3618: Finding Freedom and Fulfillment by Conquering Debt by Claire Wilde with Everthrive on Financial Independence

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[00:00:56] Welcome back to a bonus Sunday episode. I do this once a week so we can hear a little more content to optimize our lives. An extra episode from one of the other shows where we read articles to you. Today, I'm sharing one from Optimal Living Daily. If you enjoy it, you can follow or subscribe in your favorite podcast app for daily episodes. So with that, here's Justin from Optimal Living Daily as we optimize your life.

[00:01:26] Finding freedom and fulfillment by conquering debt by Claire Wilde with everthrive.org. Mine was just an average life, but it was a life in crisis. I had the nice house, the fancy car I couldn't afford, the big TV, and the games console. I had the overworked middle management job and the busy social life to unwind on the weekends, with plenty of drinks and meals out, of course.

[00:01:51] I had the multiple holidays abroad each year, packed with activities each day so I really got the most out of every trip. But I also had a secret mountain of debt at a time when my job security was looking rockier and rockier. The stress and worry of my overcommitted life came to a head one sleepless night when my first panic attack set in. I had no idea what it was, which made it all the more frightening. I thought my heart was going to stop. This is the closest I came to a lightbulb moment when I knew something needed to change.

[00:02:21] Although in reality, this wake-up call has been a years-long process that in some respects I'm still going through now. First, I changed jobs and left my brief career in management behind. My next big change came on my honeymoon. My wife had brought along a book on minimalism and when I read it, I knew that my possessions were adding to my constant state of overwhelm and worry. I've always been both a sentimental and a messy person, which means I tend to keep hold of as many possessions as possible,

[00:02:49] then leave them in a constant state of disarray. When we got back home, I slowly got rid of about a third of my belongings. It felt great. I then cut back massively on my spending and paid off every penny of my debts. It was long and hard and boring and totally worth it. Now I'm looking at other ways I can simplify my life and more importantly, inject more fun, laughter, and spontaneity into it.

[00:03:14] If anything in my story resonates with you, here are some steps you might take to simplify your life too. Number one, try to step away from anything that's making you truly miserable. That might be a stressful job, a bad relationship, a heap of debt, or another millstone around your neck. Sometimes such things can seem completely inescapable, so find someone to confide in if you need extra support. You are never alone and situations are never helpless.

[00:03:42] Number two, make peace with your limitations. Have you ever felt that no matter how hard you work at things, it's never enough? If so, you're not alone. Productivity can be a dangerous concept when it makes people feel like they have to be working at peak performance every minute of the day. That's just a fast track to burnout. So make sure you build unstructured time into your day and don't scold yourself if you catch yourself daydreaming. It's natural, healthy, and downright fun to waste time.

[00:04:12] Number three, cut your commitments to find more time for yourself. As I've already mentioned, I'm a big believer in kicking back and doing nothing at all, but chances are you might not have much time for such a luxury. Well, one way to make time is by starting to say no to things you might otherwise feel obliged to say yes to. Ditch that book you're not enjoying. Politely decline that event you don't want to go to. Build pauses into your day and then guard them fiercely.

[00:04:40] Number four, pare down your possessions. I'll be frank here, in my view, you don't have to get rid of the majority of your belongings to feel the benefits. I'm not sure I'll ever be a hardcore minimalist, but just saying goodbye to the items which felt like they were dragging me down really did lift my mood on a daily basis. Number five, stop comparing yourself to others. Have you ever been to visit a friend only to be consumed by envy at their swanky property, tasteful furnishings, or high-tech gadgets?

[00:05:10] I won't lie, it's hard to banish jealousy from your head, but next time you feel that way, just notice it and ask yourself why you feel that way. Number six, cut down on your social media use. This is another huge one if you want to stop feeling jealous when you look at your friends' lives. Notice how you feel after you've been on social media, and if it is making you feel low, find ways to cut back. Number seven, get out more. Yep, out in the open air.

[00:05:40] If left to my own devices, I'll happily sit on my laptop all day, so I sometimes have to force myself to go for a walk, and always feel better for it. And number eight, find your happy. Try to notice those days when you feel really uplifted. What has made you feel that way? For me, it's when I'm around really close family or friends, when I'm lost in a hobby, when I'm being active, when I'm exploring somewhere or something new, or when I'm being spontaneous.

[00:06:07] But I'm spectacularly bad at actually making sure I do all these things on a regular basis. In life, there will always be drudgery, but make sure you know where your antidotes are. You just listened to the post titled, Finding Freedom and Fulfillment by Conquering Debt, by Claire Wilde with everthrive.org. Most of us have a clear picture of how work should get done, and almost no visibility into how it's actually happening.

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[00:07:31] and mention OFD for a 30-day risk-free trial. That's S-C-R-I-B-E dot how slash OFD. When you need to build up your team to handle the growing chaos at work, use Indeed Sponsored Jobs. It gives your job post the boost it needs to be seen and helps reach people with the right skills, certifications, and more. Spend less time searching and more time actually interviewing candidates who check all your boxes.

[00:07:59] Listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit at Indeed.com slash podcast. That's Indeed.com slash podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Need a hiring hero? This is a job for Indeed Sponsored Jobs. Thank you to Claire and everthrive.org. When I first saw the title of this post, I assumed we'd be hearing tips about earning more, saving more, and spending less. But nope, it's not where it went,

[00:08:24] and why you're hearing this article on this show instead of Optimal Finance Daily. Although we will hear an episode from Optimal Finance Daily in today's bonus episode, actually. So you can stay tuned for that in just a moment. But anyway, the last point was find your happy. Noticing which days made you feel uplifted and think about why you felt that way. So you might have heard me talk about this on the show before.

[00:08:50] Or I like to track my mood along with what I did that day so I can always go back, pick the highest mood days, and then take a quick look at what actually happened that day. I think it's a nice hack to quickly figure it out because it might not be as obvious as you think. But that said, let's say you realize that spending time with a particular friend led to a really great mood for that day, or at least for that time period. Does that mean you should hang out with that person every single day? Definitely not.

[00:09:19] I'm sure it's pretty clear that things will start to deteriorate and will be much worse. Once we overdo it, it'll backfire. So instead, it's about diversification. Finding a nice variety of those types of things, and doing our best to sprinkle them in when possible. And hopefully this podcast can be one of those things that adds a bit of positivity or happiness or good thoughts towards your day. I know it's been helping me, hopefully you too.

[00:09:47] And with that, as I mentioned, I do have a bonus episode coming up in just a sec. A great one from Optimal Finance Daily. So stay tuned for that, where your optimal life awaits.