The Gift of Living

I am usually a planner. Can you relate?

As I type this blog I am sitting in sunny Vanuatu. I'm not minding that I haven't checked my emails in the last 24 hours; not minding that I don't really know what I will be doing in the next hour. Actually it goes further than not minding; I am blissfully happy in the space I find myself.

It is important to be organized and know exactly what I will be doing next, because I need to. I never go anywhere without my diary and I love my 'to do' lists. But as I reflect on this, I ask myself do I really need to plan as I do? Who says I need to, apart from me? Looking at these beautiful Vanuatu people, living such a simple life compared to me, I wonder how much they plan or how much they just go with the flow. From an outside perspective I suspect more the latter. Over the last couple of years my life has become much simpler but my learning from these people is that I still have a way to go. I could blame society, financial pressures; you name it I can find something to blame. But the reality is that I like many others, am the only one putting these expectations on myself.

Of course there are necessary obligations we must adhere to. There are things we need to do for work, and in business as in life we are obliged to do what we say we are going to do. Expectations are a good thing when realistic and in keeping with our goals and values. The question is: are you over-planning and over-complicating your life unnecessarily?

The good thing about taking time away from the norm is the reflection and refreshment that naturally occurs. I reflect that over the last year, I have reduced my hours significantly and now take time for me. My priorities have changed. How I spend my time and who I choose to spend it with has changed. My attitude towards many things has changed. All these changes reflect exactly how I want to be living my life. And that is the important thing. Do what you need to, to be living your life the way YOU want to. I probably don't want to be living a Vanuatu life as my reality, but I will take pieces of it home with me. That is the good thing about refreshing yourself on holiday.

By the time you read this, I will be home. Back to my normality - back to my diary and my "to do" lists. Will I keep doing this? "Hell yes!" - because it is the way I keep myself organised and delivering on what I need to. However don't be surprised to see a little frangipani doodle on my list, or maybe my odd glass of wine may be replaced with a banana daiquiri...