Re-evaluate Your Life

Are you doing what you want to do? Are you enjoying your life?

Face the facts. Regardless of how determined you were to keep your new year's resolutions, you're probably not going to lose weight, you're not going to exercise more, and you're not going to save more money this year.

But you could stop and do a re-evaluation of your life. That might bring you more joy in the long run than all your new year's resolutions combined.

Are you living your dream, or are you just in a rut and doing the same thing every day -- going to work, making a living, and thinking maybe someday you'll get to start enjoying life?

Maybe it's not a re-evaluation you need to do. Perhaps you have never stopped to evaluate your life in the first place.

Now is an excellent time to think about things and make some decisions.

I think some people (maybe, even most) spend more time planning a two-week vacation than they do planning their lives. It's easy not to plan your life and just take life as it comes.

Decide what you want to do, and then do it

You don't have to wait until you retire. Live a different life now for a little while. Test the waters and do something different. See how you like if for a month or so.

Don't be sitting on the front porch of a nursing home saying, "Well, I could have." Or saying, "I thought about living in an RV," or, "I thought about living in a foreign country," but I never got around to making a decision about it."

Fear is the only thing holding you back

Stop kidding yourself by saying that you can't afford to take time off or to travel. Accept the fact that you have reservations. You don't have to call it fear.

It's only natural to have some reservations about doing something totally different. The thought of traveling to foreign countries or living in an RV can make you feel uneasy. If you apply a little common sense, your fear is unfounded.

Don't take a tour -- go on your own

You will never experience a country if you take a tour with a guide and a group of other people. You will only see what is pointed out to you. Go on your own. Experience the country and the locals for yourself. Don't act like a tourist. In fact, don't be a tourist. Be a temporary resident.

Don't eat in large or chain restaurants. Stick to the small mom and pop restaurants. Pay in the local currency for anything you buy. You'll get a lot more bang for your buck. And always respect the locals, their culture, and the environment.

Could you live in the places shown below for a month (or two or three)?

How about living in a relaxing place near the beach in a foreign country?

How about living in a rainforest where you could step outside your door and pick fresh oranges, bananas, or mangos like the ones shown below. This tree was right outside my door. There were more mangos on the trees than I could ever eat--and they were all free for the picking.

How about someplace that's slightly less remote, but still far away from ordinary life? Before you say, "No way," think about how relaxing it would be to live on the river, catch your own fish, and enjoy total solitude for a month or so.

These ideas are probably not your dream

I doubt if any of the ideas I've mentioned is a life you dream about, but maybe they do show you that off-the-wall ideas are possible. Pick one of your own dreams, and give it a try. It may not be as much fun as you thought it would be, or it could turn out to be the time of your life. You'll never know until you give it a try. After you live your dream for a month or so, start dreaming about your next adventure.

You don't have to be retired to live your dream

Even if you are not retired, you could take a sabbatical for a month or so. You might say that you couldn't get off work for that long, but have you asked?

I know a lot of people who take off from work for a month or more every year, and they're not retired.

Living full-time in an RV was one of my dreams. I've been doing it now for almost eight years. It may not be your dream, but decide what your dream is and do it now while you can. Even if you can't live your dream full-time, there's a good possibility that you can live your dream for a month or more each year. Where there's a will, there's a way. Go for it.

Money is not the problem

Living your dream doesn't have to be expensive. You can live the dreams I've described here on just a typical Social Security income. You can't be a tourist, but you can live like a local on very little income.

Bottom line: Whether you travel to a foreign country or to some of the many beautiful places in the US, decide what you want to do, and live your dream. Don't keep saying, "Someday."