In my last post, I asked what freedom means for you and how much you may be limiting your own expression of your freedoms.  In this post, we’ll review specific areas of your life and identify steps you can take to feel freer every day.

Think about how all of your lifestyle choices either support or hold back your freedom:

Friends

Do the friends that you’ve chosen support you when you come up with crazy, bold ideas?  Are they open to you living your life on your own terms?

Or do they tell you to “get real” and get off your high horse and join them back in their comfortable mediocrity?

We are the sum of the five people we spend the most time with so choose your five people wisely.

Home

Think about your home.  We’ve been brainwashed into thinking that a big home with a big, fat mortgage provides investment and tax “advantages.”  In most of the country, those investment advantages just don’t exist anymore.  The home we bought over 12 years ago is worth very little more today than what we bought it for back then.

And that “tax advantage?” Sure, I get to pay tens of thousands of dollars in interest to the bank each year so I can reduce my taxes by a third or less of that.  What a deal.  Would you trade me a dollar for $0.25 back?  That’s the tax advantage.

Suddenly renting doesn’t seem so bad.  We’ve been told that rent is sunk money.  Well so is 75% of the mortgage interest you’re paying every year.  And most of your monthly payments are interest.

With renting you’re not so tied to where you live.  You can leave on pretty short notice without worrying about how long it will take to sell your place.  You don’t have to worry about how you’ll pay for those big repairs when they sneak up on you (a new roof, water heater, siding, heating or air conditioning system, etc.).

Think renting can restrict what you can do in your home?  Think about the crazy restrictions placed on homeowners in subdivisions.  It’s nuts.

What are the three highest values in your life?  Does the home you live in support those values?  What kind of home does?

Children

If you have kids, do you feel stuck sometimes because there are just things you “can’t” do with kids?  Think you can’t travel the world because they’re supposed to be in school?

I’ve met a number of people using the world as their classroom as they homeschool their kids (yes, even little ones) as they travel, sail or RV the world.

Don’t blame your kids for slowing you down.  Take them along for the ride.

Finances

How much are you sacrificing your freedom with your financial choices and how you spend your money?

Planning for retirement

Think you need $2 million in the bank in order to retire?  It’s time to rethink the notion of retirement that was established back in the 1920’s – yes, that’s about 100 years ago.  Things have changed a little since then.

The eligible age for social security was set around 65 years of age because that’s about when men started to die shortly after they retired.  Their lives and sense of self were so tied up in their jobs and they basically had nothing to do when they retired so they had nothing to live for and literally died.

You don’t need $2 million to live out your life on.  Find something you’re passionate about and generate some money from it.  Create an asset that generates money for you.   Simplify your life so you don’t need so much.

Do what you’re passionate about until you die.  You’ll die happy.

Financial habits

Is how you’re spending your money and possibly generating debt sabotaging your freedom?  Every dollar of debt you accumulate robs you of the ability to do something great in the future.  Are you selling out your future freedom for a nick-nack or a little fun today?

I unwittingly made that choice for years racking up tens of thousands of dollars in debt.  Just when I wondered how the hell I would ever pay it off, I got a big bonus at my job that wiped it out.  Sure it was nice to suddenly have no debt but I didn’t learn anything in the process and proceeded to rack up more debt.  And I think back at all the awesome things I could have done with that money and kick myself – hard.  The stuff I accumulated that created the debt was hardly worth it.

After digging myself out again and doing something I always considered unthinkable, especially for me, like declaring bankruptcy, I’ve finally learned my lessons.  I’ll never have another credit card again.  I’ll never have reserve lines of credit to tap into “just in case.”  Having no safety net made of debt used to freak me out.  Now I know it’s the best thing for me.  I’ve accepted it and am creating a life of abundance for myself and my family.

I have to create my own safety net of savings and I’ve had to make some hard choices in how I spend my money in order to do that.  It’s a process I’m working on, learning and growing from.

I had to hit rock bottom, after repeating the debt cycle a few times before I finally realized all the little, daily habits that got me in trouble.  I’ve become much more mindful of those little habits so I can change them and change my future.

Don’t rob yourself of your future.  You deserve that freedom.

Find and live your passion

What do you have to live for today and for the rest of your life?  Your job?  Or things you’re truly passionate about?

I personally think that each one of us was placed on this earth to help others (people, animals, the planet, you choose) with the unique passions and talents we were born with.  It’s up to us to find out what those passions and talents are and start expressing them to the world.  The world is waiting for you.  That’s what I’m doing here on this blog and with the coaching and products I’m offering.

Most of us have lots of old programming that tells us to stifle our true selves in order to fit in.  It may be difficult to get out there and discover what our passions and talents are.  Those passions and talents may be something that has nothing to do with what we went to school for or what our jobs and careers have been about.  Get creative and experiment.  You’ll never know what lights your fire until you try.

For example, I’m now a writer.  I never thought I could write.  When I started writing my blog, I still didn’t consider myself a writer.  I was just putting information out there that might hopefully help other people (my passion).  And none of this had anything to do with being an accountant or a finance executive.

Think about how you want to spend the rest of your life.  Do you want to stay tied to a job that offers no real security now or in the future?  Or do you want to take your future into your own hands and be happy and free?

How do you define freedom?

How are you living it every day?

See how some other awesome bloggers define freedom here.

Visit my Recommended Resources page where I post the latest list of books, programs, and products that I’ve found to be particularly helpful in growing your mindfulness and meditation practices.

 

Create the life you want: Combine the law of attraction with mindfulness

The law of attraction suggests that our positive or negative thoughts bring about positive or negative experiences.  My latest book, The Mindful Guide to Law of Attraction, pairs that belief with the powerful practices of mindfulness. Through intentional breathing, writing, and engaging, you’ll hone a method for manifesting health, wealth, and love―the elements of happiness.

Let the law of attraction work for you by adopting its basic steps of identifying and visualizing the things you desire. Then use 45 practical meditation techniques included in the book to achieve awareness. By concentrating your positive energy on obtaining your wants, you’ll give yourself permission to receive them.

To your happiness!  ~Paige

The Mindful Guide to the Law of Attraction  

You can find this book at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and Indigo.