You can find more on my Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/FSunited

Reblogged from Free Spirits United:

From our birth to this present moment, society, including friends and family, has been creating our identities for us. Some of you accepted the labels given and made your decisions based on them, from whom to interact with to how you should live. Living life based on your label keeps you in your comfort zone; you try to only associate with people in your category to have that false sense of belonging to something.

For those who did not fit into any specific category, you were told something was wrong with you and you felt inadequate. You feared being the outsider so you tried hard to belong, even if it meant sacrificing your happiness to live life as a lie. This only made you feel trapped, ripping your soul of your freedom.

We are so much more than the color of our skin, last name, profession, sexual preference, or nationality. Love, accept, and appreciate the way you are.  Instead of having the need to be labeled, have the need to simply be.

Today, forget about the identity you were given since birth. Forget about how you were categorized and ask yourself, beyond the labels society gave you, who are you? 

I am a freedom loving, full of energy, creative being who seeks to find the beauty and inspiration in all that I sense. My source of happiness is my spirituality, experiences in the moments, and the connection I have with other beings. I am greatly appreciative for all that I have experienced as my experiences led me to be how and who I am at this present moment.

Who are you? Once you answered the question, forget about what you were told, now live life as the way that you are.

We are creative beings who need to be expressive. Keeping our thoughts and ideas within us makes us feel trapped. When we are able to get it out, under the right conditions, our thoughts burst to be unconstrained.

We need to write because we need to create. Creating is part of our design. When we create, we feel like we are flowing with the universe, harmonizing with the world and finding peace within us.

This is true for other types of creative activities that we may pursue, like activities including art, dance, music, or designing.

I love to dance. I danced during my early 20’s in a dance group that performed throughout Philadelphia. When I danced, I felt God within me. When I looked out into the audience, I felt connected to everything. I felt the energy flow out of me and spread out to the onlookers. It’s the same as writing. We are releasing our energy onto paper or the computer, passing the energy to the reader. What a wonderful, remarkable process.

I delight in going to different blogs, leaving comments, and hoping new bloggers don’t give up writing. The world needs you to release yourself and your thoughts. Your words and creativity will inspire and ensure the balance and flow of energy within the universe. The world needs you to create. You are doing exactly what you were meant to be doing.

Related articles

• 10 signs of highly artistic, creative beings (freespiritsunited.com)
• Monthly Creative Wrap-Up: Write, Shake, Repeat. (thirtythreadbaremercies.com)

If you are full of creativity, trying to express your individuality, or a lover of freedom, then I recommend liking the Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/FSunited

Here are some pictures I recently posted to the facebook page. Have an amazing day!

Facebook Page

Related articles

• Your greatest accomplishment in life will be to remain yourself (freespiritsunited.com)
• Living in the moments (freespiritsunited.com)

Expensive cars, a big house, nice vacations, and the latest gadgets, like the latest smartphones, are not needed. Freeing yourself from wanting those items puts you closer to living a free-spirited life. At one point, I had loved having the latest electronics; I always bought the latest video game system or smartphone, but I realized I was wasting thousands of dollars. It made me happy for a short time, but it never provided long-term happiness.

Starting now, make an effort to free yourself from your financial constraints. Follow my guidelines below to stay financially flexible and maintain control over your life.

Live a minimum lifestyle

Part of living the free spirit lifestyle is living a minimum lifestyle. Our culture values excess. A lot of things we have in our homes are not needed and take up space, so try to de-clutter the material things you possess. You can throw, give, or sell the things not needed. Selling your items is probably the best option because it allows you to bring in extra income that can be used to pay down debt or save.

You should also stop buying what you don’t need. As you get rid of the things in your house, ask yourself if those items were necessary. You will learn that a lot of those items were wasteful, and you would have been better off not purchasing them. Learn from that and in the present moment make the change that you will not waste money anymore.

Stand in knowledge

Track your monthly expenses to understand your spending habits. Use online budget tools like www.mint.com to help categorize your expenses. You will be astonished to find where you spend money, and I guarantee that it’s not where you think. Knowing your spending habits helps you understand the areas that require better control. Question all of your expenses; ask whether it was needed. For an example, is your cable bill too high? Do you use your gym or sports club membership fees? Do you need to eat out 3 times a week? Be fully engaged in knowing where you spend money and why you spend it the way that you do. Only you can decide if your spending habits make sense. We are unique individuals. We spend our money based on our interests, so no one can tell you where to spend your money. Once you understand your habits, set a budget and set limits for your categories.

Always choose freedom

You do not have financial freedom if you are in debt, and it’s not a good feeling to have, so work to minimize the amount of debt owed. Struggle if you must to pay it off because it needs to be a high priority. Going forward, keep your debt as low as possible. Do not fall into the trap of thinking you need to have a nice, big house to live the American dream. Having a house that you can’t afford is more like a nightmare. The real dream for free spirits is having the freedom to live your life, your way.

Expect the Unexpected

SAVE. The rule to live by is to save at least 20% of your gross income. This could be in a retirement or personal savings account.  I don’t care where you spend your money in any given month as long as you are saving at least 20% of your income. If you can do more, that’s even better. If you can only save 10%, that’s fine. Be happy that you are saving, but try to make it 20%.

Please join me on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/FSunited for inspirational quotes and pictures.

Sometimes we get so caught up with our plans for the future that we forget how blessed we are in the now. Small yet significant moments go unappreciated because we didn’t realize how fortunate we were to have them. We focus on our next big purchase, the next vacation, the next promotion, etc. We don’t realize that we tie our happiness to the future; we get happy on how we expect things to be, not how it is. This leads to unnecessary disappointment and sadness when things don’t go the way we planned.

It’s far better to be happy with the present than to be happy with some fantasy of the future. Live each day in the moment and remove all expectations. Relax and not put too much weight into your future and open yourself up to the possibilities of today.

To help you start appreciating the simple moments in your everyday life, I listed the steps to follow. I hope the steps help you realize that you have all that is needed to be fully happy and content with life now.

Living in the moment instructions

Get a piece of paper and write down ten moments in your everyday life that you love experiencing. It can be related to people, going to a certain place, or doing a certain activity. The key is that it should only include the things you could do now or in the short-term if you wanted. Next, keep this list close to you. When you start to get excited about some future event, you shifted your focus and energy from the now to the future. You belong in the now; your happiness and energy should not drift off into a fantasy. To shift your focus back into the now, pull out your list to remind yourself that you already have what is needed for your contentment and happiness.

As an example, below is my list of the moments I love.

1. Wrapping my arms around my daughter as we watch TV
2. Cooking breakfast for my family.
3. Closing my eyes, taking a deep breath, and appreciating the gift of breathing, knowing every second I am blessed with new air.
4. Laughing as loud as I can with friends and family about the things we experienced together.
5. Having a profound conversation with a friend about the meaning of life.
6. Dancing and acting crazy with friends and family.
7. Relaxing on the beach.
8. Turning off the TV and joking around with my wife as we fall asleep.
9. Going to the gym and feeling accomplished after running three miles.
10. Standing on my balcony, watching nature, and feeling peace and contentment, knowing that I have been provided all I need at that exact moment.
11. Connecting with people over the Internet to discuss freespiritsunited.com.

I hope you begin to appreciate the small moments that add richness to your life, and I hope you realize you don’t need to buy anything or fantasize about anything to obtain happiness.

Please connect with other free spirits on my facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/FSunited

Related articles

• Life is a Journey, not a Destination. (inspiringgrace.net)
• 6 Unique Ways to Be Successful and Happy (diarraeg.wordpress.com)
• Happiness is relative (leesuilan.wordpress.com)
• How to Embrace the Present Moment (womensinnerfitness4health.com)
• How to be Happy (coca-cola.com)
• The Key to Happiness (dancingenchantment.wordpress.com)

• Your friends or family members are having success, whether in education, career, or relationships. You question why you aren’t having their type of success, and you decide to imitate what they are doing, not realizing that we each have our own, unique path to take in life.

• You’re in a relationship and the other person constantly tells you how you should behave. You feel that you need to change yourself and be someone who you are not in order to keep the other person happy and interested. This will make you feel miserable.

• Your family is trying to lead you on a path that they wish for you, but it’s not what you want for yourself. You may decide it is more important to please your family than it is to find your own happiness.

• You have a job that is not allowing you to fully express your individuality. In order to get a good review or promotion, you have to act in a way that is different than who you are. You are unhappy and unfulfilled in your career.

• People continuously question your spiritual beliefs, and they find satisfaction in telling you why they’re right and you’re wrong. You are being misguided to believe something your soul knows to be untrue. You may become confused and lost. You need to remember that your spiritual beliefs should be based on your personal journey and experiences.

• People label you based on your color, sexual preference, attitude, education, job, and physical looks. You feel confused and lost because you start to believe the descriptions people give you. You need to remind yourself that you are too complex to be placed in any category.

• Watching how “normal people” behave, you learn to desire money, vanity, and instant gratification. You need to learn to desire your freedom and individual expression.

• You’re not fitting in and you feel lonely. You think you have to change how you act to attract more people around you. You need to feel comfortable expressing more of who you are so you can attract people who are similar to you.

Free Spirits will be judged and criticized. You may question the free-spirited lifestyle, but I hope by learning more about the lifestyle, by reading this blog, you learn to ignore the judgment and criticism from “normal people”.

Join the Free Spirits United facebook page and connect with other free spirits – https://www.facebook.com/FSunited

Related articles

• 3 Things You MUST DO IMMEDIATELY to Start Living the Free-Spirited Lifestyle (freespiritsunited.com)
• 30 Thought Provoking Life Questions You Should Constantly Ask Yourself? (freespiritsunited.com)

They are able to laugh at themselves

Amazing people don’t take themselves too seriously so they aren’t bothered when other people criticize them.

They are not held back by fear; they take risks

Amazing people know that life is about having experiences that grow and develop us. They take chances in order to get those worthwhile developmental opportunities.

They are trustworthy and dependable

You can trust amazing people to do something when they say they will do it. They value reliability. They want people to trust and depend on them.  They know being trustworthy is part of the foundation of a healthy relationship.

They listen more than they talk

Listening is a skill, a rare skill. Amazing people listen more than they talk because they are able to learn more that way.

They make everyone feel important and they do not judge

Amazing people are open to everyone. They respect people regardless of how they look, dress, or act. They encourage people to be the way they are. They are great at including everyone and making everyone feel part of the group.

They are able to stay calm during stressful situations

Amazing people are great at handling ambiguity. They control their emotions and stay calm in order to make rational decisions when needed.

They are optimistic

Amazing people are excellent at being able to see things in a different perspective to remain positive in all circumstances.  Their optimism rubs off on other people.

They are honest yet still respectful

Amazing people value honesty. They believe they are doing a great disservice to someone if they are not truthful. They are great at delivering bad news if needed by remaining honest while not causing anyone to feel embarrassed or uncomfortable.

They are able to adjust to change

Amazing people are adaptable. They understand things do not last forever because change is inevitable. During change, they demonstrate an unbelievable skill of patience.  When things don’t go their way, they aren’t upset; they just go with the flow.

They don’t hold grudges

Amazing people are able to let go. They rather not hold onto any built up animosity for their own mental and emotional health. They try to see the good in everyone and hope for the best.

They don’t worry about the small stuff

Amazing people are great at putting things into the right perspective. Worrying is pointless and wastes too much time for them. They rather use the energy that is being wasted on worrying and putting it to better use.

They make no excuses

Amazing people are go-getters. They don’t make excuses for anything. They are focused, determined, and committed to accomplishing their task.

They don’t seek the approval from others

Amazing people are comfortable in their own skin. They don’t feel the need to be validated by anyone else. Their opinion about themselves is more important than other people’s opinion.

They accept their circumstances

Amazing people don’t want anyone to show pity for their circumstances. They don’t dwell on how bad things are for them. They are able to accept things for the way they are, and go from there. They put greater emphasis on the things that they can control rather than the things they can’t.

They have self-control

Amazing people know that control is freedom. They are able to exhibit restraint when eating and spending. They only have what is necessary. They handle temptation extremely well. If they want something that is not good for them, they are able to control their desires.

 1.    Work on hobbies or side projects

Having hobbies or side projects are great for your mental health. It gives you excitement and allows you to place your energy into something you can enjoy. Maybe your side project will turn into a money making venture or maybe not. It will, however, provide you with an opportunity to do what you love to do. I encourage entrepreneurship, so ideally I want you to keep working your side activity then find a way to turn it into a business.

2.    Know a job doesn’t last forever / Work for Change.

My wife worked in a grocery store while she put herself through college. She did not like it because she dealt with rude customers and a horrible boss.  Unfortunately, she stopped attending college for several years because of financial problems, but she continued working in that awful job. She never complained because she knew the job was temporary even though she worked there for several years. Although she had financial aid problems and had to start all over again at a community college, she never gave up hope becoming a nurse. She continued to work at the store until she found a nurse internship that allowed her to work during the school year as a certified nurse assistant. She finished school, became a registered nurse and eventually a nurse practitioner.

If you know your current job is temporary; if you are waiting for your business to pick up, to finish school, or until to find another job, then keep reminding yourself that. Know and believe change will come. Nothing lasts forever and you are always in control, no matter how discouraging things may seem. You just need a little patience.

 3.    Remind yourself why you have a job / A job does not measure success

By reminding yourself why you have your job will allow you to emotionally deal with it by keeping things in perspective. A job can be viewed as a means to success, but not success in of itself, so placing any measurement of success about your job is pointless. Unfortunately, people use a job as a way to determine their success. Success to us, free spirits, is being able to do the things we enjoy doing. Sometimes a job and doing what we want are separate. Hopefully you realize that you go to work just to be able to provide for yourself and your family, to fund your education, to fund you business ventures, or to learn about a subject. Hopefully you will stop worrying about your performance, or getting the next promotion, or worrying about the office politics.

4.    Stay away from negative people

Negative people can mentally and emotionally hurt you if you are not careful. Do not give negative people control of your emotions or energy. Avoid anyone who brings your energy down even if it is your manager. If it is your manager, then limit the amount of interaction you have with him or her. Also, avoid all temptations to complain about your job with another coworker. While it may feel good in that moment, you are not using your energy productively. Be careful to only put your energy into positive things and people.

5.    Know your strengths and do that

If there is anything you enjoy about your job, then do it, a lot. I remember reading about a deli cashier who loved her job because of the high level of customer interaction. She knew the customers by name. She would discuss their problems with them as they bought coffee. Because of her positive feedback from the customers, she was offered a promotion. She turned it down because she would have been miserable by the lack of customer interaction. Putting her happiness over money, she did the right thing.

6.    Change your focus – change your energy.

Do not expend any amount of energy focusing on how much you do not enjoy something; so stop focusing on how much you do not enjoy your job. Re-purpose your energy on the things you enjoy. You do this by showing gratitude and being thankful at all times. Be thankful that you have a job that allows you to fund your projects, attend school, save to become financially flexible, or fund your exciting travel and adventures.

As a reminder, there is no reason to be in a job that does not provide contentment. It is up to you to change it. I understand that you may not be in a position to change it immediately, but you should always be working to change your situation if needed. Don’t waste your life doing something you don’t enjoy.

In my experience, if more people placed happiness over money, then so many people would not be so miserable in their jobs.

If you are looking for the best careers for free spirits, please read my other post – Top Careers for Free Spirits