Shaking Things Up + Right Sizing A Life

If each decade of our life or business is a new chapter, which chapter are you living now?

Marion Woodman, Jungian analyst and one of the most widely read authors on feminine psychology, has said that she and her husband Ross, of 54 years, are in their 10^th marriage. How can that be true?

I am comfortable saying that although my husband John and I have been married 17 + years, we are in our third marriage.

Each marriage has chapters. Our first marriage of 10 years was wonderful until there were big changes in our lives.

Our second chapter of our marriage had its share of challenges. We entered the second chapter when my youngest brother, Byron, was murdered in May of 2005. At the end of that same year, John retired from his practice as a senior partner in a large physician group. While I was coping with my brother’s death and downsizing my boutique PR business, John was going through a massive career and identity shift. These catalytic changes put us in a new marriage by default.

Each marriage has difficult chapters. The real challenge is to be willing to do the difficult work of moving forward and learning to communicate what we need in a way that is compassionate.

Three years ago, we finished chapter two and moved into chapter three. We are both in a new phase of our lives and agreed to shake things up by moving forward with the theme of right sizing rather than downsizing, which feels negative and lacking.

We want this chapter to be full of adventure, travel, flexibility and freedom.

We no longer need the material things we thought we needed prior to our 50s.

Now we want experiences and memories.

We sold our beautiful, large town home on the river at the end of the summer. We are currently renting a small apartment nearby while we look for a “right size” home that can easily be locked up and left for months at a time.

As part of my dream of adventure, I had long yearned to have an Airstream, a 19’ model called Bambi. We bought a 19 foot 2006 Bambi travel trailer last month. I am writing this blog from Big Sur, California, sitting in our cozy Bambi listening to rain tapping the metal roof. We are on our “shake down cruise” to learn all the systems in the Airstream and have a long Thanksgiving holiday adventure.

So far chapter three is turning out to be a fun chapter in our lives. We plan to leave for Loreto, Baja in mid February and stay there for five weeks. We are creating the life we most want to live.

You can do the same if you hold the dream and desire it with your feelings (body senses are key to “calling in what you most want”), believe you can create it, take inspired action and let go of any specific timing or notion of how it will show up, and see what comes your way.

DECIDE right now what kind of life you want to create in 2013.

Click on this link to get the same worksheet I am using myself, with my clients and my Smart Women Love Money class to create the life or business of your dreams.

I would love to know what three feelings you most want to experience in 2013. Start with the feelings and map back to those as you make your goals and plans for 2013. Let me hear from you or please share this post with someone who would enjoy reading it.

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