Live Life

I was recently reminded that life is short. My aunt passed away last week and was reminded we all have a predetermined amount of time.

Simply put, Live Life to the fullest now. A common saying but appropriate:

"Dream as if you'll live forever, Live as if you'll die tomorrow."
~ James Dean

Life Redesign

Life has been utterly exhausting lately and therefore, you may have guessed, margin has not been found.

Tonight, I finally decided to take a night for myself and relax. Alright, it was really a choice since I'm feeling under the weather...its been about a month now and just can't shake this thing.

Anyways, so, tonight, I pickup the book...A Minute of Margin...again and read the next excerpt which is titled 'Redesigning Life'. How suitable for me today.

I read on and the author discusses how one day, him and his wife reach the point where life has just become too overwhelming and the decided to STOP and take a night for themselves and try to discover all the things that are consuming their lives. Interesting...might be a good idea.

So...I did this as well. Here is my list:

- Work
- Defining a Career Path
- Grad School with one class a week for 3.5 hours with close to 6-7 hours of homework outside of class
- Financial Peace class at my church
- Serving through tech ministry at church
- Attempting to be involved in the life of niece of almost 9 months already!
- social life - doesn't really exist.

Back to the book....so after the list was made, they threw it into the fire and wiped the slate clean. It was symbolizing the release of control that 'life' and all their activities had on them.

A friend of mine this week told me that I need to start doing things for myself. Very wise words and I hope that I can do that. Granted, I will need to relinquish some things in my life....OR...change the things in my life to be less burdensome but instead rewarding.

So, here is my new list:

- I am fortunate to have a job - make the most of it and learn something new every day
- I am young, your career path will change - live in the here and now for your career and pursue those things that you enjoy and are rewarding
- I Will have your MBA in less than 2 years - congrats on the accomplishment. Finish Strong!
- Homework teaches me something - curriculum or organization and work ethic - just do your homework.
- Financial Peace class at my church - As Dave Ramsey says, ...one day, you'll live like no one else.
- I am a means to instill change in people. Never let the stress of doing good work get in the way of Serving.
- I am an influential person. Influence cannot be measured in quantity but in quality. Make the most of the times with my niece.
- Through your activities, you will meet people. Live by example and people will be drawn to you.

Its amazing how inspirational I can be to myself when I just take the time to do it and find that 'margin' in my life for it.

Margin = Happiness?

'Happiness is a place between too little and too much.
- Finnish Proverb

Does Margin = Happiness? Maybe, or maybe not. I truly think it is a contributing factor.

I have a number of big decisions in front of me. With each decisions comes a gauge of margin. Will it increase or decrease? What are the short-term and long-term benefits?

Simplifying it....do what makes the heart happy.

Margin

First of all...thank you mom for steering me back on track...


Now...a word about Margin. I was given a book to read by my mother about a year ago. And, of course, life being busy, pushed the book into a drawer, yet to be opened. Well, a year later, I'm opening the book.


I started to read the introduction and that's as far as I got.


A few excerpts, quoted directly from A Minute of Margin, by Richard A. Swenson...


"MARGIN IS LIKE oxygen - everybody needs some. If we have too little, we suffer from the shortage. If we have too much, the excess will not benefit us additionally. But having the right amoung permits us to breathe freely."


Ok...lets stop there. Besides oxygen, since it is important for umm....life...this concept of Margin and its coorelation to Life in and balance is so true. Keyword: Balance and just the right amount.


...back to the book...


"Margin is space, specifically the space between our load and our limits. It is this space that enhances vitality and resilence. It is this space that guarnatees sustainability. It is in this space where healing occurs, where our batteries are recharged, where our relationships are nourished, and where wisdom is found. Without margin, both rest and contemplation are both theorectical concepts, unaffordable and unrealistic."


Ok...can I just say wow! This is so true. Its amazing to think that something as simple as space can affect our lives in so many ways. It is this space that drives the results of our actions, attitudes and relationships.


So with all that being said, why don't I or we for that matter have margin or space in our lives. Well, lets read on...


"Our enemy is also our beneficiary: progress. Progress is helpful but not pure. Even as progress results in many advantages, it is also accompanied by disadvantages. Progress brings blessing, but it also brings pain. ...progress always gives us more and more of everything, faster and faster. ... When overloaded, however, more and more, faster and faster becomes problematic. The bottleneck is the established fact of human limits."


Hear that...we, us, humans...have LIMITS. Imagine that. I unfortunately seem to throw those to the wind more often than not. Such is life...for me. But why? Why is it like that? Why do I allow it? Part of my nature to constantly be striving for the next thing to advance me, my career, the next opportunity? I'm a very driven person so the word NO rarely is in my vocabularly. This can be dangerous. Yes, I even admit it. But it is something learned.


Space, or Margin...will allow for me to begin saying No and focusing on the core of me and who I am.


I'm going to take my mom's advice and try and read through this book, each day and try and reflect on what I read and the application to my own life. Maybe that will bring about some answers.


The next installment of Margin will be forthcoming... maybe I'll find simplicity through margin.

Still not simple

So, um yeah, simplistic does not equal easy.

Work has been pretty calm now for two weeks and yet, I can't seem to relax, reduce stress or anything. In fact, it seems like things are worse. Maybe just a different kind of stress due to lack of direction in my life/career....again. What else is new?

I wish finding myself wasn't so hard. I wish that little things didn't affect me so much. Sometimes, I think I'm this lost soul in a big world, searching for something that I'm not sure if it exists. Or maybe its a figment of my imagination, this surreal image I created that will never become reality. And yet, at the same time, that surreal image scares me - like I don't know if I really want it. Oh the confusion I create for myself.

I mean seriously, why do I let things bother me? Why do I over analyze and create more angst than necessary? Why do I try to live a life that I'm not at yet and shouldn't be? I need to embrace my age and where I'm at but yet, I keep worrying about the future and planning so my decisions now have the best outcome for my future. Living in the now doesn't seem to exist for me. Why is that? What can I do to change that? I don't think anyone or anything can truly change me. It's all my inner self, searching, discovering, questioning life and what is has instore for me but yet I won't allow myself to accept the unknown.

One day, I hope that I can simplify my life, not confuse or frustrate myself and just live as life should be.

Simplistic - Not Easy

Simplicity does not equal easy...but that's ok.

Hard work is required in many things in life....but that's ok.

Success does not come easy but must be set as a goal... but that's ok.

Setting goals, having purpose, and striving for success is healthy...and that's ok.

To achieve success, you will fail - its a part of life...and that too is ok.

So why am I so hard on myself? Why do I expect so much of myself when others don't?

Focus on the simple things and give yourself a break Austin.

Embrace the Here and Now

A quote from William Shakespeare...

'There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures.'

Life is what you make of it. The peaks and valleys are only natural and we cannot dwell in either. For life is unpredictable. All we know, is that it will not be constant and change is expected. We must embrace life, Here, Now, and make the most of what we have.

Now is just a milestone on the way to greatness in the future.