What's your "Rich" Life?

What do you value?

Photo by Lukasz Szmigiel on Unsplash

This post is sponsored BrightStory, a boutique college admissions consulting company that that teaches teens life skills so they find success no matter where they go to college. It’s owned by Stanford graduate, professional journalist and “coach of admission coaches” Alice Chen, who also created Happy Asian Woman.

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One of the content creators I follow talks a lot about determining what our “rich lives” are.

For me, the most important things are time freedom and living according to my values.

When I became a mom 12 years ago, I lost a lot of freedom due to the daily responsibilities of caregiving.

Fortunately, as of 2.25 years ago, both of my kids are in school, so I have about 30 hours a week to craft with my own priorities.

How do I spend the time - what is “rich” to me?

-Gym classes in strength training, cardio and dance anywhere from 2 to 5 times a week

-Quick hikes (60-90 min.) with friends as many mornings as possible - ideal place — the woods

-Short trips to the beach (5 min. from my house) on days I don’t feel like going to the gym or don’t have a hiking date. Here I observe playful dogs, inhale salty ocean air, and watch the meditative waves. Since it’s so close, even spending 20 minutes at the beach is magical and the highlight of my day.

-Daily micro naps, anywhere from 15-30 minutes

-Regular client-facing work as a coach - a career that I love and one that brings me to my Zone of Genius. I built my company when I didn’t have much time, so now it runs very efficiently and I don’t need to work 40 hours a week to sustain it.

-Weekly trips to visit my 84-year old mom

-regular (ideally daily) journaling

In the evenings, I do the following:

-Bi-weekly home group with church friends

-Weekly calls to pray with friends

-audio Bible - the book I have on repeat is Ecclesiastes, which is a good reminder that we will all die; we won’t take anything with us to the grave; enjoy food, drink and the work of our hands; follow God. Excellent, succinct way to put life in perspective and remind me to focus on my values.

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At this stage in life, I prioritize self-care because I completely burned out as a parent of young kids during Covid (no in-person school, husband who worked in healthcare, etc.)

I have very high standards for myself as a parent and coach, so I have to take care of myself very well in order to meet them.

Strong relationships, exercise and nature all bring me joy — upon reflection, I have a very Rich Life indeed.

Now, if I can only figure out how to get rid of cooking, household management and decluttering responsibilities! :)

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What do you consider a Rich Life? What do you need more of? What do you need less of?

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