to continue it.
Freedom is a state of mind.
This past year has seen me and my wife enjoy holidays to Ayers Rock and central Australia, as well as a brief, but enjoyable trip to Gold Coast, not to mention various other nearby trips we’ve done, along with outings we’ve enjoyed with friends to restaurants and cafes on quite a regular basis. We both work hard so that we can enjoy our freedom to go places and do things that we can enjoy.
You can do the same. Whatever dreams you have, you will still need to work so that you can achieve your dreams. There’s freedom in that, even if you at first think there isn’t.
You’re free to choose the jobs that you might enjoy more than the jobs you might hate. You’re free to save as much as you can from your income, or spend it without saving. You’re free to go wherever you want, if you save up for it first, or organise a means of continuing to earn money while you’re travelling to wherever you want. Or you’re free to stay at home and complain that you can’t go anywhere, and that others are living the dream while you’re stuck in a job and in a life you hate.
You’re free to change your life into whatever you want it to be. You might have to work hard at it though, but it’s your choice if you don’t want to change your life – you have the freedom to screw it up if you want to.
I’ve been realising that I’m already living my dream. I’m with the woman I love, living a life that gives me rewarding and enjoyable moments, with people I cherish, in a job that is challenging and rewarding while allowing opportunities to further my life’s goals as well as travel. There’s nothing I can complain about at the moment, and I’ve come to understand that there’s freedom in ‘a normal life’, if only you have freedom in your mind first.
Thanks for reading! Please add your own thoughts below.
Don't forget to subscribe for new posts sent to you by email!