It’s been a while since my last blog, three weeks to be more exact, when I wrote about our lesson in excess on an Alaskan cruise. And in that time we decided to blow life up…again.
Actually, we had decided to blow life up earlier that spring. BC is one of the most picturesque places I’ve ever been to, and a place every North American should visit. We crammed a lot in to our two summers there, and I’d be lying if I said we weren’t persuaded to stick around by an old high school friend, but I’m glad he was there as we forged a great friendship and created numerous memories together.
But sometimes you have to blow life up.
We had actually put an offer in on a Vancouver condo back in August 2016. It was the second offer accepted, so if the first fell through we were next in line. We loved the place, and when we didn’t get it we were a little bummed. For the next few months we tried to find a comparable but couldn’t, so we gave up. We also took a step back to assess what we wanted out of life, which led to the blow up.
Did we just spend a few years travelling to land in Vancouver, buy an overpriced condo, then go back to work so we could afford said place? It would have been same thing we were doing before we decided to blow life up the first time! Nope, not happening. Time to blow things up again!
But how does one blow life up? It’s easier said than done, but having done it a few times now we’re becoming seasoned pros at it. So here’s how you too can blow life up in 4 simple steps (and zero down payments).
#1. Get rid of stuff
Get rid of all your stuff. Before our Alaskan cruise I would have started with ‘get rid of your TV’. But now I’m more apt to say ‘get rid of your social media accounts’. Of all the lessons learned about excess on our cruise, the one thing we did enjoy was not being online as much. Getting offline is a great thing to do and frees up time. But back to the ‘stuff’. When you get rid of stuff you realize you didn’t need all that stuff in the first place, you become free of mass consumerism. And for some, you realize how much money you can save when you’re not pursuing material possessions.
#2. Quit your job
You don’t even have to have another job. It’s just money. Most of it likely goes towards stuff you don’t even need. It’s a pretty good feeling to know you can live without a job for a few weeks or months and still get by. But so many times I’ve heard people complain about their job, or their chosen career path. So guess what. Blow it up. Quit. Force yourself into something different.
#3. Travel somewhere foreign
Seeing how other people live puts things into perspective. Of all of our travels, everyone we met seems to think there is no better place than home — be it Panamanians or Americans. And that may be true to an extent, but what’s your basis for comparison? If you have none, you can’t really say that. Try someplace where the locals don’t speak your language – you’ll be surprised in how quickly you can learn!
#4. Get uncomfortable
What I mean by ‘get uncomfortable’ is just that – get out of your comfort zone. Most of us live life in a warm and cozy little cocoon, experiencing little that pushes us to grow, to take experiences and learn from them, to become better people. Travel does that, but so does change. All of the above points can be uncomforting for some, but at least you won’t have any regrets. I know we don’t! And who knows, you may find you like your new way of life!
Taking chances is fun sometimes, as adrenaline seekers know all too well. But for us non-adrenal-junkies, we have to settle for other adventures, like blowing things up. Flipping the table. Finding something different to do in life. Finding your passions. Living your dreams. Enjoying the time you have on earth.
Now go sell all your stuff and blow life up!