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Writer's pictureAisling Healy

Challenge yourself. Do something today!!

Updated: Jan 22, 2020



I was recently speaking to a lady who was retired and she said something that really stuck with me. “No one tells you how hard it is to grow old” She went on to explain she never thought about being in ill health when she was younger and never thought it would be difficult in a time where she assumed she would be free to do all she would like to do.


It got me thinking. We work all the time and this is always our main focus. I’ve often heard people say “I’m looking forward to/working towards retirement”. I often also hear “can’t wait for the weekend, just need to get through this week” and constantly looking towards something else. I know I’m guilty of it too and I’ve referenced it before but as we are constantly looking forward, we aren’t enjoying the present which is, in turn delaying our happiness now for what we think will make us happy in the future. If we are working all our lives to look forward to retirement, do we ever stop and think am I enjoying my life now? Are you enjoying the journey or constantly thinking of the destination? Do you find you are putting off things you want to do now so you can do this when you are retired or sometime in the future that may never be real?


We don’t know what state we are going to be in tomorrow, let alone in the next 30 – 40 years. We don’t know if we will be able to do these things we’ve wanted to do for a long time or if we’ll even want to do it anymore but as a consequence we will always wonder. I always thought it's better to regret something you have done than always wonder what if? You'll find that you'll never regret it, every experience is something learned and an experience gained.


We need to ensure we take action now and don’t put off the things we can actually do now. If you want to travel, travel. If you want to change job, change your job. If you want to change career, change it now. If there is a hobby you want to take up, take it up now!


I find I struggle with motivation a lot of the time, overthinking all the things that can go wrong rather than just doing it. I signed up for a dance class a few weeks in advance. When it came to the day of the dance class I was trying all the things to talk myself out of it “Would I even like it anyway? What’s the point in going? Where is it going to take me?” After wasting time with all of these thoughts I eventually shook them, got up and went to the class and guess what? I really enjoyed it! I was so glad I challenged myself, stopped talking about it and actually did it! It was so rewarding and now I’m looking forward to the class next week. Sometimes we genuinely are our own worst enemy and there is always that little voice in our heads that we sometimes have to battle with.


I’m going to set you a challenge. Look up that one thing you have been putting off and plan to do it. Whether it was a dance class you wanted to join, a music group, learn a new language, join the gym, study a new course - make the plan. Do the research and don’t talk yourself out of it. You might be surprised what new doors it will open for you or discovery you may make about yourself.


The photo in this post is when we went to Kerry in Ireland a couple of weeks ago. It was something I kept putting off but finally planned it and it was one of the best trips I've done in a long time, and all in my own back yard!


Comment below and let me know how you got on with the challenge 😊


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Thank you for reading,

AlwaysAisling

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