Five Essential Elements To Create A Life You Love
Welcome to The Power of Change, a weekly publication about mindset, resilience, healing, human connection, and the pursuit of joy - a community to help you create the change you want in your life.
If you have a typical work schedule, by Friday evening, you’re ready for the weekend. Maybe you’ll sleep in, get together with friends, and spend time with loved ones.
But if you’re like many people, you work weekends, too, whether you’re an entrepreneur or someone with a side hustle, pursuing your passion or just trying to get ahead.
Life can be exhausting and out of balance.
How do you build a fulfilling life without sacrificing your health, family, or the things that matter?
Are you walking a fine line between chasing your dream and burnout?
This week, I attended a conference of real estate professionals. We heard from national economists, state legislators, and business owners about the struggles facing many families. In my area, we have an extreme housing shortage, and affordability is a major concern. The economic news was less than encouraging.
At the same conference, we heard from motivational speakers who encouraged inspired action to meet your goals. One business owner spoke of her desire and plan to pursue joy in her business and life. They all talked about moving the needle every day.
The messages were clear. To be successful, you must work hard, be consistent, and focus on your goals every day. But to what end?
I left the conference with a renewed commitment to my plan and a belief that despite the challenges, I would be successful. But as the week wore on and I juggled multiple client needs and projects, I wondered how much more I could do.
By Friday afternoon, the alarms had been going off for two days, and I couldn’t avoid them any longer. I needed to rest, but I also wanted to enjoy my plans with my son that evening. I knew I couldn’t without resting, so I closed my eyes for what I thought would be a 30-minute nap. It turned into a deep sleep for a few hours. I was still exhausted when I woke. Maybe it’s the prolonged effects of COVID or the flare of my chronic illness since COVID.
Disappointed and guilty that my planned evening with my son went sideways, something had to give. Of course, he understood since my son, and I have encouraged each other through many health setbacks. Changing or canceling plans is not unusual for us, but I still hate it when it happens.
We ordered takeout, and I went to bed, sleeping soundly for another nine hours. The next morning I realized that despite the many hard lessons learned during the past two decades, it’s still easy to get off track and lose sight of what’s important in your life.
I opened my journal and reminded myself.
Five essential elements to create a life you love.
Align your life and your work with your passions.
When you build a life around fulfilling and purpose-driven work, the time you invest doesn’t drain you but leaves you energized and grateful for the opportunity. For me, those passions are real estate, marketing consulting, and writing. But do I need to adjust how I manage all three? In addition to my real estate and consulting clients, I spend many hours each week researching, writing, and collaborating with others on Substack to bring meaningful content to my readers. I enjoy every part of it, but it leaves little time for rest. Why continue to try to do it all?
Because I love what I do, and it brings me joy.
Create a balanced life.
Learning to say no was never easy for me. When I became ill, I let go of the people and things that drained me and focused on those that sustained me. Doing so helped me build a balanced life and enabled me to heal.
If you’re having a hard time saying no, consider the time you’ll miss doing the things you love to say yes. It may change your perspective.
3. Build and maintain supportive relationships
Nothing is more important than surrounding yourself with meaningful and supportive relationships. Surrounding yourself with love is essential.
You cannot do it alone.
Having one person to gently nudge you, encourage you, and remind you to take a break if you need one is enough to keep you going.
When your life is filled with positive relationships, it feels richer and more connected. You feel energized rather than drained.
Make self-care a priority
When self-care is a habit rather than something you save for special occasions, you maintain energy and well-being consistently. I failed to maintain my habits this week and the results were clear. I need to regroup.
Nourish your body with exercise. Find what you enjoy and do it every day. At the very least, go outside and take a walk. I love Pilates, but I haven’t been able to consistently fit it into my schedule. What I don’t miss- long walks with my dog.
Nourish your mind through meditation or mindfulness. Call into focus your reason for working so hard. Clarify your why. Is it still relevant or does something need to shift? It only takes 10 minutes a day to make a difference.
Nourish your soul by giving yourself grace. Take a nap, stop for a break, or take a day off. And when you do, don’t beat yourself up. Know that it’s exactly what you need to do.
Nourish your spirit. Have you ever experienced divine inspiration? I wouldn’t be where I am today without faith and the ability to tune into my intuition. It enables me to notice the divine intervention I receive from loved ones who have left the physical world. You know those moments you think are coincidences - I call them glimmers – moments when you feel joy, happiness, peace, or gratitude, and you sense they were placed before you for a reason. Think of them as signs or a nudge to take a step or choose a direction. Or maybe it’s just a moment to remember the person you loved and lost.
Remember gratitude
Be thankful for your health and the ability to pursue your dreams. For many years, I was unable to do so, and it took time to see the hidden blessings in my illness. Learning gratitude was a critical lesson. With gratitude came the ability to be present.
By focusing on the present, I stopped looking back at what had been or forward at what may never be.
I became grateful for the here and now. It’s the only moment we’re guaranteed.
Learn to be grateful for little moments throughout your day—a blue sky, fragrant flowers in your garden, the smile on your child’s face, the sound of a belly laugh. When you learn to appreciate simple moments, life becomes more fulfilling.
By feeding your mind, body, soul, and spirit on a daily basis, you create and sustain a fulfilling life regardless of the hours spent working toward your goals. Don’t get me wrong; rest, whether it’s a weekend or a week’s vacation, is essential and part of the self-care process. If you push too far for too long, you’ll face a turning point and have to pivot.
Tomorrow, I’m pivoting. I’m taking a day trip to the coast, where I’ll forget deadlines and the items on my to-do list. I’ll soak in the sun and appreciate the beauty around me.
I hope you’ve had a chance to do the same.
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For those of you who don’t know, I’m a marketing consultant, real estate broker, and freelance writer. As a marketing consultant, I help businesses, solopreneurs, and other writers develop communications plans to meet their needs, and create and raise brand awareness. My 15+ years as a marketing executive is the basis for this work. In real estate, I work with buyers, sellers, and investors to find their next destination. I’m located in New England, but I have referral partners all over the world. Real estate is in my blood and has been a passion throughout my life. If you’re in need of a freelance writer, a ghostwriter, or help with social media, I’d love to learn more about your project. Reach out here to start a conversation.
Until next week, be mindful and stay safe.
Tracy xo
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A lovely read and an important reminder. I've been making a few adjustments over the past few days to bring in more balance. Like you, I've been feeling pretty burnt out since my last bout of Covid. Taking care of ourselves and getting the rest we need is so important.
Creating the change you want is helped with a plan or at least an idea of what you want to design. You may have seen one of my earlier posts that relates to this topic:
https://garygruber.substack.com/p/carving-out-a-creative-life