Craft the Life You Want
One of the phrases I dislike the most is, “I have no choice.” I have been in a great many tight spots throughout my life but there was always a choice. It may not have been many choices but when the situation is analyzed it will be clear the paths that are before us. When it comes to what is best for me and my family, that may be only one choice.
Your Stage of Life
The choices we have are often determined by the stage of life we are in — youth, young adult, mid-life, early senior or late senior. Today I have different tools to craft my life with than I had in my youth but when I was young, I had different options. At an early age, I felt God called me to be a missionary and in my young adult years there were opportunities in front of me. Many said I needed to get married before I launched myself onto the mission field and honestly, I wanted that as well. But as the years passed, I chose my other option of going to the mission field single and leave the rest in God’s hands. That choice has crafted my life with great memories of unbelievable experiences.
Today my options are different, but I still have choices. About 18 months or so ago, I started experiencing some health issues not being able to breathe well and osteoarthritis challenging most of my load bearing joints causing me to start the slide down to discouragement and despair. I realized how critical the act of breathing is to one’s existence when I lost air having a simple conversation. I walked up to the model home I was tending and barely made it to the chair inside as I gasped for air that was too slow coming.
I thought maybe my life was not going to have the length I’d expected and I might have to give up the jobs I had been doing as I struggled to get from the car to the back door of my RV. Then one day, I took myself “by the scruff of the neck” and had a serious “come to Jesus” conversation with myself. I took the tools I knew I had and started crafting a life I could exist in with a reasonable amount of comfort.
I had been substitute teaching in the Liberty Hill ISD for the past several years and that day I accepted the offer of the parking lot security guard to drive me in his golf cart to the doors of the high school. I accepted help that was offered or suggested like using a cane to walk in order to alleviate some of the pain of the osteoarthritis in my joints which was suggested by my physical therapist. We also had other conversations focused on preserving my mobility for best possible quality of life.
I looked at the type of jobs I could do rather than the multiple ones I could not and realized I still have choices and options to best craft my life.
Tackling a Particular Aspect
Whether it is developing better organizational habits, being more regular about cleaning or creating a budget so you can save more, it is up to you and I to start crafting our way forward. Whatever project you want to tackle, it is up to you to craft the attainability of this project. Craft your process so that it works for you.
I may be “lately come Annie” on this project but my philosophy is to never stop trying till I succeed. I have attempted budgets, and savings plans and even though I’ve been marginally successful, it is not satisfying to me. I would buy these budget inserts for a daytimer repeatedly but the problem is, there are elements to the book or insert that did not apply to me so I would become uninterested, or it was too detailed in a way that did not apply to my life, and I would forsake my pursuit.
Customize It!
I have now customized my very own budget book. It only has the specific items that I need to keep track of income and outgo along with savings. I made copies of it at Office Depot yesterday, assembled it in my own creative way and had them coil bind it. I already had a lot of letters and stickers so decorated the cover when I got home last evening to continue to make it my very own creation.
I do follow financial gurus like Dave Ramsey, etc to give me motivation and creativity in the process. One big thing I’ve learned is to focus on each dollar that comes out and each dollar that goes out rather than a lump that comes into my bank account on payday(s) and bigger lumps that race to exit.
Make it a tracking game to put some fun in the process. One thing I’ve figured out is it is a lot more fun to have money in my account and maybe not have everything I want than to be looking at a depleted account.
It is never too late to change habits and craft your life to something better. Happy crafting!!!!