This week I’ve been fretting and worrying and losing sleep over a conference I’m planning. In the midst of Pinteresting table decorations until my eyes crossed, I stumbled across this quote. It brought me back to earth. I live simply everyday, but I still make aspects of my life more complicated than they need to be.
Here’s to keeping it simple this Tuesday and always.
love,
melanie
I swear to you all that I’m not a narcissistic person, although it might seem that way just looking at the title of this post. I came up with the idea to do this post as a way for you all to get a glimpse into what day-to-day life is like in my Airstream. Funny story, I actually did this experiment on a Thursday and the entire day was so boring that I waited until Saturday to try it again. My regular work day mostly consists of me going to work and not spending time in the Airstream at all! (I hope to remedy that one day.) Anyway, I hope this post is at least marginally more interesting than watching paint dry. Here it goes… A day in the life of a full-time Airstreamer.
1/31/15
7:00am
Wake up to take Bambi out. Brr! It’s cold out there. Jump back in bed for a little while longer.
10:00am
George and I wake up again to Bambi’s smiling face. That girl has so much energy when she wakes up. I am so jealous of that quality!
10:10am
I make sure the hot water is turned off. When it’s turned on, I can’t boil water or turn on the stove or it will flip the breaker. I boil the water first since I also can’t cook while the electric tea kettle is on, it’s a balancing act, but we manage.
10:15am
Once the water has boiled, I pour the water over the ground beans to make coffee in our French Press (press it good!), then I get started on the eggs. I have two eggs on a tortilla with guacamole or hot sauce almost every morning. I like not having to think too much about breakfast.
10:30am
I know at this point, I should just do the dishes, but they’ll have to wait because this morning we are headed to our local flea market so we can scout treasures for George to sell. George works for himself as an artist, so it helps for us to have multiple income streams.
I make sure to turn the hot water back on so it’ll be hot by the time we get home. I then throw on (probably too many) layers of clothes and put Bambi in a sweatshirt and hit the road in our (new to us) van.
11:15am
We realize on the way to the flea market we have no cash. Cash is king at the flea market, so we stop at a Trader Joe’s on the way. We need coconut oil and sweetened condensed milk. George runs in while I wait in the car. Trader Joe’s has neither coconut oil nor sweetened condensed milk, so George grabs beer and chocolate. Good choices, my husband, good choices. And we’re on the road again!
12:00pm
Finally make it to the flea market. Bambi doesn’t like to walk at the flea market. I don’t know if she is scared of the big dogs or she’s just a princess, but I carry her the entire time. My arms ache, but I try to think of it as a workout. We find a few treasures, nothing spectacular, but a few things that we think will sell. We never buy anything for ourselves. It’s hard, but when we’re at the flea market we aren’t looking for ourselves, we’re looking to make money.
1:30pm
We managed to make our way around the flea market and see everything. George brought a few things with him that he sold to a friend, so we leave the flea market to drop off that stuff. I’m fully aware that it’s ironic that George makes most of his money making and selling stuff. Not everyone is a minimalist and that’s ok.
1:45pm
We drop off the stuff and since Trader Joe’s was so bare, we head to a different grocery store on the way home. I try to get most of my groceries from our CSA, but it’s the end of the month and our cupboards are bare!
3:00pm
We finally get back home. By this time, I’m getting hangry, so I fix a small snack. George says I’m stingy because I won’t share, but he can have his own! I’m on a new eating regimen and I only get so many calories a day, so each one is precious! I know it’s mean.
3:10pm
I start by tackling the huge mound of dishes. Doing dishes is one of my most hated chores. The dishes never end! Before I even get to the end, I’m out of hot water. I switch the hot water off, so I can boil some more. In the mean time, I start tackling the bathroom.
3:50pm
The bathroom is small, so it’s easy to clean. By the time the hot water is boiling, I’m finished cleaning the bathroom. I finish up the dishes and relax for a bit.
4:00pm
While I relax, George sweeps the floors. Cleaning around our house is like a dance, it requires a lot of coordination and it’s difficult for two people to be in the same space at the same time. We usually just take different tasks and try to clean and cook at different times.
4:30pm
My afternoon snack was minuscule and I’m getting hungry again. But after cleaning up, I want something fast and easy. I picked up some gluten-free chicken nuggets on my grocery store trip, so I heat those up in our mini convection oven. I also fix a salad. I know it’s not the most healthy meal, but it’s fast, easy and I don’t have to clean much.
4:45pm
We eat dinner and then George makes a couple key chains to sell.
5:15pm
We head to a friend’s house. This particular friend is fixing up an old school bus to live in. I should have taken a few pictures, but I documenting every bit of your day is sort of weird. Right? I did manage to take a picture of the fire pit?
9:45pm
We head home. It’s Bambi’s second dinner time! I fix another snack and a glass of wine. Of course, I forgot to turn on the hot water so I watch a bit of TV while it heats up. We don’t have a real TV and live happily without one. (Here’s how.)
11:30pm
I fall asleep watching Dual Survivor.
1:00am
I wake up and take a shower. I realize how lame I am.
Was this enlightening for you? My life isn’t always exciting, but it’s usually a good one.
love,
melanie
I am so pumped about this post! I love to see how families make living small work for them. Today we’ve got Nick Peterson from Livin’ Lightly. Nick, his wife, and two young children live, travel and work from an Airstream! Take it away, Nick…
Hello! We are the Peterson family! My wife and two kids (daughter 3 years and son 5 months) live, travel and work in our 1966 Airstream Overlander. We’ve been living small full-time for the past two years.
For us tiny living was never about the space. (At least not entirely.) We chose to live small so that we can live large in other areas of our life. Life’s all about trade-offs.
Pre-Airstream the daily grind consisted of work, paying bills then we tried to squeeze in some family, friends and fun. After the birth of our daughter we began to rethink our existence and intentionally plan our life.
For us this meant trading a steady income + benefits, larger living space for portability, time with family and pursing work we love.
In preparation for this transition we buckled down and cut all unnecessary spending, got on a strict budget, paid off our debt and saved. We purged and sold all our stuff, bought a vintage Airstream and a big truck to pull it. We worked to build versatile and largely passive income streams to pay the bills.
Now we have the time, and ironically space to share life as a family, the freedom to travel and explore and pursue what matters to us most.
Here’s to living the small space large life dream!
Aren’t they just the cutest?! You can read more about Nick and his family on their blog, Livin’ Lightly or on IG: livinlightly. And remember, If you want to submit your own Small Life, email me asmalllifemelanie @ gmail dot com.
love,
melanie
Happy Monday everyone! Today I am happy to announce a new feature on the blog entitled, drum roll, please, “The Small Life.” “The Small Life” will feature people from across the globe that live a small life in an Airstream, a bus, a van, a tiny house or other unconventional spaces. The first feature is from Todd. Todd is taking an unimaginably difficult time in his life and is turning it around with small living. Take it away Todd. – Melanie
Not quite a year ago, my life was turned upside down when my wife and I decided to part ways. Homeless with only a few changes of clothes and my dog, Wyatt, we started sleeping on the floor of my friends architecture studio. It wasn’t too bad; dry and warm. It was a good place to sort through emotions, let the proverbial dust settle and plot my next move.
After a couple of months, with the unconditional love and support of family, I decided to set out and find an Airstream to move in. Fortunately, one turned up in Florida and within a couple weeks I was towing it back to the mountains of Asheville.
Getting the Airstream, I hope is only the first step of many to creating a new life for Wyatt and I. As a result of moving into 153 sqft, most of my worldly possessions needed to go. After much thought, I realized that it was just stuff. Sentimental items are merely items that remind of us a specific memory. I will always have the memory, which takes up less space than the stuff. Clothes are still being widdled down to only the bare essentials. If its not my most favorite thing to wear or if I haven’t worn it in the last month, it gets donated. Even new stuff gets intense scrutiny; does buying this thing move me in the direction of getting me on the road full time, does this limit me financially from exploring, traveling and creating new adventures, is this something that I simply want? Only items that facilitate adventure and create epic memories, makes the cut into 153 sqft.
By no means am I free of “stuff”, but I’m getting down to the essentials and a couple more rounds of purging, and I will be there. Free of most clutter, allowing my mind to focus on just being.
Ironically, soon after I got the Airstream, the one thing I did want to buy was a t-shirt that exemplified the spirit of the Airstream. Unfortunately, I found none. With the help of my sister, we set out to design our own t-shirt and so “Itinerant Shirts” was born. I don’t have any grand visions of getting rich, but rather spreading and sharing the itinerant spirit with others. I hope to release new editions every so often show casing other’s art. The first edition is available on Etsy under itinerant shirts. I should mention that I’ve only had 1 sale and that was from my sister. No worries, if they don’t sell, every single one that I made is in the exact size and color that I would want to wear.
Hope my verbal “snap shot” gives you an idea of why I’m living small….to allow focus on what really matters, just being.
There are times when the Airstream feels a little cramped. Luckily George and I didn’t grow up in big houses, but when we visit friends or family and then come back to our 188 square feet, it can feel a bit cramped.
One day we’ll have a bit more room (just a bit!). George will be able to stretch out his art stuff, Bambi can run around the house like the wild, little dog she is and I can spread out all the veggies I could ever want to chop, but until then when it feels a little cramped, we go outside. Going outside is a blessing when the weather is nice. I immediately feel better when I step outside and take a minute to just enjoy nature. But when that chill in the air comes back and the air smells like snow, there will be no more going outside for long periods of time. So I’m trying to soak it up while I still can.
Friday I was feeling a little cramped and it was so insanely pretty outside, so we ate dinner off paper plates and sat in little fold out chairs. Our setup wasn’t fancy or even very pretty, but it was enjoyable.
Whenever we do get new, small digs I hope we’re right smack dab in the middle of nature. I really think it’s the way humans were meant to live.
Viva la country life!
love,
melanie
So maybe Airstream Week has ended up being Airstream two weeks. Or week and a half. Oh well. Ya’ll aren’t sick of it yet, are you? I got a lot of questions about the Airstream and our life and I wanted to answer some of them here. So here goes.
1. Do you really live in the Airstream… like all the time?
Yep! We live in the Airstream in the stifling heat of summer and the bone chilling cold of winter. In case of an emergency (like a hurricane), we’ll go to a relative’s house nearby. But other than that, we’re in it the whole time!
2. Are you parked or do you travel?
Right now we are parked in order to save money. We would love to travel with the Airstream one day.
3. Where are you parked?
We are parked on land owned by my husband’s family. It is a beautiful farmed and wooded plot. We stay on the land in exchange for chores.
4. Where do you do laundry?
We have very gracious relatives who let us do laundry at their house in exchange for chores around the house.
5. How much did your Airstream cost?
Our Airstream was $5,000 and we spent about $1,000 on fixing her up. Read more about our buying story here.
6. How long did it take you to fix up the Airstream?
It took about 2 months of intense work.
7. How can I live this life?
This life isn’t for the faint of heart. It isn’t easy, but it is rewarding. 90 percent of living this way is deciding that you want it and sticking with it.
What questions have you been dying to ask? Ask me in the comments!
love,
melanie
I’m not a naturally positive person. I’m not. I always imagine the worst case scenario. But I do try my the best to find the best in other people because I have no idea what that person is going through. I don’t. And I share a lot on this blog, but you don’t know what I’m going through either.
I try to be understanding and positive. Oh my do I try. I have a full-time job that centers around customer service and if I didn’t try to see the best in people, I’d run out of there screaming. I also spend a damn lot of time on this blog. I don’t make money from this endeavor. I’d love to do so, but for now I’m spreading my knowledge and sharing my life with you all for free. And man do I appreciate anyone who reads this little blog.
But lately I’ve been getting more and more negative comments. And I do appreciate a healthy debate, but I must say once and for all that negativity and just plain rudeness will not be tolerated on this blog. I hate that I even have to acknowledge these anonymous meanies, but this will be the only time I do so. Just because someone saves money differently or has different living standards or even eats a different diet doesn’t make it wrong. Things in life aren’t black and white. What works for me might not work for you. That’s cool. Start your own blog with your own discoveries. But I won’t approve your mean and nasty comments here. As we southerners say, “I will not tolerate ugly talk.” This blog is about perpetuating the positive and living a small, honest life.
Thank you to all my long-time readers. You bring joy to my life each and every day. I keep doing this because of you.
As always. With love,
melanie
Automating my life through habits is my big secret to staying sane. During the summer, I work 10 hour days, have two hour commute and with my lunch hour, I’m gone from my house for at least 13 hours a day. I also write for this blog and And Then We Saved, have some semblance of a social and family life and maintain a relatively healthy lifestyle. But to fit everything in, that doesn’t leave much time to do anything other than sleep. Automating my life has made things so much easier and it’s given me a bit of time back each day. It’s the only reason my brain hasn’t completely gone haywire.
I’ve learned that we humans can only make so many decisions per day and if we waste those precious decision-making skills on something like the lunch menu, we have fewer skills available for something actually important. I’m no psychologist or even an expert, but The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg explains the science (and power!) of habits way better than I ever can. I’d really recommend it.
Even our president knows about the power of habits. Ina 2012 interview for Vanity Fair President Obama was quoted saying, “You’ll see I wear only gray or blue suits,” he said. “I’m trying to pare down decisions. I don’t want to make decisions about what I’m eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make.” I’m not making the important decisions that our president is, but even piddly decisions are exhausting. So to deal with those decisions, I make habits. It’s helped me to save money, be happier and make my life easier. Here’s my best habits:
1. Meal Prep
There’s all kinds of articles out there about how to meal prep. Most of them I find overwhelming and boring. Here’s how I meal prep: On Sunday night I make all my breakfast and lunches for the work week, and then I have a loose idea of the dinner choices. I chose to not make my dinner in advance, because I like variety—it’s the spice of life! But I may do some dinner prep– like cutting up vegetables.
For breakfast I’ll have my crustless quiche. This helps to use up the leftover veggies in the fridge—ensuring that I don’t waste food or money and I start the day with protein and veggies.
For lunch, during the summer, I’ll usually have a large spinach salad with pre-cooked chicken. It doesn’t take long to throw together and it doesn’t get old because I can mix it up with different dressings and toppings. During the winter, I’ll usually have soup or stew made from my trusty crock-pot.
For snacks, I rely on packs of nuts and apples with nutbutters that I keep in my desk at work. I also keep tea and coffee at work for those times when I need a little extra jolt. It keeps me from dropping $5 at my school’s coffee shop.
For dinner I rely on easy staples. I don’t plan in the traditional sense of the word (i.e. there’s no Taco Tuesday) because George and I might be in the mood for tacos on Monday or every other day, we love tacos. Instead, I’ll have a loose idea of what we’ll eat that week. One night will usually be stir fry, the next night will be tacos, another will be fish or chicken and a veggie. We’ll usually have hamburgers and we’ll almost always finish the week with a homemade pizza. Pizza is a treat and it’s our favorite.
One of my favorite tips for these easy dinners is to buy a grocery store roasted chicken. They are tasty, cheap and you can make so many quick, easy meals with them.
2. Lay out your clothes for the week (even gym clothes!)
In the morning, I’m a grump. I admit it. You’ll never see me spring out of bed to greet cartoon bluebirds at my window. I just won’t ever be a morning person and that’s ok. But to make my mornings a little easier, I’ll look at the weather forecast on Sunday; then I lay out my work clothes for the entire work week—including my socks and underwear. When I don’t do this, I end up dressing a lot sloppier than I should. It’s really helped me to up my wardrobe game and I don’t have that panicky “I have nothing to wear” moment in the morning.
I also put all of my gym clothes for the week in my gym bag along with my shoes. When I get home, I take the dirty clothes out of the car and leave the clean clothes and the bag in the car. This means I go to the gym right after work (or during lunch at work) and I don’t have the chance to go home to change. If I have the chance to go home and change clothes it’s a million times harder to go to the gym because my bed just looks too comfortable.
Sidenote: To make this process even easier, I’ve been on the lookout for clothes that can double as work and gym wear. I haven’t come up with much, yoga pants aren’t acceptable at my job, but I’m hopeful! If you have links to (preferably inexpensive) gym clothes that can double as work clothes, link me in comments!
3. Put things in their place
To make things a habit, I’ve found that placing things in a visible or convenient place makes the habit stick faster. To help me to drink more water and kick my vending machine bottled water addiction, I bought a refillable water bottle and I keep it on my work desk at all times. That simple step has helped me to drink more water and has saved me a couple hundred dollars.
Here’s a weird example: I could never remember to pluck my eyebrows and I’d always find weird stray ones when I was sitting in the car before I went in to work in the morning. So I started keeping tweezers in the car and now my eyebrows don’t look like Helga Pataki’s.
I also constantly found myself out-and-about without medicines or Band-Aids, so I made myself an Ouch! Bag to keep in my purse and it’s saved me so much money. By putting things in a convenient place (even if that place is a little unconventional) it’s so much easier to trick your brain into making a habit.
4. Make a list of tomorrow’s to-dos before you leave work
I love a to-do list. But on the days that I forget to make one, I totally notice. I won’t have direction and I’ll spend most of the day putting out fires. (Usually not literally. Although the HVAC system in the library did catch on fire one night. But I left that up to the professionals.)
By making a to-do list before you leave, you also leave that responsibility at work and you’re less likely to worry about forgetting to do something. I’d recommend keeping the to-do list short. I’ve found that three “to-dos” is the perfect number for me. More than that and I’m overwhelmed. Less than that and I’m bored.
5. Do the hard stuff first
I have way more willpower and concentration at 8:00 am than I do at 4:00 pm, that’s why I start my day with the hard stuff. It’s usually the stuff that I really don’t want to do, but as soon as I finish it, I feel better and the rest of the day is a breeze. Some people call this habit, “Eating the Frog.”
I also have a rule that I don’t buy anything after lunch. After lunch I have a lot less willpower. It’s too easy to buy things!
6. Reward yourself
You will never create those hard habits without a reward system. Our bodies crave a reward and when we don’t get that reward we become depressed. Seriously! Give yourself a small reward after you complete a new habit, like a small piece of chocolate after working out. Once you establish the habit (it may take a couple of months) you’ll no longer need the reward because the habit has become, well, a habit!
Even after my habit is established, I also like to give myself healthy rewards. If I finish a project at work, I’ll take a short walk around campus. That way, I get my daily supply of Vitamin D, a little exercise and a reward!
7. Automate your bills and savings
Automating your bills and savings is like a habit that is done for you! There’s no reason to waste time on paying bills if your income is stable. (If your income is unstable, you may want to try the envelope system.) Automate your bill pay through the billing provider or through your bank. It makes life so much easier. It saves paper and stress.
Automating my savings has been one of my best life hacks. The bank automatically pulls a bit of cash from my checking account out each month into another bank account. I have the cash in a separate bank account to take away some of the temptation of spending the money. I don’t even have an ATM card for that bank. I love my Capital One 360 Savings account for this because you can designate pots of money within a savings account. (They didn’t pay me to say this!) For example, I have a little bit of money pulled into a travel fund each month and a house fund. I even had a savings designation for my laser eye surgery!
8. Learn from people who already have it figured out
We’ve all got that friend or relative that has it all figured out. They have their habits down pat. Ask them how they established their habits. The same habit-reward system won’t work for everyone, but I think it’s fascinating to find out how my dad does so much laundry or my mother-in-law manages to hand wash all the dishes after she just made dinner. (Dishes are my kryptonite!)
There’s also some really great literature out there about habits. I can’t recommend Charles Duhigg’s The Power of Habit more. I’d also recommend Getting Things Done by David Allen. His system to-do system is a little complex, but he offers some great insight into the power of list-making.
9. Keep a journal
One of the best habits I’ve established is keeping a gratitude journal. Each night I write down three things that I’m grateful for. It’s helped me to be happier and more grateful for my life. Even on the bad days, I’ll find something to be happy about and many times on the good days, I’ll write down more than three things. It’s also a habit that has helped me to establish other habits because I can see the positive effects that my habits have on my life. For example, going to yoga made me feel clarity or sweeping the floor made me feel accomplished.
10. Start habits one at a time
I get so excited about starting habits that I want to do all the good habits all at once. But I have so much more success when I start habits one at a time, establish the habit for about a month, then try to incorporate the next habit. We aren’t robots and trying to start five habits is overwhelming. We may do good for a week or so, but then we’ll resort back to our old bad ways because it is too hard. I know. I’ve been there. Take your time establishing a habit before moving on to the next one. You’ll have much more success. Promise.
11. Delegate
Some tasks aren’t worth your time. They really aren’t. Creating habits and automation will only take you so far when you have a busy life. (And we all have a busy life.) Don’t be afraid to ask for help when you need it or even hire someone to do it for you. I know it cost money and we’re all trying to save money, but consider if your time would be better spent on other tasks. Figure out what your time is worth with this handy calculator from Learn Vest.
There’s some great services out there to help out busy professionals. Fiverr will help you to do everything from writing a professional bio to creating a logo for, you guessed it, five dollars. To the point where you need an assistant? Virtual Gal Friday can help! For more errand-like tasks, TaskRabbit will help you to outsource household tasks.
12. Forgive yourself and start again
Creating new, positive habits is hard. I still struggle with habits every.single.day. We all have days that just don’t go as planned and we don’t have time to meal prep. Or we fall asleep before we have time to lay out our clothes. (Ahem, me.) But don’t beat yourself up about it. Simply forgive yourself and start again. That’s the great thing about habits. You have the control to pick that habit back up and start again.
How have you established a habit? How have habits bettered your life? Let me know in the comments!
love,
melanie
On Saturday I addressed the departmental graduating class at my Alma mater. It was such a scary, exciting honor. I think I sweated off most of my makeup in the process. Stress sweat is no joke, ya’ll. Anyway, I worked so long and hard on the speech that I thought I’d share it with you all too. I wrote it with English graduates in mind, but I think it could be applicable and inspiring to anyone. Here it is in all it’s glory…
Thank you for that introduction. Like my introduction stated, my name is Melanie and I am currently a librarian. As a librarian, I make a lot of lists. My lists usually include book and database recommendations for certain subjects. But today I want to share a list with you all that I wish I could have shared with myself on my graduation day here at ECU six years ago.
One. Even the worst case scenario usually isn’t so bad.
When I was first asked to do this speech, I must admit I didn’t really want to do it. When I’m presented with a new opportunity, I always imagine the worst case scenario. Ok, so what’s the worst case scenario for this speech? I bomb it and then I go home and binge-watch YouTube videos of cute cats to cheer myself up. My life isn’t going to be that different. Imagining the worst case scenario sounds like an incredibly negative thing, but it isn’t– it’s empowering. When opportunities present themselves, imagine the worst case scenario, then say yes and agree to do it anyway. Even the worst case scenario usually isn’t so bad. You’ll live. You’ll grow, and if it goes badly, you can always console yourself with YouTube videos of cute cats.
Two. We are enough.
Another fear that I had when I was presented with this amazing opportunity is that I’m an impostor. I haven’t accomplished nearly enough to give a commencement speech! That’s for important people. Sure, I help people find the information they need every.single.day. I’ve saved many a research paper from the pitfalls of a Google search. And I teach doe-eyed freshman the wonders of databases. But, that’s not special enough. I don’t have the credentials to make a speech. We all need to stop feeling like an imposters, myself included. I am here for a reason. You are here for a reason. We worked hard. We deserve this. We are enough.
Three. Don’t ever be afraid to be the most positive person in the room.
When I got over my fears of giving this speech and actually shared my excitement, a few people in my life doubted my qualifications. It’s unfortunate, but there are so many negative people in this world. They are negative because they’re unhappy with their job or their marriage or their lives. It’s not your fault they are unhappy. Don’t perpetuate their negativity. Don’t be friends with negative people and don’t even surround yourself with negative people. Negativity is toxic and it spreads like wildfire. To keep those negative thoughts at bay, keep a gratitude journal. Each night write down three positive aspects of your day. I’ll help you out with your entry for today: 1. You get to wear a killer robe. 2. You are alive. 3. And today you graduated from college! We all have so much to be thankful for. Don’t let the Negative Nancies talk you out of your dream or turn you into one of them. Don’t ever be afraid to be the most positive person in the room.
Four. Harness jealousy into something positive and proactive.
Much of the negativity in this world stems from jealousy. I have small pangs of jealousy each day. I’m jealous of all of you, right now because you’re at such an important cross roads in your life and I would love to do it all over again. The standard advice on jealousy will tell you that the grass isn’t greener on the other side. We’ve all heard that advice, but that doesn’t make the jealousy go away. Instead we need to harness that jealousy into something positive and proactive. Our jealousy needs to propel us to run faster, to be a better writer, to change what we don’t like and live the life of our dreams.
Five. If you don’t have a dream, that’s OK.
It’s OK in life to not know what you are doing. I sure as hell didn’t know what I was going to do with my English degree. But that’s the great thing about an English degree. It gives you the skills for success. (Take that relatives who think my English degree is worthless!) English majors know how to research and we know how to write. We know how to form ideas and present them in a logical manner, but we’re also dreamers. It might take you years to discover your dream. And that’s ok. Your dream might change over time and your dream might even be so new and strange that you have to forge your own dream. Not having a dream is ok. Just don’t ever forget to dream.
Six. But please know that those dreams alone aren’t enough, you also have to turn your dreams into actions.
Simply dreaming isn’t enough. Achieving those dreams, that’s what’s going to be harder than you ever imagined. You’ve got the haters to contend with, there’s that self-doubt we’ve talked about, and not to mention, you’re going to see a million other people on the Internet living your exact dream. (That Internet life is a facade, by the way.) Make some time-sensitive goals, work on your dreams a little bit each day and turn your dreams into actions.
Seven. The hardest part of achieving dreams is having faith in yourself. At times, you’ll have to drudge through that dream.
All projects at one point or another are going to suck. It’s going to be a deep, dark pit of despair. And at least once and sometimes on a daily basis, taking on that project and living that dream is going to feel like the worst decision ever. Don’t let yourself talk you out of your dream. Don’t let a little snag discourage you. There are so many ridiculous obstacles in life, jump through those idiotic flaming hoops and come out on the other side. Drudge through that dream.
Eight. Bad jobs are still useful jobs.
We all go through jobs in our lifetime that feel like every day we go to work is another day we lose another part of our soul. But bad jobs, even on our worst days are teaching us something. Those jobs are teaching us to have a better attitude, to be friends with our coworkers and to smile when you have to remake that latte for the 3rd time. You won’t be stuck in that bad job forever, but for the time being, make the best damn latte you can make. Bad jobs are still useful jobs.
Nine. Travel is the only thing you can buy that will make you richer.
Travel gives us intellectual enrichment that the classroom never could. (Sorry, professors.) The world is full of amazing sights, sounds, tastes and smells that you will never know until you get out there and experience them all. Travel now. Right now. Before you get too old to do it. Not to be a downer, but I’ve experienced a lot of death in the past year. Most of the deaths were anticipated, and each one of the people, in one way or another, told me to travel now. To see things while I am still young because you and I never know what is waiting for us in old age. There’s no need to go into debt to fund your travel, but don’t let finances stop you either. Make travel a priority in your life and save your pennies for it. Travel is the only thing that you can buy that will make you richer.
Ten. Natural talent is a fallacy, what’s more important is failure and resilience.
What’s generally accepted as natural talent is a fallacy. 99 percent of people out there aren’t naturally talented at anything. There’s those special unicorns who are prodigies but you and I aren’t those people. We have the things that we like and we become better at those things, but most of those people who we think of as “talented” just tried and failed hundreds of times before someone deemed them talented. They wrote a lot of bad poetry, or drew a bunch of bad pictures or invented a lot of bad inventions. But unlike most people, they had the guts to try and fail time and time again. Talent, as we know it, is a fallacy, what’s more important is failure and resilience. And remember if you fail, you can always console yourself with cute videos of cats.
Thank you.
And thank you blog readers for letting me share.
love,
melanie
This summer will definitely include beach time!
For the past couple of years, I’ve set birthday goals. I usually set goals according to my age, 27 goals before 28, etc. but this year setting that many goals just seemed overwhelming. And goals should never be overwhelming, they should always be inspiring. Am I right? This year I decided to set just 7 goals for this summer. My goals are mostly fun, but also things that I’ve just been meaning to do for a while. Somethings, like getting my passport, I’ve been meaning to do for years!
Here’s my summer goals:
The summer also brings in a new schedule for me. I work 4 10 hour days during the summer and I have off on Fridays. It’s wonderful to be off on Fridays, but those 10 hour days are crucial! With my commute, it’s almost a 12 hour day, so I practically have to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner at work! In the past I’ve spent my Fridays recuperating from the grueling week, but this time I have high hopes to use my Fridays to learn a new skill. We’ll see how it goes. You know I’ll write about it here!
Do you have any hopes, dreams or goals for this summer? I’d love to hear them in the comments!
love,
melanie
