It’s Not A Race

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I understand that you have to get your work done.  I understand that you need a job and in this economy anyone who has one is going to do what it takes to keep it.  But you have to ask, “Do I have this job because I like it or do I have it to keep up my appearance”?  The rat race starts when you begin keeping up appearances.  If you are showing up everyday at a job you hate and working on projects you hate because you need to keep your stuff then this treadmill is just going to run and run and run.

Let Go of Some Stuff

The more stuff you have, the harder you have to work to try to keep it.  give away some stuff and downsize.  One blog I read is Mind the Beginner.  Christiaan Wrote a post last year outlining a 100 item challenge and then revisited it earlier this year. The minimalist view is that you can live with only 100 things in your life.  If we each only had 100 things imagine how much easier our lives would be. You would have to decide between socks and a vase to go on the bookshelf, or even a book itself.  In the second post he finishes with a method of getting rid of 100 things.  I know this will fill up some landfills but look at what we waste now.  What are you racing to keep and why?  My story is one of moving and having to down size due to less space.  We moved into a two bedroom condo from a three bedroom townhouse.  We still have stuff in piles but it is getting closer to being gone.

Race to Really Win

What can your life really mean?  If you can’t quit your job, what can you do to make an impact where you are?  If you go to work everyday with a bad attitude then you are going to be miserable no matter what.  Can you find 3 things every day to be thankful for, then share them with others at your job?  If you are bringing work home then get a cd series or audio book you can listen to on your way home to help you wind down.  Remember, the more you look at your spouse when you are angry, the more you will get angry when you look at him or her.  Think snowball.  You can roll it either way.  You can unwind the snowball making it smaller and more manageable, or you can roll it around and make it as big as you want until you explode.  The choice is yours.

Don’t let the race run you down.  You can control how you think and how you respond to work and to stress, and to that boss that is always on you.  The way you think begins with what you focus on.  If you hold your hand up to your face you only see your hand.  If you hold your hand out at arm’s length you may see your hand, but will be able to see the world around you as well.  You may have to run the race, but you don’t have to participate in the stuff that goes along with it.

What can you do this week to let go of some stuff and to get out of the rat race?

Image courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/csatch/ / CC BY 2.0

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