Don’t Follow the Herd

I have been in vacation and family mode for the last few weeks and have not managed to carve out time to work on my blog or to study for my health coach exam. I have managed to spend actual time in my little yellow (sit on top) kayak, the canoe and relaxing in the lake. My honey and I spent a week vacationing in the Adirondacks with a group of friends and Child #1. That week was full of laughter, games and lake time.

The Adirondacks are gorgeous!

I got to try out 2 different boats which got me day dreaming for an upgrade. Seriously my little blue kayak weighs around 55 pounds which is heavy when you need to get it on top of the car by yourself. It is a good thing I drive a Mini!

I borrowed a friend’s kayak that weighed 32 pounds and was sleek and long. It was like gliding over the water. It moved so easily and quickly that I felt like I wasn’t even paddling. Then I tried a canoe that only weighs 16 pounds. I could pick it up and carry it effortlessly and paddle it with a kayak or canoe paddle. So many cool boats, so little time.

I bet this kayak glides over the water

I got pretty excited and started researching buying a new boat but the price tag was significantly higher than I could afford. Then I started checking out used boats and found the exact same kayak that I had borrowed for $490 for sale in my town. I started day-dreaming about it and talking about it and Child #1 offered to split the cost with me as a gift for helping her out at home. Her offer was amazingly generous but I declined.

The reality is I don’t kayak enough as it is and I already own 2 boats. One sits in my garage most of the time and the other at the cottage. I don’t need another kayak, I need to use the 2 that I own. I don’t need to go fast or far, I just need to paddle out to the middle of the lake and relax in the sun.

Sometimes deliberately choosing health and wealth is a struggle that feels like I am denying myself purchases that would improve my happiness. But this is a fleeting feeling brought on by the pressures of our consumer driven society. We are hardwired to make purchases based on want that masquerades as need.

We are pressured by the media, advertisements, even by family and friends to spend money we don’t have on stuff we don’t need. We live in a country that prides itself on individualism but too often we simply follow the herd by making decisions that are not in our own best interest.

Follow Me…

When you figure out what makes you happy for the long haul then daily decisions get a whole lot easier to make. You pick the options that fit the overall picture of how you want to live your own personal meaningful life.

Personally my big picture includes enjoying my life both now and in retirement with excellent health, wealth and happiness. If I consistently make decisions based on this end goal than I am convinced I will be successful.

With that in mind, I will pass on the fancy new kayak and continue to enjoy my little blue kayak for the forseeable future. Decisions like these allow me to max out my retirement accounts and health savings account and sock away money in the car fund. Decisions like these have made it possible to pay for my upcoming Alaska vacation in full prior to take off. Decisions like these allow me to live my life in a manner that is meaningful to me.

Sharing decisions like these on my blog helps keep me on track towards reaching my goals! If it makes you think a bit about how you can maximize your own health, wealth and happiness well that is wicked cool!

Thanks for reading!

Lake Girl

 

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