The people around you and your immediate surroundings are the secrets to endless inspiration and creativity. However, you often don’t realize that your inner circle of people and places hinders your productivity and output.
It’s a strange thing; this dawned on me today. I’ve been holding myself back with some of my lifestyle choices.
For one, I’m always writing, meaning I’m mostly alone and hardly talk to anyone, other than servers in cafes — not healthy.
Next, I’ve had a bit of a rough time with an investment resulting in a temporary loss and legal costs — stressful.
I had to downsize my life and live in small guest house studios. Plural? Yes, I’ve moved at least 20 times in the last 2 years as I didn’t find comfort and happiness wherever I was living.
When I say downsize, I’m not talking about going from a luxury villa to a guest house. I’ve lived a minimalistic existence for the past 2 years, anyway, for which I’m happy.
I previously rented small villas in Bali but decided to cut back further, as I’m alone these days, so studio-style I went.
The aim was to spend as little as possible and save. It worked, but I found myself moving every 2 to 4 weeks and hopping from one cafe/restaurant to another all day long to work.
I started to get ants in my pants again in my current home and realized I wasn’t happy there either.
It’s time to find a new place again, Rob.
My search for the next studio-room in an apartment complex began. But something stopped me and said, wait a minute. What’s going on here? Why am I always moving, both for my living and working situation? Something isn’t right.
Stop, slow down, and think.
My Surroundings & Choices were not Healthy.
Problem 1.
I wasn’t making friends, I spent 95% of my time alone and 100% of my awake time working.
Problem 2.
Constantly parking my butt in these small and limited studios wasn’t helping me feel better inside — both body and mind. I was in denial.
After a few weeks, I’d get fed up and look for a new walls.
Problem 3.
I was working too hard. I love to work, as most of my work these days is writing. But, you must give your mind a break, relax, and go and have some fun, not just work! That’s what I’m now doing, with my friends, not alone.
Unexpected Changes.
For some reason, unexpected changes started to materialize around 2 weeks ago.
It’s pretty magical and feels like the universe was watching and slowly guiding me to improve my life, look after myself better, and be happier.
New doors started to open.
I spontaneously decided to move back to the town I lived in 3 years ago. That’s when everything started to fall into place.
I met a few great people, and we quickly became friends. I found a lovely, accomplished assistant to help me reduce my workload and allow me to take more “me time.”
My friends and I are on track to launch our specialized keto bakery and cafe by early January.
Last but not least, another special person came into my life who’s helped me become more creative, productive, supporting me to do better, and reduce my stress levels.
All of this clicked into place since I moved back to where I lived before.
Now the Accommodation.
I decided to move quickly, and I almost did. But I stopped myself and started to think about what I was doing.
This morning it dawned on me — you need to improve your quality of life and lifestyle — living in these tiny places isn’t helping your mind.
I drove through my favorite neighborhood, searching for a small villa instead.
To my amazement, I found one — a stylish traditional, newly renovated, comfortable, and cozy 2-bedroom Balinese style villa surrounded by beautiful lush gardens, with a large kitchen and lounge — a 5-minute walk to my favorite beach.
Could I afford it right now? Probably not. I gave it a shot and punted my low-balling offer. The owner accepted! I was shocked.
Oops, I said to myself. Now what? It costs $250 more a month than what you’re paying now. Instead of paying $400 a month, I’ll now be paying $650 a month. Yep, you can rent beautiful villas for that money in Bali.
I quickly calculated I’ll be saving at least that amount if I stop frequenting so many cafes, cutting back my coffee and wine costs, as I giggled to myself.
In Summary.
Take this villa, accept the extra cost, inspire yourself and let your creative juices flow at full force!
Start to enjoy your home, live in your home, connect to your home, and relax.
Life will be far better that way, you’ll not only stoke your creative fire — you’ll light up your happiness, making people around you happier too.
I finally inspired myself to take a leap, improve my lifestyle, make better choices, and so I found my creative home & hub!
Thanks for reading,
Rob
