Reclaim Your Life, One Hobby at a Time!

Mirela....thank you for the post.  Made me realize I need to get the guitar and golf clubs back out before I lose my mind.

Great words.

I know where my tennis racket is; just need to use it more.  Good Post.

Mirela- I was meant to read your post as I just sat down on a Sunday afternoon realizing how much work I have to catch up on after the holiday weekend. I am SO guilty of being a work-a-holic and constantly struggle to balance work, home and fun.  Thank you for the reminder...I'm off to make smores with my little girl :-) 

you know I am coming to the realization that working harder and longer is not doing much either ,,, this is a different market ,,, and life is short ;-)

For me, walking every morning (almost!), riding my bike for a couple of hours once a week and riding horses through the woods with a friend is necessary to  my sanity!  It's the only way I can remove myself from pressures and stress.

Mirela, you are so right. Since my surgery, I've had time, lots of time, to think about my life. I am gratefuly my surgery was a success and I am healing.  Life is too short, we must live,, love and laugh.

Great post!  We get so caught up in "making a living" that we forget to actually LIVE! 

Mirela, nothing worse than living your life in years but not living. Glad to hear you are back on the beam. Roller blading is a blast. Have fun EVERY day!!!

Mirela, I had to laugh at your last question - how long has it been since you played a board game with your loved ones.  I'm an only child and I visit my parents at their nursing home (they are in their 90's, in fact, my mom just turned 97 last week), so I have to play dominoes with them ever other day for over an hour.  At some point, I want to have time for myself - to get back to my yoga classes, Pilates, or just go for a walk. 

I had thought that this past week would be quiet, but got a new listing and you know all that that entails.  Real estate is great in terms of having flexibility with your time, but what they don't tell you is that you are on call 24/7 and the demands don't stop unless you put a stop to it. 

You really should start a group on this.  If you do, let me know.  I definitely need group support to achieve more balance in my life!

Mirela - I love it!  Today I spent most of the day in my yard, cleaning out my garden.  It was wonderful.  I agree that you have to have balance in your life.  Real estate always seems so "urgent", but there is really very little reason to not make time for hobbies!

Me time?  Jeez that's a novel concept.  I'm going to have to give that a shot.  It's been years.  No, really years since I did any me time.

I was just thinking of the same concept today.  I think the more sucessful we get, the more we can reclaim our life.   I'm with you Miela.  What a concept!

Mirela:

Sometimes it takes those tragic events such as the loss of a loved one to make us focus on what is actually important.  For me it was my brother's death a year ago.  We've joined some clubs,  are now active in Search & Rescue and we now have a dog. 

Thanks Mirela.  I'm with you!  I went hiking for the first time in years a few weeks ago.  Took up gardening last week.  I got tired of waiting to reward myself when I closed "x" number of deals.  The time to live is now.

You go girl! Keep up the good work!

I think we have to have outlets--physical, mental, creative, etc.  We are more rounded people who have something else to talk about besides real estate.  That's what I am enjoying about AR is that it is an outlet to talk about other things, too.  I would love to rollerblade, but I'll have to wait til spring--or move to one of those nice sunny locations!

Hi Mirela! I did a similar post a year ago, hoping for as great a response as you have here! 

I have been a BIG proponent of having a life outside of work. Especially in our jobs - We really need a release to forget about work, My formula: Physical, Mental, Competitive, Creative... your activity needs to have as many of these pieces to be an escape.  my Number 1: Sailing.  I race Sail boats and that combines EVERY one, and I NEVER EVER think about work when I am racing.

 I also enjoy wood working, just creating something is so rewarding when we can work for a full day and not see anything physical accomplished in our careers.  I built a kayak a year or so ago, and when sailing season is over I often move into my shop to create this years hand made gift to my sisters. 

You dont realise how important these activities are until you take a break from them. Sailing ended early this year and I could feel the absence of   an outlet. But the past few weeks creating something beautiful in my shop was certainly an eye opener and some great therapy.

Bottom line: Pick something up - Schedule it, on your calendar, and Treat it like an appointment. Your sanity is worth every penny.

(not too long winded I hope??)

Oh, such a powerful post....needs to be read and assimilated by everyone.   Yes...to get one's life back...now there's a business plan for 2010!

Thanks for sharing. Good reminder to do more things simply for the enjoyment. Have a special summer.

 Take a camera on your walks for extra pleasures.