Take this day, and every day, to give thanks for…
The staff and family of Workamper News wishes all of you a joyful Thanksgiving!
Tags: democracy, family, forgiveness, friends, grace, mercy, peace, thanksgiving
Dreamers,
Have you ever been on a path or course of action and started to wonder what you were doing? At times, it helps to “step back” from something to attain a new perspective. It seems hard to believe, but we can be giving our all to attain a goal and then lose sight of why we made the decision to embark on a path in the first place. Putting distance between ourselves and a course of action can remind us of the “whys.”
We must be able to see our goal or envision our end result, no matter how far away we are from attaining it. We don’t want to be buried in our tasks and never get ahead. Some people are task-oriented and are good at focusing on the task at hand but end up slowing down. Think about this: If something is held two inches from our eyes, it all becomes a blur. Try this: hold an unfamiliar photograph (or a page from a magazine) no more than two inches away from your eyes and you won’t have a clue what you are looking at. Then, hold it two feet away and the picture is clear.
By focusing on the end result, we don’t get discouraged with our tasks at hand; we stay motivated!
One area of life we often lose our way with or get discouraged is with our finances. We pay a bill here, another there, finance a car, buy insurance, and put aside money for vacation, kids’ college, emergencies and retirement. Day to day managing of finances is important, but it is easy to get discouraged if we seem to barely make it from paycheck to paycheck. We need to focus on the big picture. The money we have set aside for the future due to great decision-making will cause us to enjoy life more and protect us so that we will have a decent future. Balancing our finances for today’s needs as well as tomorrow is an important decision. The rising cost of living and unexpected life events will cause uneasiness unless we’ve planned for it.
The same holds true for anything we are working towards. Despite tasks we may or may not enjoy, obstacles, disappointments in things we can’t change, and circumstances we are powerless to control, when we focus on the positive results we will achieve if we keep at it, we will stay motivated and realize our goal.
Keep the prize ahead of you where you can see it!
Until next time…
Steve Anderson, Dream Engineer
Tags: action, focus, goal, perspective
Dreamers,
Last week, I told you how important it is to surround yourselves with Eagles—people who have a positive outlook on life and continue to soar.
To maximize your happiness with life, your work, your dreams, your wealth, PEOPLE are a key element. When you fall into those valleys, it’s those you love, whether family or friends, that lift you up. Therefore, strong, connected relationships are extremely valuable to you. Sadly, close friendships are becoming more rare. We let fewer and fewer people into our inner circle. Perhaps it is because we don’t feel like we have the time to be involved in others’ lives ourselves. Friendship is an investment. You can’t make a friend without being a friend.
In Dave Ramsey’s book, “More Than Enough,” he says: “A workaholic gerbil in a wheel invented the phrase “quality time.” Quantity time is what is needed to develop strong fruitful relationships. We are failing miserably in this culture by not slowing down enough to enjoy each other.” He goes on to ask “Why do you think there is an absence of sidewalks in this country? “ We have stopped visiting our neighbors.
I have never thought about it this way before, but Workampers have the ability to build their own sidewalks. Living in an RV lends itself to the old “front porch society.” Usually, much time is spent outdoors. The majority of RVers that are Workamping, live within shouting distance beside other RVers. They get together around the campfire or their “front porch;” they play cards or other board games or watch football games. They share food, good books, and experiences. They look out for each other. Together, difficulties and challenges are shared along with jokes and kidding.
If you dream of Rving and think it will be like a second honeymoon, just the two of you parked beside a stream, then you are not the typical Workamper. Only in RV ads is one camper parked beside the Grand Canyon!
Enjoying other people is almost a requisite, although there are some positions that are more remote. Workampers often form priceless friendships with folks from many states and even nations.
The beauty of Workamping is that there is often both quantity and quality time for friendships. If you haven’t felt connected in a long time, well you better get ready.
Your friend and Director of Possibilities,
Steve Anderson
Tags: friendships, front-porch, investment, priceless, quality, quantity, society
Dreamers,
Last week’s blog spoke to one area of life that serves to maximize our happiness in life: people. To reiterate, I noted that strong and connected relationships in our lives is paramount to peace. Both quality and quantity time with friends and family is a valuable investment for every one of us. When life gives us lemons, it’s our friends that make the lemonade. When everything seems to go wrong, our family gets us through it. Not only that, but if you really want to put on a smile, take the time to reminisce with friends or family about stories from your past.
This week, let’s ponder what exactly has stolen our time and happiness and whether Workamping is an answer to get it back!
For one thing, we are continually marketed through tv, the internet, and other advertisements that have made us think “more stuff” will make us happy. More stuff, often leads to the “need” of more income. When we buy more than we can really afford, we accrue more debt. More debt leads to the need to work more hours to pay our bills. Do people work second jobs to meet their basic needs or just to try to keep up with the Joneses? Median home sizes in our country have grown way out of proportion and affordability which has lead to a gross amount of foreclosures. The very things we thought we are deserving of or entitled to–the stuff we thought would make us happy– has stolen that which brings us true happiness: relationships with our family, friends, and co-workers.
“Entertainment” (tv/video games/Facebook ) has caused us to ignore the needs of others, time with family playing games, tossing a ball, or sharing our day over a cup of coffee. How often are we aware of our sick neighbors that need a meal or a hand?
Just how many channels do we need on our tv anyway or features on our phone?
Don’t be afraid to turn off your tv at times! Is Facebook or the internet robbing you of real face-time? What is with the thinking that you must upgrade your smart-phone or other digital equipment every time a new version comes out?
STUFF does not equal happiness yet many of us place our hope in it. Stuff is definitely overrated! Financially, we become broke if we always have to have the best or “next generation.” Why not be more concerned about the generation at hand (your friends and family) or the next generation: your grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or other children that could use your help!
I don’t know the ratio of Dreamers to Workampers that read this blog but I can surmise this: Workampers spend more time making friends and getting outdoors and fulfilling a purpose in life than those that are just Dreamers. They play more games, visit with friends and family and just have a cup of coffee with a coworker. If someone is hurting, they actually hear about it, not read it on Facebook. Workampers have real relationships.
What else do Workampers have? They generally have less stuff out of both necessity and choice. They have less things to worry about that robs them of precious time and money.
Dreamers, “stuff” isn’t evil in and of itself, but you have to not let it strangle you.
One of the things you need to be doing if you want to fulfill your dream of seeing America, one job at a time, is to realize what is important in your life and what isn’t. Purge the thought that stuff will make you happy.
Best of luck!
Steve Anderson, Your Dream Engineer
Tags: family, friends, happiness, stuff
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