Making A Living Or A Life?

Are you making a “living” with some life thrown in here-and-there, when possible?

Or, are you making a “life,” with some work thrown in?

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I understand that I might be mis-stating the proportions a bit, but the point is worth considering.

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When we “make a living,” at least in the West, we are talking about work, and “providing,” “being useful” and . . . .

Work is often seen as a predictable way to sustain a sense of Self that we were trained to value.

The trouble is, to reference the late Stephen Covey, we are (so often) leaning our ladder (of “success”) against the wrong wall.

We sacrifice time with our families – and ourselves – so we can make a living.

If there’s any time or energy left over, we get to have some life.

The solution is not quitting your job and turning your family into a wandering band of ascetics so you can spend lots of time together free of the urgencies of modern life.

Rather it’s to carefully and systematically examine your life and discover the inefficiencies – and solve them.

Believe it or not, the answer to creating and sustaining a pretty darn good life is marginal improvement over time.

When you get intentional about what you want and meet the change effort with intelligence and heart (read: love), your life will transform.

Lives often only change due to crisis. And they usually revert to the some version of the previous mean once the clamor subsides.

I’m requesting that you commit to a new life, by making small (but powerful, and authentic) changes over time.*

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* It’s what I do in my life and with my clients – and it works (but only every time . . . ).