Hi all...today's post is my response to The Minimalist community's blogging prompt of the week. The blog prompt for this week is From Designing Your Life, To Living Your Best Life.
This week I'm looking forward to reading all your stories about how you have designed your life or plans and goals that you are implementing towards living your life the way you want it to be. In other words, in what ways from you drifted away from societal norms, and carved out a minimalist life for yourself, that makes you feel content that you're living your best life? ~ #KISS - Blogging Ideas 23
I thought long and hard about how to best answer this question. Have I intentionally lived life the way I want it to be? As someone more seasoned in age, I can look back at my life in the past decades and reflect if I arrived here based on the "design" I intended it to be.
To be honest, I didn't set out to live my life with a blueprint or design per se, but I have certain ideals I wanted to achieve. I think the best way to demonstrate this is to show you four different areas in my life and make a comparison to the societal norms.
❤️ Wardrobe Choices ❤️
I don't believe in the concept of "dressing your age" because it puts a label on a person. But I didn't have this conviction when I was younger. I used to dress badly because I believed I should dress appropriately for my age. I wore unflattering dresses to make myself appear more "mature" and taken seriously by people, even though I hated wearing dresses.
The picture on the left was taken in 2016 during a wedding reception and the one on the right was taken recently. See the difference? I was very insecure about how I looked in that dress (left picture), but I felt I had to wear it because that was the acceptable wardrobe choice for someone my age. And in the right photo, I wore a basic blue t-shirt, a pair of slim-cut black jeans, and a pair of black hi-top Converse. Simple, but I felt like a million bucks in that outfit.
My beliefs have changed dramatically, and I decided to be true to myself. There is no perfect fashion that fits everyone. What look and feels best on a person has more to do with the person's body shape, preferences, lifestyle, and confidence. These days I stick to what makes me feel good and looks flattering on my apple-shaped body. I wear mostly black clothes and no heels. I don't own a lot of shoes. All I have is a couple of hi-top Converse, a pair of ankle boots, and my boxing shoes. How we dress tells the world who we are and what we value. Dress what makes you feel good, comfortable, and confident.
❤️ Material Possessions ❤️
This is my living room. I only have some basic furniture, plain walls, and flooring. I don't have any decor on the walls. I don't believe in cramming my apartment with bulky and unnecessary furniture. I think my choices are very different from the norm because we live in a world driven by consumerism. Many think buying more material possessions makes them feel secure and happy. But do we realize that the more we have, the more anxious we feel? Think about the time needed to clean the house. Or the cramped rooms with piled-up stuff that often ended up unused. Does that make you happy? I certainly don't. The lesser things I own mean, the lesser time needed to clean them, and I can use that time for other important pursuits that truly matter to me.
❤️ Healthy Whole Food Diet ❤️
I don't follow any diet plan, but I strive to eat healthily and stick to a healthy whole food diet. We are what we eat. A poor quality diet of unhealthy food is linked to various health issues such as obesity, depression, cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and even premature death. I used to not be concerned about my food choices in the past, and my weight ballooned throughout the years. I tipped the scale at 73kg and suffered a health crisis that almost killed me. Since then, I decided to drastically change my lifestyle and food choices. You can read about that in this past post of mine: On the Verge Of Death | My Health Challenges, Losing Weight & Fitness Journey
❤️ Parenting Style ❤️
This is a touchy topic for many people and can cause unnecessary debate among parents. I hardly talk about parenting in my blog because it is a personal matter. I am Asian. Education is seen as the only path to success and a better future throughout Asia. Asian kids are typically expected to excel in their studies, and rote learning is the norm. While I agree that education is important and kids should study hard to achieve good results, I don't see that as the most important thing in the life of my kids. I believe that character-building triumphs over other aspects of my kids' life.
"Character is like a tree and reputation is like its shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing." —Abraham Lincoln
As a mother, I am responsible for my kids' upbringing, and I play an important role in helping them develop their full potential. We live in a world dominated by social media and the internet. We can't shield our kids from viewing harmful internet content forever. We can't expect them to observe and adopt the good character traits we desire them to have. As a parent, my job is to guide and teach my kids about ethical behavior and differentiating right from wrong. And I hope they can build their convictions on choosing the right decisions for their current and future life with proper nurturance and training. Excellent grades are meaningless if kids do not have the right character to guide them using their talents and expertise.
I can write many things related to parenting but I think this is enough for now 😁
❤️ Things I would Eliminate From My Life ❤️
While I have many regrets in life, I don't think I have things I would like to eliminate from my life. In these four decades of life, I have been through the worst, and the best moments one could ever have. I made plenty of mistakes and regrets, but I am a better person because of them. Am I living my best life right here and right now? Certainly, there are many things I could improve on, especially in self-development, but I am happy with the progress I have made throughout the years. I have disappointments, but I learned to be content with what I already have in life.
That's it for now. If you read this far, thank you. I appreciate it so much! Kindly give me a follow if you like my content. I mostly write about making art, life musing, and our mundane yet charming family life here in Klang Valley, Malaysia.
Thank you for visiting and reading my post. I hope you like it!
💲💲💲 Blog on Read.Cash And Earn Bitcoin Cash Like Me. Click Here 💲💲💲
My First NFT Collection – Stencil 2017 – Is Now Available On OpenSea
My Second NFT Collection – Oli Kawaii Verse – Is Now Available On OpenSea
My Third NFT Collection - Women Empowerment - Is Now Available On NFTShowroom
