Waking up to what matters most in life

“It’s not a bad idea to occasionally spend a little time thinking about things you take for granted. Plain, everyday things.” ~ Evan Davis

A cappuccino. A pint. A gym session. Gosh, even a haircut. If there’s one thing I think Covid-19 has taught us, it’s to enjoy the small things in life. 

Before the pandemic, I was often guilty of living life at 100 mph in an effort to try and get everything done. Accused of being ‘too focused’. Trivial things would often irritate me. Long-queues - any queues - traffic jams and a badly poured pint, to name a few. 

Now it’s a different story. Long queues mean I’m around people again. Traffic jams give me more time to reflect and think about my day. And a badly poured pint, well … that’s always bad news - I do have my limits!

However, having taken a step back to think about the past six months, I’ve concluded that lockdown has taught me to recognise just how lucky I am to have the things that I already have. A home I feel comfortable in, and can work from. A job I love. A happy and healthy family. An amazing group of friends. A wonderful community of clients. And most importantly, a life I love. 

It sounds so simple when you hear others say it, but it’s an important lesson: always look at the bigger picture. 

I’m sure this will resonate with many of you

Many of you will already have been thinking differently about the everyday. 

And perhaps you too have had a change in perspective about what’s important in life? If so this might affect your long-term goals.

Maybe writing that book or that new car doesn’t seem so important. Perhaps you now prefer to save up for experiences with your friends and family that'll create wonderful memories?

Even if those experiences seem fairly everyday. 

I recently spent 20 minutes watching a man trying to complete a Soduku puzzle. I’m not even that much of a fan of Soduku! But it was transfixing: it was the fact that he was so absorbed in what he was doing that everything else in the world seemed unimportant. 

That’s called ‘living in the moment’, and yet, in normal times, that’s often very hard to do … 

So perhaps it’s a good opportunity that we take stock while we can.

To think about the future by looking at the bigger picture and thinking about the experiences that will come from really fulfilling our aspirations. For example, retiring early (with the support of a healthy pension) and being able to offer more time to give back or contribute to the community might bring more happiness than continuing to work in a role you’re not that passionate about anymore. 

Freedom in retirement is all about appreciating the little things in life. By starting to appreciate life’s simple pleasures now, we get to see a glimpse of what the rest of our journey might feel like.

Please contact me if you’d like a no obligation chat to talk this through.