The truth is that not everyone thinks in terms of improving their lifestyle. The entertainment industry makes everyone aware of the distinctions in lifestyles, but very few people view lifestyle solutions as a potential choice. Winning the lottery, although not a solution, is the limit for most imaginations.
The mindset that confines most people within their specific life experience is a combination of what they learn and the environment they know. Breaking free of the rut they recognize usually means finding a better job. Discovering a uniquely different lifestyle from what they know, requires a new mindset. By shifting our thoughts from the comfortable pattern of our lives, we uncover abilities, and possibilities never imagined.
Few people ever come upon the realization that self confidence isn’t a fixed commodity. Anyone who can dream of a new lifestyle, can through thoughtful application of proven principles, discover the solution. In fact dreaming is an actual step in the process. Desire continually draws us closer to our dreams when we follow a specific plan. Unless we lose the desire for our goal, self confidence grows as a by-product of our activity.
Specific lifestyle solutions aren’t found by accident. A solution always includes a problem. When we accurately identify the problem, we’ll be able to clearly define the solution. The problem will involve specific details regarding our current lifestyle. The solution will explain our desired lifestyle after we’ve added and subtracted certain elements from the problem.
So the current lifestyle comes under close observation and raises these questions:
1. Are you looking for more money?
2. Are you looking to relocate?
3. Are you getting adequate return on investment for your time?
For most people the lifestyle solution always involves more money. However, we cannot assume that this demands increased revenue. A financial study for the average person in North America shows that the elimination of debt not only creates an immediate budget surplus, but transforms the cycle of debt into a savings opportunity.
Even if the lifestyle goal is to become a self sufficient farmer, the financial advantage puts that individual into a unique category. Wherever we find people who are content with their financial situation, we witness a lifestyle that appreciates freedom from the fear of poverty. Not everyone will know contentment at the same financial level, just like not everyone will desire the same lifestyle.
Part of the solution is to determine how much money is enough to satisfy us in life. We can’t arrive at an unspecified goal. If the sum hasn’t been defined, neither has the solution. So anything added or subtracted from our current situation simply reflects variations in our problem.
Where we live isn’t necessarily part of our problem, but our home involves more than its location. Typically our vision of an improved lifestyle includes improvements to our home, or a new one. If our new lifestyle demands a house on the beach, it doesn’t mean we have to move. Choosing to move, like choosing a new beach house, or any luxury item, are all variables in the formula we use to reach the solution.
The solution might include relocation for many different reasons. If we dream about returning to the small village in England where we grew up, then it is part of our solution. If however we dream about visiting that village on a regular basis, the solution isn’t the same. If the answer to our quest for the perfect lifestyle has us traveling the world until the end of our days, the relocation portion of our solution will look like a travel guide.
The person who accepts a promotion at work so that their family can appreciate a better quality of life, is similar to the person who accepts the responsibility to discover a new lifestyle. The demands of a higher paying job usually include longer hours and may include extended business engagements away from home. Lifestyle solutions include a measurable value of time.
Without including an accurate expectation of the time it will take to maintain my new lifestyle, it is reasonable to believe I won’t have any.
The executive or business owner that makes a decision to sacrifice time for the rest of the items in the solution, only complicates the problem. Our time is more valuable than anything else we can include in a perfect lifestyle. Unlike money or new homes, time cannot be replaced.
So the style of life I desire looks something like this:
1. The establishment of financial freedom as a legacy for my family.
2. The freedom to reside wherever we want, whenever we want.
3. The time to enjoy life with those I love.
The details of my specific lifestyle goals reflect the deep desires and ambitions which are mine alone. Within the greater explanation of my solution these three components can be found. Without them I don’t have an accurate answer to the problem. With them I have lifestyle solutions that will work for anyone.
