the buckets we fill

I wrote down the following resolutions for my New Year at the start of 2015.  I am adding a few i.e.'s today.

- Live more simply (i.e. get rid of the superfluous)

- Live closer to nature.

- Embrace change and growth.

- Treat my body, mind, and soul with the upmost care and respect (i.e. protect my health).

- Love and appreciate life and the diversity in people (i.e. relationships matter).

- Remain curious and open-minded in all things (i.e. learn and grow).

- Put the priceless things first (i.e. keep this list at the forefront).

At the time I called them resolutions, which by definition is a firm decision to do or not do something.

Two years later I think a better operative term for what I was listing is values.  Values by definition are the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something.  Another definition, values are a person's principles or standards of behavior; one's judgment of what is important in life.

Moving forward, I think I can distill those values into four domains that are much easier to remember from an operative sense.  They are…

Health

Growth

Relationships

Contribution

Interestingly I cannot write about these four values without it being very clear they are all interconnected and reliant on one another.  The four values are like four buckets that need to be filled frequently in order for me to live a purposeful life.  Making decisions that fill multiple buckets is ideal.

Health - I can do nothing without my health.  Poor health affects every aspect of my life.

Growth - I want my future self to be better.  Always better.

Relationships - Relationships are a must to be healthy and grow.  Relationships with people who have similar values are likely worth my time and attention, even if we have different beliefs about how to act in those values.  This is why you can be close friends with someone who believes differently about the world than you do (i.e. politics, religion, etc).  If you have the same values, you agree on the destination.  Your different beliefs represent the different paths a person might take to reach the same destination.  If you agree on where you're going in the relationship, it makes sense to help one another get there.

Contribution - Allows me to strengthen relationships of all kinds.  Contributing to things outside myself helps me learn, grow, and appreciate life more.  There are many ways to contribute, career being only one most people gravitate toward.  Money can be helpful in certain situations.  Giving my time and attention is my favorite way to contribute because I usually get to learn something.  Time and attention are our most valuable assets because we can never get more time.  Said another way, our years on this earth are finite.

Living life more like the water, able to flow and move through anything.

So having redefined my previous goals/resolutions from 2015, I can now more easily discern where I will spend my most valuable assets, my time and attention.  I strive to have each day's activities fill at least one or more of my buckets.  I don't necessarily fill all the buckets every day but no value bucket can be neglected or I will find myself quite unhappy.

I realized I only needed to fill a few buckets to be wildly happy.

This is where simplifying one's life comes into play.  In order to have the time and other resources to further your values, you might need to downsize other areas of your life.  I have been working on this throughout 2015 and 2016 since most of us cannot (or chose not to) sell everything we own, quit everything and everyone in our lives, and start over.  That wasn't a good option for me.  But just to give you some examples of what I have done over the past two years...

* I left active duty military service in favor of my own business.  I traded a non-negotiable, predetermined regimented career for the unknown of working on my career passions.  I stayed in the reserves to try to minimize the likelihood of bringing debt into my life.  I don't make much money in the reserves but I have affordable healthcare options and other supports I would not otherwise have.

Areas of Army Life where I still find value.

Enjoying time with my teammates and brothers/sisters in arms.

My business partner and friend, Joe Miller.

* I went 6-months without home internet as an experiment.  In those 6-months I learned why the internet was valuable to me but also where I spent lots of time but got no value (like many people I wasted a lot of my precious time and attention on social media).  I find social media valuable in my life but I now have rules for myself so I can live congruent with my values.

More time to run through the Grand Canyon.

More time with friends.

More time to celebrate a friend's first ultra-marathon race.

More time to camp outdoors.

More sunrises from the trails.

More fly fishing.

More fresh air.

* I completely got rid of my television and cable.  I got rid of my Netflix, Hulu, and Pandora subscriptions.  I wasn't getting value from those things.  I have increased my reading and writing where I find a lot more value.

More time to race.

Time to run in Moab.

Time to play with my friend's children!

Explore more.

Time to run 100 miles with your friend's help.

More time to drive around the state looking at autumn colors.

And enjoy all of my friends.

Especially Katie, she summits Pikes Peak every single month without fail.

A life lived mostly barefoot or in sandals is the life for me.

* I have decluttered a great deal, although this is an ongoing process.  My 420-sq foot apartment wasn't overloaded exactly with things, but I still found there were many things I owned that I was not using or I didn't really value.  Over time I have made trips to donate these items so that maybe someone else can find value in them.  I have set some rules for myself regarding purchasing new items so that I own only the things I use frequently or things that bring me a lot of joy.  One example, I purchased a scanner and was able to get rid of an entire filing cabinet and lots of photo albums (that were hidden away and I never looked at).  I have all my documents and memories forever still but none of the clutter.  I also went through my entire wardrobe and donated a great deal.  I will likely continue to downsize the clothing as I get a better handle on what I am actually wearing.  This has opened even more space in my apartment and led me to realize that to be perfectly comfortable and happy, I actually need very little space to live.  If I ever needed to move to an even smaller place I would have no trouble because there are few things I really need.

I have really enjoyed this process over the past two years.  It's certainly not easy to make huge changes in one's life or to experiment by temporarily depriving yourself of something to figure out what brings you the most value.  Working to pare down my life has taught me a great deal and brought me so much more value.  Some people have termed this process as "going minimalist" and while that's a good description, I really like the term intentional.  How can we all live more intentional lives?  How can we live lives focused only on the important things and not wasting any time and resources on things we really don't care about?  It would be better for our health, relationships, growth, and we could contribute so much more to the world.

Filling my buckets, literally and figuratively.

In 2017 I will be continuing to work in the same direction.  To live intentionally in all things.  It starts with your values and your beliefs.  When you know your values you can start to purge yourself from everything in your life that is not aligning or contributing to filling your value buckets.  I wish you the best and would love to hear your thoughts on this topic.