I’ve been meaning to write this for a while,
Far too often we get caught in this cycle of unnecessary stress and anxiety, based on existing and living at the mercy of ‘busy”.
Several years ago I started to retire….every day. This sounds like I’m loaded and have the freedom to do what I like, quite the opposite. I do however chose to create what I call a “mini retirement” each day no matter how trivial. I realised I have time that can fit a lot more than I thought into and that if I changed my routine of wake up, shower, coffee, bus, work, I could in fact fit in some very cool “mini retirements”.
My passion is the outdoors and water; I can’t explain it, but what I do know is that when I am in water or around it, I feel relaxed, calm and adventurous. I’ve been nuts about fishing since I was about 8 and managed somehow to convince my wonderful wife that I needed a boat. Just to clarify, this is a small boat, but none the less my pride and joy.
I started to test the time boundaries and what I found out was that many of the things I thought would soak up too much time, actually took far less and the positive impact on my life was extraordinary. I started to create my “mini retirements’ with the thought that if I can go through my life with a mass of mini treats, by the time I’m an old fart, I’ll have lived a pretty sweet life and have very few, if any regrets.
I encourage you to try this and make sure you don’t overcook the event. It can be odd, fun, simple and short, but trust me, having done it, your bus ride in and day will be full of positive energy that it has created. Be careful though, they become addictive, in an ice cream kinda way..
I lost my brilliant mum a few weeks ago and she told me something I will never forget.
“ you must promise me that you’ll believe in yourself every day…..Everyday!….because I do”
I found this hugely empowering and take it into each of my adventures now. My favourite over the last two days has been launching my boat at 5am, when most are asleep, zipping over the glassy harbour and chasing kingfish around garden island. It’s like a mirror, the harbour feels mystical and I feel like I am making the absolute most of my day. I could have stayed in bed, could have sat in Starbucks, could have watched the news….buts it’s what I did that counts.
I drop the boat back by 7am feeling like I’ve been on holiday, grab my hidden bag of work clothes I’ve stashed and then get changed in the café bathrooms nearby. I sit on the bus feeling like Walter Mitty and plan my next, which can be as simple as sketching on a bench at sunrise.
This is a mini retirement and I cannot recommend them more highly. Plan one, do one and let me know how you go.
It’ll change your life!