Flat Life!
(Go on, say the words above as though you are singing along to Park Life by Blur.)
“If We Were Meant To Stay In One Place, We’d Have Roots Instead Of Feet…” Rachel Wolchin
This last week hubby and I moved house. Downsizing from a 4 bedroom detached house to a 2 bedroom first floor flat.
They do say it’s one of the most stressful things you can do.
Like many of you who have moved in recent times we endured the normal little stresses of moving house; not exchanging on time, cleaning the house top to bottom under the time pressure of completion, not getting the keys until nearly 4pm and having to move all my worldly possessions in the dark etc) Finally in, we ate a fish and chip supper, built the bed and fell asleep well before 8:30pm promising to the attack the mountain of boxes the next day. We were shattered.
BTW - We are still opening boxes a week later! (We did have over 70.)
During the last few days, opening up boxes and various bubble wrapped items I’ve been struck by a number of thoughts/reflections that could apply to my business life and my personal development. Here are 3 curious reflections that I thought I’d share with you, to see if they get you all thinking.
Why do we hold onto things that we are never going to use again?
Before the move we took 20 odd bags of stuff to the charity shops. We thought we had got rid of the deadwood, but no. It was clear whilst opening boxes in the new place we still had things we hadn’t ever used or weren’t going to use again. Why were we keeping hold of it all. The common factor; memories. This led me to think about the importance of stuff?
Why do we want to surround ourselves with things? Do these things make us happy? Do they bring joy? Do they help us work towards our goals and achievements? Do they remind us of an important life lesson or a critial time in our life?
Everything has its place and when it fits, it fits.
As I mentioned we were moving to a flat, interestingly enough the flat’s sq. metre size is not much smaller than our house. It took some time to find the right places for things, but it was wonderful to see that our old furniture looked perfect in the space. In fact it looked like it had been there for ever. That feeling of cosiness and familiarity makes use feel safe and secure. That we belong. Now realised how important that is to me to feel that, I’m going to keep checking the fit in other areas of my life. Do I belong here?
Its about how you respond not how you react.
We have moved into a building that has 7 flats in it. That’s 7 new families/couples living in closer proximity to hubby and I than we have ever experienced before. These people are really lovely, so nice, but it is going to take a bit of getting used to, bumping into our neighbours every time we walk out the door.
They also have a lot of rules and regulations around the building to keep our little group in harmony. Meeting everyone and learning all about what we can and can’t do did feel very ‘how dare they tell me what I can do in my own home’. However, on reflection I decided I needed to change my reaction. I was wrong. I need to remember that they are trying to make us feel welcome, they are helping us fit in, they want us to be happy and comfortable in our home. The positives outweighed the negatives on this point.
Our ‘merrier band of neighbours’ are a community. They are proud to look after the property (important if we are going to be popping to away a lot), that want to chat and find out about your day – make sure you are OK, supported and happy. So we are not going to react to every little thing, we are going to respond with a open heart and positive mindset. They are here to help us.
Final point.
Remember your Why?
Why have we made this move? The move is part of our greater 5 year plan and as such it should be a celebration. Hubby and I have achieved a milestone that allows us to move onto the next part of our wonderful life adventure. This move has reminded me that we have to let go of things, to make room for new experiences. We must consistently take action to bring our dreams closer to reality. Small steps, big steps, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that you are moving towards your long term position.
Now, I’m off to open some more boxes and start planning the next stage of our 5 year plan. uuhhmm, what shall we focus on next???? Watch this space of our next crazy and ambitious milestone.