No amount of materialistic possessions (eg fancy shoes, cars, jewellery, clothing, the latest gadgets, holidays, or even houses) that are beyond your financial means will EVER bring you as much joy, happiness, peace of mind, and FREEDOM than having no debt will. Fact!
In light of these recent events surrounding the corona virus, while any unnatural loss of life is tragic, there is a wonderful shift occurring that has pretty much been forced upon us all as a collective. Perspective matters. While we all are experiencing the same ‘reality’ on some level, the way we perceive it is going to be completely different. The beautiful thing is we have a choice to take on this experience with enthusiasm and grace. If you allow yourself to appreciate that obtaining greater levels of knowing and understanding is developed through challenges and obstacles, there also exists a much clearer perspective of life and your reality.
This virus has caused so much chaos, stress, worry and some massive adjustments for so many people. Within a couple of weeks it created a completely new way of life from what we are used to, for the majority of us living in the western world. If we pay attention and do not get caught up in helplessness and overwhelm it can be a beautiful opportunity to re-evaluate our lives and make some changes for a better and more peaceful future filled with more happiness.
Having a glimpse around social media I have noticed some common themes in which we can really use this time to take away some valuable new insights and perspectives.
1. Health- It has been unbelievable the amount of people who are now concerned with their health status and I have witnessed literally hundreds of posts and comments where so many people have been racing around trying to ‘boost’ their immune system, improve their general health, wanting to start to exercise, incorporate vitamins and minerals etc. What a beautiful lesson this is for all of us to consistently take more care of ourselves and make our health and fitness a priority. It has forced many of us to slow down and also allowed us more time to pay attention to our health regimes. On the other hand, it has forced many of those whose bodies are likely in great need of some rest and relaxation some time away from the gym and hard-core training programs. For many of those people it has granted them time to shift the focus from their physique obsession towards other necessary, yet often neglected components of physical health, like mobility, flexibility, meditation, in addition to their spiritual health.
2. Debt - How many are way (WAY) over-committed from careless and mindless overspending and are now in a financial crisis with huge (or many) repayments after having their work hours reduced or losing their income completely? It is such a beautiful time to not live in regret or completely breakdown, but reassess spending habits and trying to figure out why we have been living a life way beyond our means, whether due to social media, keeping up appearances, ego, or just attempting to fill an empty emotional void with ‘stuff’ as a distraction. It’s time we all started being true to ourselves and taking pride and ownership of where we are currently at with our income levels. It is so much more important to have self-respect and being of higher human value, as opposed to the lure of looking good to others and attempting to ‘fit in’ with people who aren’t truly our people.
3. Multiple income streams – How many people for years mocked, laughed and made things really uncomfortable for those who chose a different profession like direct selling, network marketing, affiliate marketing, or other side hustles? I am personally involved in these other industries, and although I never got attacked or belittled (well to my face or that I was aware of LOL), I have witnessed so many people miss out on opportunities because they were too concerned about what others would say or think, or just simply had better things to do than invest a few hours a week to create something better for their lives. That one thing really breaks my heart and likely a big part of why I have always chosen to be a teacher, coach, and mentor. People lacking belief or not chasing their own dreams, or giving up on their vision for their life because of other people’s opinions is honestly really devastating to witness. The virus was a huge sign that the world is changing and you are severely limiting yourself if you do not keep an open mind and start moving with the times. Of course you need to be smart, whether it’s creating your own side income, a network marketing company, direct selling, offering coaching, or in general looking for ways to expand online, but we have now all seen how many people across numerous industries lost their entire incomes in an instant! Jobs and professional careers are brilliant if you absolutely love and adore what you do, but NEVER limit yourself to a single income stream, as no-one is ever completely safe or secure from losing their livelihood. It is a beautiful time to be willing to learn from ‘those people’ (lol) and maybe invest some time and money into creating other income streams.
4. Savings- Wealth they say is how many weeks you can survive without your pay check. Let’s be honest here, we have witnessed that fact that most of the population actually live week to week and literally can’t survive beyond one, maybe two weeks. It’s such a beautiful time to reassess your spending habits and instead of all those ‘Afterpay’ purchases, outfit and technological upgrades you start shifting your money to instead building an emergency account. When I was still personal training and coaching competition girls I would always encourage my clients to aim to save at least $10,000 and keep it aside at all times for back up.
5. Where can we slow down and actually live again- How many people have been smashing around 10000 miles an hour on autopilot for many years that they have forgotten how to live and actually have fun and truly enjoy life? What a beautiful time it is to re-assess the flow of your life and see where you have been distracted to what really matters in life, and what being ‘engaged’ in life actually means. As adults we become so disengaged with play, imagination, and dreaming. We completely forget about the joy in creativity through nature, arts, crafts, reading, writing, music, home cooking, growing vegetables, and hobbies. We spend our time aimlessly scrolling social media, watching TV, shopping, which none of these things are inherently bad, yet if they are dominating your days at the expense of real connection and engagement then maybe it’s time to take a break and try something new with yourself, your family, or friends. Remember, you can live in the real world and still be a dreamer #whatatimetobealive
PS...I haven't had a Brix selfie with me foreverrrr! haha He is still as stubborn AF and intentionally turns his face away from the phone!