four strategies to a more satisfying life

Today is the day. Oh yeah, this is the day my work email shut down. It feels strange but good too. 

I made the decision last summer, close to one year to the day, to retire from teaching art. The job had become very stressful and even though I loved the kids, loved the content, loved my school and coworkers; I needed to make a change and felt that it was time for me to retire. My life had lost some of the magic, I spent too much time commuting, I was exhausted when I got home and there were other interested and priorities wanted pursue. I made the choice to start a small art business, as I had always wanted to be able to simply be an artist. Now of course here I am starting this blog/journal... but the intent is the same. to pursue my artistic self, in whatever form that takes. to include teaching just via varied formats. So here I am one year later and the choice has been made. I am officially retired but also self-employed. 

I wanted to share four pieces of knowledge that I have learned over the last year. These strategies are applicable to anyone at any stage of life. They will definitely help GET YOUR LIFE BACK!  We all want to be happy, secure, and doing what is most meaningful to us at every stage of life.

1. Acquire A Financial Advisor

   Finances can be one of those things that we put off for another day, but saving for retirement can never start too soon. A financial planner will help you with long term strategies that will make your financial future more secure. I do not know where I would be in this regard if I was not married to my husband, Nolan, who has always been so diligent with our finances. I am a creative, a bit fanciful and flighty-not into the hard dollars and cents of life. I remember our first meeting with a financial planner, maybe 35 years ago. (Remember I just retired....) and the guy was like "What are your goals, Ingrid?" and I was like "to be happy". He asked me numerous times throughout the meeting and that's all I could come up with. Nolan was rolling his eyes. but it's true. I value happiness. Our current financial guy, gets me a bit better, because, honestly that is still my response. But he knows that to be happy I need a level of financial security and knowledge that I am able to pay my bills, that I will not be a burden to others, that I can have the freedom to travel, purchase things, go out to dinner.  We are not overly extravagant, but we have a nice life style, we have saved money and our financial planner has helped guide us and shown us, particularly with this retirement. Of course make sure your financial planner and anyone else working with your money is reputable and reliable.  They should make sure your assets are secure and are being managed in a way that allows them to grow, rather than dwindled to nothing.  It is still your responsibility to stay on top of how your money at some level.  Try to schedule bi-annual meetings (like dental appointments) with your financial planner, this will allow you to develop and maintain an understanding of your financial growth. Don't get me wrong. I have still have fears and worries about our finances. But whenever we visit our financial planner, he is able to show me exactly what is going on with our money and how secure we are. 

   I cannot tell you how many people I have spoken to since I have decided to retire who have no idea how much money they have in the bank. I worry how they will afford to retire one day, or quit their job to start their own business or whatever.... ? If you do nothing else this month, I challenge you to make an appointment with a financial planner. They will help you reach your goal whatever it may be and create a plan for your your financial future.

2. Find A Passion Project

   What do you love? What motivates and drives you? A Passion Project is that thing that you would do if nothing stood in your way. It is that thing that makes you lose your sense of time and puts you in a state of FLOW.  PAssion projects are particularly valuable because they give us a reason to wake up in the morning, they help the neurons in our brains to fire. They get our creative juices going and can get us to the mystical space of synchronicity (unlike the actual spelling of that word) where our lives become easy. My Passion Project is my art. I have spent the last year taking courses Leverage Your Art and joined workshops and online studios like Liz Kohler Brown's Studio Membership and Milan Art Institute course to help me learn new subject matter, meet new people in the field and get myself motivated and more knowledgeable about starting and online Creative  business. What are some possiblities for you own PAssion project? What can you do to make it become a reality?

3. Do One Thing A Day

   How to make progress in your art, business, passion project, decluttering -whatever it is. So many of us makes lists. I will make a list of everything I need to do that day and it will be about 20 plus items. I actually think I must really just be journaling not list making. Because truly, do I get those things done? Uh, no. So I was going to a wonderful therapist last year. Not long enough, trust me, but that is another topic, anyway she had started her own counseling business and suggested "Just do one thing a day toward your business". Today I am writing my first blog post, which is taking a super long time and will it have pictures? uh, maybe not. But I am doing this thing today. Thank you wonderful Ms. Lorraine. 

4. Be Thankful

   This is the most worn out thing out there, but maybe that's why it hold true.  I am a person who takes the Universe literally our words/thoughts/actions get a literal interpretation as well. So the "be careful what you wish for" thing is very valid in my book. Being thankful disallows the negative forces to come at you. Your mind can be trained, so by practising thankful thoughts, comments, and behaviors. We attract thoughtful and thankful people, behaviors, and activities back into our our lives.  This brings me back to my thoughts of how I started this journal entry today. My idea was whether there is a difference between decision and choice. I think it may be a matter of semantics with those two terms. We can choose or decide to be thankful and kind to ourselves, in our words and actions. We can choose and/or decide to be thankful in the way we interpret situations, even seemingly negative ones. We can see hard situations as learning experiences, we can choose to look at the glass as half full, we can decide that we are all sisters and brothers no matter our differences of beliefs, how we look, or even our behaviors. Super tough, but we can be thankful about these things. practise giving thanks and you will begin to see that all is well. That we are all already perfect just the way we are. 

   Enough for today. I got this written and shall now go get some lunch at Nick's Fishhouse, then take a water taxi to Canton and walk to Fells Point because it is, like 78 degrees today -soooooo nice out. Gonna' PUBLISH and run. 

   Peace,

   Inga

Folly Beach, South Carolina we stayed at 620 East Ashley, follyvacations.com. So highly recommend.

We are able to have lovely family vacations because we have spent time with our financial Advisor. I challenge everyone get to a financial planner this month if you don’t already have one. It will make your life better in so many ways. While away i worked on my art, which is my passion project. I try to do One thing a day towards my creative business. I brought my journal and write in the morings. This is where I spend time practising thanksgiving. these simple things make life so much better.