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Life Lessons

Homestead Update – Spring 2022

We bought my grandmother’s house last fall. It had not been lived in for 8 years and there were a lot of things that needed done. Over the winter, we worked on getting things all put away from the move, but have tackled no other major projects yet. We will wait for winter, I suppose.

Now that spring has sprung, our attention has turned to the outdoors. We have opened up the driveway and scraped, graded and graveled much of it. Most of the debris we scraped off of the driveway became the base for flower bed mounds. These mounds also act as dog control! We will eventually put in a fence, but for now, these work reasonably well.

As for the back, we got the driveway in order there too. We also built some steps into the bank to make it easier to get from the upper back yard down to the driveway and lower back yard. All the clippings left over from opening the driveway were hauled down back and used as a make-shift border for dog control as well. We scraped out the old “burn/garbage” pit and will turn it into a place to store our tractor, attachments, ATV, plow, trailer, leaf sucker, chipper and any other large outdoor tools.

We’ve chipped paint, built steps, cut brush, laid gravel, trimmed hedges, dug holes, moved tons of dirt & gravel and planted a small jungle of flowers and vegetables. It’s been a busy and rewarding spring time!

Working on this house & yard is a joy. I have memories in every corner of this place. I would like to think my grandparents would be happy with what we’ve done so far.

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Life Lessons

Life Rule #85 – Speak and think in positive terms.

The world is a reflection of your dominant beliefs. If you constantly focus on and complain about your problems, struggles and worries, you will perpetuate the same circumstances over and over again. If you start to shift your focus towards the more positive aspects of your life and all of the things that could go right, you will immediately start to experience more good fortune and positive outcomes.

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Life Lessons

Life Rule #84 – Redefine your definition of failure

What if, instead of seeing it as a failure when we give something a go and it doesn’t work out, we see it as a victory that we tried in the first place? Perhaps the word failure would be more aptly used in situations where we don’t attempt things at all, because we’re ruled by fear, self-doubt and the lure of mediocracy.

You didn’t fail when you went on a date and it didn’t work out — you succeeded at putting yourself out there in the world where true love is found. You didn’t fail when you went for an interview and didn’t get offered the job — you successfully make a worthwhile attempt to improve your circumstances and you gained vital lessons from the experience. Apply this new way of thinking to everything in your life.

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Life Lessons

Life Rule #83 – Embrace a new level of uncertainty

Tony Robbins once said, “The quality of your life is in direct proportion to the amount of uncertainty you can comfortably deal with.”

Too often we hold ourselves back from taking risks, going after our dreams and creating the life we want to live, because we don’t know exactly how we’re going to get there or whether it will work out. We keep ourselves secure in the safety of our comfort zones and the ‘known’ — without recognizing that even these safe circumstances could change at any moment without warning, so in many ways we are no more secure in the known — but we are robbing ourselves of the chance to create our dreams and live our ideal life.

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Life Lessons

Life Rule #82 – Decide to accept yourself no matter what

Love yourself on the good days — and love yourself on the bad days too. Love yourself when things go to plan, you light up the room, and kick all of your goals — and love yourself when you make mistakes, succumb to bad habits, and let your fears get the better of you. Unconditional self-love gives you the strength and courage to try new things and go after your dreams, because you know that no matter what the outcome, you will still love and accept yourself regardless.

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Life Lessons

Life Rule #81 – Give up the word ‘should’

So much of our unhappiness stems from feeling like we are not living up to the standard definition of success, the status quo, media standards and expectations — or that life and other people are not living up to our expectations of how things should be. If we let go of preconceived notions about what we should be doing with our lives, and give up our rigid expectations of how other people should act, we will instantly become freer and happier.

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Life Lessons

Life Rule #80 – Don’t mistake making a living with making a life

Take a good look at your life in all areas — are you making time for loved ones, friendships, health and wellbeing, travel, self-growth, fun and joy outside of work? If your answer is no, you may need to reassess your priorities and set new boundaries to create a fulfilling and sustainable life balance.

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Life Lessons

Life Rule #79 – Be led by joy, not fear

So many people make decisions based on their fears, rather than following their intuition, interests and passions. You are a once-in-a-humankind combination of talents and quirks and there will never again be anyone like you. When you make decisions based on what you enjoy and what feels right with your soul, you light up and the whole world benefits.

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Life Lessons

Life Rule #78 – Give to give, not to receive

There is something so beautiful about giving from a place of pure love, without conditions or expectations — to feel someone else’s happiness as your own. Try to give more without seeking anything in return, and notice how the positive feelings you experience from seeing someone else’s joy and comfort are more than enough return on your investment.

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Life Lessons

Life Rule #77 – Open your mind to new possibilities and leave room for surprises

So much can happen in a single day — you could meet the right person, stumble across a new opportunity, come up with a life-changing idea, move jobs, move houses or move countries.

While it’s worthwhile clarifying your desires and making plans, keep a little room in your heart and mind for the unexpected — things might not go to plan, and that might be the best possible outcome.

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