Who Are You, and What do You Want?

A curious thing happens when I go on holidays. I get the travel bug. I want to explore the world, go on an adventure, meet interesting people. I consider staying in hostels and travelling on a dime. But then I come home, and before long I’m content to stay in one place.

The same thing happens when I read about people who are location independent, making money from online ventures, able to jet about the country (or the world), all while gainfully employed. (Hello Everett Bogue.) I read about it, and then I want to pull up my roots and work from somewhere, anywhere, besides here. 

I read about people who live in tiny houses. Some houses are so small they can be towed behind a truck and parked wherever one wishes to live next. (Hello Dee Williams.) I read about these small homes, and I’m struck with the urge to condense my life into 300 square feet of living space.

I am fairly easily inspired, and love the idea of a simpler lifestyle that doesn’t involve a 9-5  job.

However. If I take away the outside influences, if I were to quit reading the minimalist blogs, and the travel blogs, I’m not sure that’s the lifestyle I would choose on my own. I mean, I haven’t chosen it up to this point, so does that mean I’m not cut out to live and work in a small space, moving around and seeing the country?

Maybe. Maybe not.

As I wrote in my “about you” section, I usually choose the path of least resistance, and while I think this is me in my natural state – fairly content with life, no need to mess up a good thing – I’m not sure it’s the absolute best I can do.

But while I’m seeking to find the life I think I should be living, I need to be mindful to choose my own path. Some people can up and leave their life with a few thousand dollars in the bank and their possessions in a backpack, and while I think that’s a bit of a romantic idea, I don’t think that’s what I’m looking for.

Maybe I will end up in a small house. Or a yurt (because how cool would that be?). Maybe I will end up setting my own hours and building an online business. Or maybe I’ll discover that this is exactly where I belong, and have the grace to embrace a life that won’t make the cover of a magazine, but suits me to a tee.

What about you? Who are you, and what do you truly want, when you take away the outside influences?