If you missed parts 1 and 2 you may want to read them now.
Each day is an experimental laboratory for understanding lifestyle design. No action is mandatory. I can stay in bed all day without consequence should I choose. But each decision forms my lifestyle, present and future. Exercise today and have more energy now and retain an active lifestyle longer in the future. Stimulate my brain today and promote a longer intellectual life. Engage in revenue generating business actiities nd support a richer set of lifestyle opportunities. Take the time to enjoy family and friends and reach out for social activities. Enjoy nature and the arts.
Each minute is an opportunity that will never come again and each minute is a foundation for the rest of my life. What I am able to do tomorrow is a consequence of what I do today.
If I make those decisions willy nilly, by whim or how I feel at any moment, I lose control of the future. I know that I cannot control the future and that at any moment a random action can change my life forever but since these are things I cannot control I don’t let them affect my decisions.
I know that by planning each day, I can influence the future days. Discipline in using my time is my tool to create the future lifestyle I want. So RalphCarlsonBlog exists to document my efforts to create a satisfying retirement lifestyle and share anything that I have learned.
What you’re saying sounds a bit like Karma to me. Not the ‘what goes around comes around’ conception, but the law of what is sown today, be it actions or intentions, will have an impact on what happens tomorrow. I have difficulty with the planning each day discipline. I do plan, and maybe too much, but a lot of it is just taking care of business.
Seems like you’ve been doing some real soul searching of late. Are you thinking of taking your blog into more of a personal autobiographical area (as If most blogs are not personal or sometimes autobiographical by nature)…?
If so go for it.
hansi’s last Blog Post ..Wasting Ink
Hansi,
I’m not sure what is going on with me. I agree that most blogs are personal at some level. The trick is whether the person in question is worth any interest. I’m trying to take my life to a higher level and struggling with what that means. Or even telling up from down. Hence the introspection. Sometimes you can’t even trust yourself.
Well I can tell you what a ‘higher level ‘ means to me 🙂 But seriously, have you considered some form of spirituality (not necessarily religion), be it meditation, yoga, or whatever, and making that part of a daily practice which will bear good fruits? Being at peace with yourself is certainly attainable, and its free!
hansi’s last Blog Post ..Wasting Ink
Hansi,
I consider myself spiritual although I can’t seem to engage in organized religion which troubles me. Yes there is a void of some sort. Not sure what to do about it.
Without any preaching, I can state quite unequivocally that my life caught fire at the time my spiritual side was opened. I had been a church-goer for most of my life (except during the college years) but I went because i was “supposed” to.
When I finally had my eyes and heart opened, the power and freedom I felt were, frankly, overwhelming. While organized religion has many issues, the community of believers (whatever the belief) is vital. Having others hold you accountable, support you, and be there for you cannot be replicated if you try to fly solo.
Bob Lowry’s last Blog Post ..Take Out the Trash
Bob,
That is a powerful statement. I am drawn to spirituality. I consider myself a Christian but something holds me back from embracing the church community- quite probably the devil through my own pride. I think my inertia here may be a good example of what your post embraces.
Ralph@retirement lifestyle’s last Blog Post ..Cracking the whip on yourself is hard