Assessing Your Simple Life

Have you ever been driving along the road and had to swerve to miss a pothole? Sometimes, traffic or timing will prevent you from going around it, and it’s deep enough to make your teeth rattle and wonder if it ripped the muffler off of your car. 

The same thing can happen on your life’s journey. I don’t care what lifestyle you live, whether it’s slow and steady or one that is fast paced with no exit in sight – we’ll eventually hit one of those craters in the road.

I can’t speak for the fast-paced lifestyle, as although my life can be busy at times, I primarily stay in the slow lane. But I can help you navigate the potholes when it comes to living a Simple Life. What it boils down to is making an Assessment. 

Listen in to learn what a Simple Life Assessment is, and how to create one for your own simple life journey!

Transcript

Episode 148 – Assessing your Simple Life

Have you ever been driving along the road and had to swerve to miss a pothole? Sometimes, traffic or timing will prevent you from going around it, and it’s deep enough to make your teeth rattle and wonder if it ripped the muffler off of your car. 

The same thing can happen on your life’s journey. I don’t care what lifestyle you live, whether it’s slow and steady or one that is fast paced with no exit in sight – we’ll eventually hit one of those craters in the road.

I can’t speak for the fast-paced lifestyle, as although my life can be busy at times, I primarily stay in the slow lane. But I can help you navigate the potholes when it comes to living a Simple Life. What it boils down to is making an Assessment. 

A Simple Life Assessment acts like a map you can use that shows you where you’ve been and the location of the potholes you’ve encountered in the past. It can also help you do the research to find out where there may be more down the road you are traveling. 

One of the best times to make that assessment is at the first of a new year, while you’re making plans and goals. 

Take a look at the broader view of your Simple Life. Just as with any big project, about halfway through we stop to do an assessment. This assessment tells us several things: 

·        What we have Accomplished to Date

·        What Adjustments Need to be Made

·        What We Need to Focus on Next

With all big undertakings, you need to start your Simple Life Assessment with a few basics. These basics would be:

·        Defining your Simple Life

·        Learning How to Dream

·        Setting Goals

·        Clearing Your Calendar from Unnecessary Busyness

·        Finding your Passions

We’ve covered most of these in previous podcasts, so I’ll just skim the surface here.

When it comes to defining your simple life, every person alive will have a different definition of what it means to them. Some people just want more time with their family. Some want to pursue dreams or passions. Others want to be financially stable. 

Whatever your definition is for living a simple life, you need to have it in writing. Defining your Simple Life will help you know what road you need to be on. 

Next – you need to learn how to dream. Dreaming is where it all starts. If we’re unhappy with the job we have, we often dream of what it would be like to have a different one. If we’re so busy every day that we aren’t sure if we are coming or going, we often dream of slowing down. If that busyness stops us from fulfilling our priorities, it’s even worse. 

Learning how to dream and finding the time to do it will help you to create your definition of what your Simple Life should look like. 

Once you’ve finished dreaming and have created your definition, it’s time to set a few goals. Goals help you to get to where you want to be. 

Once your goals are in place, it’s time to clear your calendar of any unnecessary busyness. These can be things you no longer enjoy doing, or just don’t fit with your priorities. 

By having extra time on your hands, you can start using some of it to focus on your passions. Passions are the things that drive us and encourage curiosity. We become fully engaged when taking time for our passions. 

Passions are also a large portion of who we are. Whether it is cooking,  crafting, or playing with numbers, it tells us what we love to do. Never give up on your passions. These are what make your life worthwhile. And it’s what gives you a sense of contentment and joy in all you do. 

Now that you know what the basic steps are, consider them as a blueprint for your Simple Life. As with building a home, these blueprints act as your step-by-step guide. A house built with no foundation won’t withstand the weight of the structure. 

If you haven’t taken the time to do the basic steps, it will greatly benefit you to take time to do it.  

Now, let’s move on to the Simple Life Assessment. First, looking back at everything you’ve accomplished will show you your progress. It also will guide you to your next step. Second, it gives you a measure of success. It’s an opportunity to applaud yourself, and we need the encouragement and support that a job well done gives us.

There are four things you’ll need to look at when doing this part of your Assessment:

·        Tweaks and Adjustments

·        The Benefits

·        The Obstacles

·        How it Feels 

No matter how hard you try, you won’t do it perfectly the first time. Look at all your accomplishments and see which ones can be tweaked or improved. If you find there still isn’t enough time in the day, take another look at your calendar. Find at least one or two more things you can eliminate. 

If money is still an issue, see if there are any other ways you can reduce expenses. If you’ve done all you can for the moment, see if there is something you can do to earn a little extra, or learn to be patient and wait a bit. 

Be sure to note the benefits of what you’ve accomplished. If you’re growing a garden, enjoy the taste of your efforts. Are you cooking more at home? You should be able to see the benefits not only in the taste, but also in your health and budget. Recognizing the benefits of everything you have accomplished is what will keep you wanting to move forward in your simple life. 

A Simple Life Assessment also keeps track of any obstacles you may face. There may be some things you really want to do now but aren’t able to. Your obstacles may be time, money, manpower, or knowledge. 

For example, when you faced obstacles for a goal you set in the past, how did you overcome them? For each goal, make a note of the obstacle. Then write down the ways you overcame it. When you face another one, see how you dealt with others. You may be able to apply the same principle to new obstacles.

Another thing to remember is: Never underestimate your feelings. If it brings you joy, then embrace it. If you are feeling discomfort, then dig deep to understand why you are feeling that way. 

It helps to understand there are different levels of discomfort. There are times when we’re starting something new, and the challenge makes us nervous. This is more uncertainty for the task at hand. Do your research. Read the instructions. Go ahead and make mistakes you can learn from. But accept the challenge and move forward. 

However, a warning type of discomfort comes from intuition. This inner voice is telling you the situation is or can become dangerous. If this is the case, don’t walk away - Run. As fast as you can. 

If something stirs your curiosity, or offers encouragement, then stick around.  Look it over. See if it’s the right fit for you. Keep in mind that you may not have the time or money to pursue it now. If that’s the case, see where you can free up your calendar. Look for ways to add it to the budget. If it holds merit, it may be worth waiting for the right time and circumstances to pursue it. 

 Now that you’re comfortable with where you want to go, it’s time to ask ‘What’s Next?’.  If you haven’t already done so, it helps to use a checklist.

A checklist is a great tool when doing a Simple Life Assessment. The one I use is a guideline of what I want to learn. It can be anything from adjusting my calendar to find more time in my day, learning a new skill, or finding a bit of quiet time. 

Now for the fun part of your Simple Life Assessment – you get to ‘Choose Three’. For this assignment, you get to choose one item each from three different lists. The lists are:

·        Something New

·        Something to Improve Upon

·        Something Challenging

In order to move forward with your Simple Life, you need to do at least one thing you’ve never done before. Look at your checklist and find one thing you want to learn how to do. If you’ve never grown your own food, get a few pots and plant some tomatoes or herbs. If you’ve never created things by hand, think about learning. Handmade items make great gifts. 

Next, take a look at everything you’ve already done on your Simple Life journey. Examine closely what you’ve accomplished so far and choose one area that can stand improvement.

From there, you need a good challenge. When you look at the list of things you want to accomplish, which one has the potential to challenge you? Choose one and get started. 

Challenging yourself has some great benefits. Some of them are:

·        Personal Growth

·        Gaining Additional Skills and Knowledge

·        Gives you stronger control over your life

·        Strengthens your Mental Accuity

·        Adds to your Confidence Level

A good challenge is also a great way to exercise your creativity. 

Now that you understand how to do your Simple Life Assessment, there’s one last thing to consider, and that’s how to keep track of what you’re doing. 

Keeping track of your accomplishments can help you see your starting point and allow you to map your progress. 

There are two ways to track your progress:

The first is keeping a dedicated Simple Life notebook. In it you can keep valuable research, checklists, and have a section for your goals. 

Each section holds the information you need to start, continue, or add to your skills. 

A second way is through Journaling. Keeping a journal is a great way to not only track your progress, but also helps you to remember a few extra details. My journal pages include information about the weather, goals I worked on, my thoughts, feelings and more. 

I make notes in my Journal for things I would like to ponder during afternoon tea. I also write down any challenges I had that day, or any successes. This gives me encouragement later on to know I have faced other obstacles and were able to overcome them. 

Whether we’re driving down a literal road, or taking a journey towards a simple life, it’s inevitable we will run into some potholes. Having a Simple Life Assessment can mean the difference between knowing where they are and how to swerve around them, or hitting them with a teeth rattling, bone jarring impact. And knowing where they are will help you find a way around them before you lose your muffler!

If you want to learn more about living a Simple Life, just visit my website at www.thefarmwife.com/ . If you’re enjoying listening to these podcasts, please consider supporting the show by clicking the SUPPORT button in the show notes. When you do, you’ll be helping me continue bringing you fun and helpful ideas for living the Simple Life you love!

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Thanks again for stopping in. I will see you next week on Living a Simple Life with a Back Porch View. And while you are waiting for the next episode, grab that glass of refreshment, pull up a rocker, and sit back for a while. It’s time to relax and enjoy.