What does your dream life look like?
Two weeks back, I decided to join a financial planning course and I am quite liking the way it is curated. The first activity of this course was to imagine my life 2 yrs, 5 yrs, and 10 yrs from now; imagining how I am spending my mornings, where I am living, what I am doing, whom I am with, what I am eating, and more. This was actually an exercise to help us identify our financial goals.
I took considerable time to complete this activity as I am not a long-term planner. But this activity made me think about the little things and also raised a few questions. It made me ponder how exactly I want my life to be not just today but 10 yrs down the line.
I got one thing clear in my late twenties that I don't want to live paycheck to paycheck and have no inclination to rush through my life. I really want to live as fully as I can. I am still re-writing that assignment again and again as I progress through the course. While I do that, I want to share a little part of my dream life with you and may sow a seed in you to think about your dream life. This activity could be a bit overwhelming too when you realize that you wish for so many things. It may also lead to a bunch of questions that you may not be comfortable answering as it may lead to questioning your identity.
I got one very hard question to answer for myself - Am I really an entrepreneur? Further, it made me ask many other questions: Do I relate to living life that entrepreneurship demands? Do I really want to hustle? Do I really see myself raising a startup that could become a unicorn?
The answer is NO. I just can't connect to the kind of lifestyle where one is always running for the next big thing. A life where one can't pause to enjoy what one has achieved because there are many things to further achieve to win over your competitors.
To be true, I have no desire to have a billion-dollar business empire to take care of. I have been in a rat race for all my student life and I am done with it now. But I still want to be the one whose story matters to this world. And this makes me question myself again. So what story would you like to be a part of? Let me tell you that you do get answers when you start questioning and thinking. And I got one too. I would like to be in a story when someone talks about healthy work-life balance, being mindfully busy, slow living, self-love, artistic ventures, and building meaningful connections.
My definition of entrepreneurship is giving freedom to myself to work on ideas that relate to my reason for being. My dream life doesn't involve working 24 hrs a day to feel Oh! I wish I had one more hour.
I want to design a lifestyle where I just don't work all the time rather I have enough time for myself. I want to be in more control of my life. I want to choose what distance I would like to travel and whether I would like to crawl, walk, or run on any given day. I want to be as much present in the present as I can. I want to feel content with little things in my life. I want weekends when I don't have to work. I want weekdays when I work just for 5-6 hours a day and gradually for only 3 hours a day. I want mornings when I could read some more books, write, meditate, play the ukulele (maybe), go for a walk/run, cook a lazy breakfast with my partner, sleep for maybe an hour more, or practice yoga (maybe). I want a life that allows me to choose my projects/clients because I feel fully interested in that project and not because I have to pay bills. I want to be available for a random meet-up with friends or attend to my family needs. I want my life to have enough space for spontaneity and my artistic cravings (I so want to learn pottery). I want evenings when I can see the sunset and have some meaningful conversations with my partner. I want nights when I can play some music, watch a rom-com, drink a little, watch the moon, play board games, or just sleep in a cozy bed feeling content and happy. I want vacations every now and then to rejuvenate me. I want to have enough savings to make me and my family feel secure. I want to have enough money/resources to spend on upskilling myself. I want to keep moving forward in the direction my heart feels content and my mind sync with it absolutely. I want to be a better version of myself. This is what I really want to hustle for. I want to feel accomplished for myself rather than for anyone else. I want to happily exist in that category of one. So for the time being, I will just call myself a solopreneur.
Am I being too dreamy? Have I figured all this out? NO, but I have started thinking about it. I am happy to be on the path of finding my being (my Ikigai) and that's what my hustle is for. I really do crawl somedays to actually get myself running on this path again.
So what does your dream life look like? Take a little pause and ask yourself because this is what matters more than anything else.
And every day, the world will drag you by the hand, yelling, "This is important! And this is important! And this is important! You need to worry about this! And this! And this!"
And each day, it's up to you to yank your hand back, put it on your heart and say, "No. This is what's important."
Ian Thomas
I suggest you read this book, Thrive by Arianna Huffington, and understand what it truly means to be successful in today's world. I read it almost 2 yrs back and it changed my outlook towards life.
Take good care of yourself. Do like, share, comment if you could relate to even a small part of this post :)
You will get there. I will get there.. We will get there..
Self care is solid mantra for leading a joyful life as well as getting ready to help others. Financial planning and resulting independence can be game changer. More Power to you.