Everyone wants more.
But most of us don’t say that out loud.
That’s because life can be overwhelming. Work deadlines, life responsibilities, relationships, emails, to-do lists: all of these demands can wipe us out! And we often don’t realize it until it’s already happened. Throw in something unplanned for, or a big life event, and pretty soon there’s no time left for the things we love. The things that make us happy people.
That’s not always the case, of course. By landing here, you’re trying to keep life fun. You’re trying to welcome inspiration, explore new things to do, and add meaning and value to your life. You’re setting yourself up for a completely-lived life of passion, and that’s the best path to be on.
This is the whole reason Sip Bite Go exists; figuring out how to make life better, even when it gets busy, is why I built this site in 2014.
Earlier that year, I moved across the country from Baltimore to San Francisco to take my career to the next level. A busy, busy, busy career. Filled with regular trips to Asia, jet lag, and 11pm conference calls. Living in the Bay Area, I tried to sprinkle in as many moments of fun as I could. But at the time, work was the most important thing in my life and almost all of my life choices were made around it.
It’s your life to design.
I became overworked, gained more weight than I cared to keep track of, and eventually, was completely drained. Instead of carving out time for R&R, I spent boatloads of time tied to a desk. My body wanted to sleep, but my job needed me on conference calls past midnight. Sometimes, I’d try to take the calls in bed (how romantic, I know!). At a moment’s notice, I’d be on a plane to China for a business meeting. And commuting on stinky, cramped public transportation in SF with only standing room? Bleh. It wasn’t for me.
Plus, I was in a new relationship with my boyfriend (my now husband), who without any hesitation, decided to join me on my new adventure. Around here and on Instagram I call him “babe”. When we moved from Maryland to San Francisco for my big, shiny promotion, our lifestyle changed in a matter of weeks. It involved packing up two separate Baltimore houses and blending them together in a tiny apartment in SF.
Figuring out closet real estate was one thing. Merging our lives, in a new city, was another. With long work days and mucho-expensive rent in SF, there were plenty of logistical + lifestyle things for us to figure out as a new-ish couple in a new place. Our careers soon took over and we needed to balance out all the work, work, work.
What makes you feel alive?
Once I realized my life didn’t feel like mine anymore, it was time to reassess what was important. I made a priority list of where I wanted to focus my time and energy…
Travel at every chance
Find all the best restaurants and eat at them
Cook delicious and decently healthy meals
Pursue undying passions
Make more time for people in my life
Try any and all new experiences and events
Luckily, I had started making moves to incorperate the shifts above before the San Francisco startup I worked for fell apart. Otherwise, it would have completely broken me.
With the closing of my office, came an opportunity to move to Portland, Oregon, our current home. I started working independently for social media marketing clients, and for the first time in possibly my whole work-a-holic life, it felt like I could take a breath. No more set schedule, no setting an alarm in the morning. After ten years in the corporate world, I learned the joy of eating lunch without a desk in sight. The world opened up outside the 9-5 bubble— and life is goooood outside of the cube. There are trade-offs, sure. But I’m happier, healthier, and have more time for my passions, relationships, and friends. These are my new priorities in life.
How else can you live your best life?
Moving to Portland was a huge awakening. People are healthier here. They finish work early enough in the day that they can enjoy the afternoon. Everyone seems to be doing their own thing, and people respect that. It became easier to reach the goals I first set out with to improve my life. So it was time to add to the list of what I wanted my life to become. Here are additional things I thought could make my life even better…
Establish roots in the community
Increase self-care
Find work that supports happiness and well-being
Have more downtime
Celebrate more
Move from one hobby to the next
With these additional shifts, life did a 180.
One huge thing I realized from this two-year transformation is that it’s easy to get sucked into the routine of day-to-day life. It’s easy to visit the same places, cook the same food, and keep putting off things that make you feel alive.
It’s never too late, or too hard, to change your course.
Things aren’t as set-in-stone as they may feel when you’re “stuck”. If you’ve been taught to prioritize anything you don’t love over your well being and personal growth, it’s always possible to reset the direction of your life. It can be easy to forget we also have to do the things that make us happy.
Balance today is different, and that’s what Sip Bite Go is about.
Find what bring happiness & curiosity to your life.
I was taught at a young age that the general expectation anyone could have for life was to work for 50 years, retire, and finally have time to enjoy life. The problem is, when you factor in the ridiculous hours we’re guilted into working these days, don’t you think this mindset will only help you all arrive at retirement age in a permanent sitting-on-a-desk-chair position? Gross. And not for me.
Life is happening now!
So, I’m begging you, please, please don’t save all your passions for when you retire! Instead, find a balance and make the most of things that excite you in the moment, on any given day. Even if your interests are small, your passions don’t earn you money yet, or you experience a bubble of nerves when trying new things, pursue what sparks your interest!
And don’t worry if you don’t know exactly what your interests are these days. It’s easy to lose sight of them when you’re busy, but they will come back!
Support your passions.
List them out and put them in your wallet, on your dresser, or on your fridge. If what’s important in your life is out of site, it will be harder to make the shifts.
If travel, food, and fun are top priorities, Sip Bite Go is here to help. I want to encourage you to wander from one interest to the next and get out of your comfort zone. Somewhere around 20,000 people have connected with Sip Bite Go already. That’s a lot of curious, creative, inspired people who are not settling for boring lives.
Alright, so it appears you’ve already decided to invite fun, new things into your life – because there’s nothing on this site to attract people who want to lead boring lives. So let’s stay in touch.
Follow me on YouTube to see where I pop up next.
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