Your Pursuit of Happiness is Closer Than You Think

What Makes You Happy?

Laying on the couch with a bowl-full of ice-cream on one side, a cat on the other and the whole 7-seasons of Dexter on TV? Yes, me too.

BUT what about your long term happiness? As wonderful as the above scenario is, you'll finish the box set, feel sick from the ice cream and the cat will likely leave you to pursue his own dreams of happiness.

Hands up, who here isn't exactly enthralled with their day to day life? You're living to get through work each day? You're not at the stage in life you thought you would be with life, love or goals?

It's easy to get stuck in this situation. Heck, it's downright comfortable here! It's human nature to like routine. It's safe, easy, reliable and stable. You don't worry where you're going to sleep, who you're going to meet, or (on the most part) worry where your money is going to come from. But is this comfortable wedge you've carved on the sofa of your life, one that you will be proud to look back on after 30 years as your biggest achievement?

As cliché as it is, when I'm having doubts about making a big directional change in my life, I recite the famous quote by Mark Twain:

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did".

I think he was on to something.

How You Can Move Forward
Career, Travel, Goals. I'm just throwing a few ideas out there to get you thinking.

Career

If you could do one job in the world, what would it be?
"PROFESSIONAL CAT PETTER", you cry! Wow, we have a lot in common.

But what about working for a company that makes a difference? Who here doesn't feel any satisfaction in their current job?
Whether you feel undervalued, underpaid, underworked, overworked, so bored that devising ways to pass those 8hrs of your day is the job they're actually paying you for.

Ask yourself, what would make you truly happy to go to work each day?
Here are a few ideas to get those rusty brain-cogs turning.

- Do you want to work 9-5 each day? What about doing this in a different country.
- Do you want to sell people a product they don't necessarily need? What about being an advocate for a charity or non-profit organisation that you believe in?
- Do you want to change career paths but don't know where to start? What about saving up and volunteering abroad in your new field. Companies give you serious extra bonus points for branching out, not to mention your CV standing out a mile in any application stack after working abroad.


Travel

What are the main factors/excuses stopping you from making your travel leap?

- Money
A large roadblock in many of my plans. Living in one of the most iconic tourist destinations in the world means horrendously overpriced living in this town. We're talking $18 for supermarket chicken. So plan your savings. I'm talking get a calendar, get your paycheck, chart your monthly expenses and note exactly how much you can realistically afford to save every paycheck. Keyword is 'realistic'. Budget too much, and you'll be disappointed when you fall short. To little and you will be disheartened from the starting block.
I'll write a post on the best way to budget, but for now, get planning!

- Family
They will be there when you get back They'll give you kudos for making the leap. They'll be proud of you for growing up, being confident and not hanging around in your old bedroom until you're 30.

- Friends
I'm talking bf's and gf's people. First up - Make plans together! Doesn't work?
Second up - Long distance. Not pursuing your dreams is effectively sewing the long term seed of destruction into your relationship. Whether you know it when it happens or supress it for a long time, you will resent your partner for not enabling you to achieve what is so incredibly important to you. If you are strong enough as a couple, you can make it work long distance. If you break up after realising you want different things, it's unbelievably heartbreaking, but it means you will find someone who also wants the same.


Life Goals/Bucket List

On the top of the world - January 2013

The majority of people seem to have a 'Bucket List'. A definitive list of things you want to do, see and experience before you die. Essentially a list of goals that you want to achieve in your personal pursuit of happiness. Whether you want to volunteer/work abroad, be a Director of a company, sky dive, sleep under the stars, skinny dip or write a novel, you will only achieve it if you get outta that oh-so-comfortable groove on your couch and make it happen. No one is going to do it for you. While it may seem like a far fetched dream, one that is so inconceivably far away that you will never reach it, remember that a journey of 1,000 miles starts with the first step.


So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Love as always,
Jonesy x

One Small Step For Man - What's Stopping You From Making Your Leap?

I'm half and half. No, not like the milk and nor my gender identity. I’m talking about my nationality. I am half British, half Canadian and so proud of it (well recently).

I wasn't always as proud as I am today about coming from a nation famous for sitting on the fence, with an affinity for maple syrup and Mounty’s. It's mostly because I endured a good eight years of torment about my cross-breed accent during my school years. In fairness my accent was, and still is, an eclectic mixture of Yorkshire lass, the Queens Speech and a twang of Albertan loveliness. After being born in Canada and emigrating to England at 6 years old, as a friend once said, I don’t associate myself with any particular country and apparently neither does my accent.

Yes, I am a lady, a lass, and a hometown gal who isn’t quite sure which country to call home.

So when my job in England ended two years ago and I found myself out of work (thank you economic climate), I decided it would be the ideal time to return to my country of birth that I have so many fond memories of.


Welcome to the Canadian Rockies



Let me paint you an idyllic picture of a small town nestled in the Canadian Rockies, where you can walk from one side to the other in 10 minutes, where locals of 30 years happily rub shoulders with tourists from Japan, and where iconic peaks loom over you in every direction. A place where you share the sidewalk with deer and the ski-slope with some of the friendliest people in North America.

This was a town I promised myself I would spend at least 6 months. It was my first solo journey, into the unknown, with no job lined up and nothing but an overstuffed 23lb backpack and my passport in my nervous hands. I was Alberta bound!

 

Two years later….

....after two of the best summers of my life, winters spent snowboarding through the Canadian Rockies and making friends who have become my family, I now call this place home.

Opening my mind, my soul and my boundaries has led me to the most life changing experience I could have ever imagined. Actually no, that is a lie; I could never imagine my life and my travels could have even been this soul defining.

I found myself in friends, lost myself on hikes, had my heart broken, fell in love with this country and met countless other backpackers, travellers and locals. I’ve opened my mind and broadened my horizons. I’ve taught myself to rely only on myself and learnt how to trust in others and that how some people, above all, have an inherently good soul.

One small step for man…one giant leap for you

 

Leaving your job, your friends, your family and your life is no easy decision. There are many reasons (excuses) to talk yourself out of stepping out of your comfort zone that you’ve spent so long living in. But there are more reasons that outweigh your worries to book that ticket, make those travel plans and get on that plane to a foreign land where nobody will know your name, unless you pick up that beer and go over and talk to them.

For all that I come across as bubbly and personable (and in the words of my Dad, able to talk the hind legs off a donkey) it’s actually all an effort. I’m introverted, private and shy with the ridiculous ability to believe I will be rejected from a group or a person if I try for conversation. I’ve written some posts with tips like how to start a conversation with complete stranger as well as tips on how to make that leap to and new country.


So what's holding you back from taking that small step, your giant leap, into the unknown?

- Do you have any travel plans?
- What are your biggest fears about travelling or living in a new country?
- Do you have any questions you need answering?

Send me an e-mail or leave a comment below if you have a burning question, a constant worry or story about making your leap that you’d like to share. I reply to everyone :)

I cannot implore you more to make that leap.
It will be the biggest, scariest and greatest one you have ever made.

Love always,
Jones x

Slush Cup - The End of Season Ski Party @ Sunshine Village



Photo courtesy of Sunshine Village

Over 34ft of snow
200 days of riding

And one Slush Cup I won’t forget
Thank you Sunshine Village for another amazing season!

Yes, that IS the Messiah, Jesus H. Christ, attempting to reach Slush Cup glory.
He's trying new marketing method's to reach the masses.

And no, he couldn't walk on water.

Slush Cuppers hurtled down a 60ft slope before launching themselves off a ramp, to effortlessly skim across the ice pond to the other side. Easy!

65 Slush Cuppers braved the braying crowd in an attempt to attain the coveted Slush Cup!
Few made it, most failed, and lots of beer was drunk.

An amazing end of season ski party to see off the 2011/12 season in style.

After seeing men in manikins, the ultimate Canadian Tuxedo and more crotch on the ski hill than I care to think about, I can honestly say Slush Cup is a right of passage for any Banff backpacker.

For now,
Jones