“Wealth is the ability to fully experience life.” – Henry David Thoreau
I am blessed to live within easy drive of Thoreau’s old stomping grounds on Walden Pond, and I have enjoyed spending many quiet days walking its trails. Such days and several years of my own reflective process have taught me the truth of Thoreau’s quote above.
To experience life fully means different things for each of us. For you it might mean travel and adventures. For someone else it may mean quality time with loved ones. Or, it might simply mean practicing presence daily in whatever action we choose to do.
I have found that for me, the wealth of fully experiencing life starts with freedom. Intentionally creating a life in which I have increased my freedom of time and location has been the greatest sense of wealth I can imagine.
For me, wealth is not about private jets, fancy yachts, or runway clothes (not that there’s anything wrong with these luxuries; they can be fun). Rather it’s about creating the freedom to be able to choose to spend my life however I want each and every day.
In my book Inspired Action, I spend Chapter 9 discussing how you can develop your own freedom plan to begin to experience the pleasure of freely directing your own energy, attention, and time each day.
Today, I want to explore in a bit more depth some of the joys and challenges that such freedom brings, and consider my favorite strategy to make the challenges easier…
Freedom and Structure
For many of my clients who have spent years of their lives in a corporate job and context, when they first venture into becoming an entrepreneur a couple things often happen. First, they revel in their new-found freedom to not get up and commute, to be able to work when they choose, and to meet with friends on a Tuesday.
Then, they realize that they do want to “get things done” and discover that some level of pattern, structure, and rhythm to their lives might be helpful. Some way to ensure that they are spending time on work and on life in appropriate proportions becomes important. (After all, it’s even easier to become a workaholic when you’re working for yourself.)
Occasionally, I’ve seen newer entrepreneurs who feel like the bottom fell out of their world because the old structure of their 9-5 job is gone. There’s suddenly no one telling them what to do, and when to do it. The deadlines have become rare and unusual rather than a daily or weekly pressure. They feel set adrift.
This experience can be the scary side of freedom. Suddenly, you are the only one who creates structure and determines priorities. You are the one who develops your business systems, and only you can decide if something is working effectively or not.
At this point, you begin to realize that some structure is useful. In fact, having that structure around your time and your business processes actually creates an even greater sense of freedom during the rest of your days because you know that you’re getting your work done, and you can enjoy your time to play.
The difference now is that you are choosing the structure and patterns that work, and you have the ability and authority to create them, shift them, and change them as new opportunities and desires arise in your world. So, you still have freedom… including the freedom to create your own structure.
One of the best tools that I use to help clients create their new intentional structure is the Life Rhythm Map. This tool creates a visual representation of your daily and weekly life and allows you to think reflectively about how it is currently and how you want it to become.
It’s easy to forget that managing your energy and attention when you have a lack of structure can be just as hard as figuring out your energy & “life balance” strategies when you’re over-scheduled.
They are two sides of the same coin. However, both can be addressed using this tool.
Next Actions
If you are struggling with too much or not enough structure in your world…
If you are eager to consider how you can create more freedom in your days and week…
Then, you’ll want to experience the Life Rhythm Map exercise, and begin crafting your life intentionally.
You can download the free templates I use for the Life Rhythm Map by clicking the button below.
You will also be provided with access to the email mini-course Optimizing Your Energy which will guide you through how to use the Life Rhythm Map to craft your daily structure and leverage your personal energy even more effectively to get things done.
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