When I was a young adult, I was relatively wild and impulsive, in a healthy kind of way. I travelled, I partied, I worked, enough, in careers that were not fulfilling to me. I made flexible plans and had few long term goals.

I made some good and some not so good decisions. I was always looking for my own unique meaningful work, and tried many avenues.

As I grew older: got married, had children, got a mortgage, I became less flexible and more cautious. I danced a little less, travelled hardly at all, but I kept on looking for my own unique meaningful work.

Somewhere in my searches I came across 2 life-changing opportunities:

Minimalism – which lead me to pursue an intentionally simple lifestyle, and

Digital education – which lead me to experience personal growth and an inspired way of living.

Deciding to pursue Minimalism and create a digital business have been 2 of the best decisions I have made as an adult.

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Minimalism

I discovered Minimalism in my search for meaning, and although the physical decluttering aspect appealed to me, it was the less tangible benefits that really moved me.

The Minimalists I read discussed the feelings of freedom and lightness and decreased stress that they experienced when they had let go of their accumulation habits. This philosophy made sense to me, because I wanted to live a lifestyle based on my essentials –

• my family,
• our health,
• being in nature,
• more easy freedom, and
• a little more flexibility.

In 2017 I had a life-altering experience that lead me actively to pursue this life of simplicity, based on my priorities. I wrote about this early dream here.

Here is an extract:

I was standing in a meadow with the first rays of sun reaching over the top of the surrounding mountains as I listened to the words of Alan Watts. Words urging me to live a life of richness, and a life of purpose. It was a truly beautiful moment. And it was a life-changing one, because I decided in that meadow to start creating a more intentional life.

I decided to start living more simply, and according to my priorities. Alan Watts’ words gave me the nudge I had needed to put into action some of the theory about Minimalism that I had been reading over the years.

So I made the decision to create a simple and beautiful life for myself and my family.

extract from blog post A Simple Beautiful Digital Life

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Choosing to create a lifestyle that we love continues to bear fruit. We are creating a life that suits us. We live in a beautiful part of the world. We spend time with our girls as they grow up. Our possessions do not cause us sleepless nights. We do our best to avoid debt.

Our lives, our relationships, our diet and health are not perfect, but they are considered, and they are a work in progress.

Focus on progress not perfection.

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Digital Education

In 2020 I made the second life-changing decision. I took advantage of the forced Covid pause to start afresh, to learn new skills, and to start my own online business.

Both times I used external circumstances as a catalyst for making a decision (a sunrise dance session, forced Covid pause), and both times they were good decisions.

I have written a number of posts about my business journey so far. I have mentioned how my life has changed, what I have learned, I have discussed automation in online business, and more.

The decision-making guidance I give below is from my personal experience and from what I have learned as part of the digital education community. I hope they help you on your journey.

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Life-Changing Decisions

There have been other notable life-changing experiences in my life which deserve a brief mention in any discussion of life-change:

• In 2010 we got married
• In 2011 had our first daughter
• In 2012 moved countries
• In 2013 had our second daughter
• In 2014 bought a house
• And in 2015 we rested… not really!

So How Can You Make a Good Life Decision?

step 1 – start to get to know yourself

• Ask often – what do I like?
• What can I do for hours on end without realising time is passing?
• What made me happy as a child?
• What do I do when I am supposed to be doing something else?

Your answers to these questions can give you a clue as to what you love and what you are good at. All self-knowledge is great and will help when making decisions about YOUR life.

Knowing yourself can also help smooth out life’s curves by seeing your patterns, being aware of your triggers, and knowing your likely reactions. From here you can start shifting your behaviour should you feel it beneficial to do so.

I wrote a post that included some personality typing quizzes if you want a little more clarity.

Once you know what you like, it is easier to create meaningful work around your unique self. If you have no idea what you like or even if you have any passions, that’s okay too. I was the same. With a little time and self focus, you will remember who you are and what you love.

step 2 – start to make small regular changes

• Drink a glass of water when you wake
• Sit in silence for a few moments or minutes every day
• Stretch your precious body
• Write a page of stream of consciousness writing (anything that flows out is quite acceptable)
• Go for a walk, or run, or bike ride… get outdoors and start exercising
• Do something to make you smile, to provide you with a little moment of light
• Do something small that makes your heart race (aka stepping out of your comfort zone – swim in a cold ocean, wear bright red lipstick, try a new style, call someone you know you need to)

For me, I do well with challenges and accountability. I have written a lot of posts about my monthly challenges and wrote a summary of the 7 things I had learned from challenging myself with habit change. I know this from my life experience, backed up by the fact that I am an Obliger – from the Four Tendencies quizz.

I believe that for most of us, any small habit change that will improve our own version of quality of life is worth it. It can help build self-belief and feelings of personal empowerment. Choose areas that you might like to focus on, because this is YOUR journey.

step 3 – invest in yourself

• It can be hard for some of us to invest in ourselves, but it is so worthwhile and so important.
• Start with something manageable (but be prepared for your self-investment to grow over time).
• I felt lost and unskilled, and I came across free training online. I watched it…
• and then after many pondering months, I decided to join the SFM community and invested in myself!
• I started a business around me and the things that I liked (so self-knowledge was important).
• In the community, I signed up for ALL the challenges going one after the other: 90-day Video Journey, Fourtopia, Lifestyle Blueprint, Linked in Learning courses, Liftoff Challenge. I experienced so much personal growth.
• As my interests grew, I signed up for some Udemy courses in areas that interested me.
• I invested further and got a coach…

Here is a link to the same FREE training I signed up for which kicked off my digital business and personal growth journey. I have included a button below as well for you to sign up and join this growing community of change-makers.

Watch it if you are open to new opportunities, it is value-packed and explains how you can work online from home, in your own time, and create an inspired life. For me, it has been one of my biggest and best mid-life decisions.

step 4 – decide

Once all your personal growth and self-knowledge and self-investment are going ahead – analyse what you can, and listen to your intuition.

We all make decisions in different ways. Some purely logical, some purely intuitive, and some of us a mix.

I am a mix. I research the facts, talk to people, read reviews, seek the positive and also the negative reports, and then follow my intuition. You might make decisions very differently.

Finally once the research is done – decide on your course of action.

And get into action.

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I Hope This Helps

It has always been my intention to share my journey in the hope that it inspires others to create their own simple beautiful lives. So it is my hope that this resonates with you.

Know that I have come from a place of feeling frustrated and lost and directionless and that I am now growing and feeling stronger and more inspired most days.

Also know that my life never has been and is not perfect now. My life is however a work of ongoing creation, and I am building it intentionally with each action I take and with every decision I make.

So her is to your Good Life Decisions!

Thanks for reading. x