The monthly newsletter for aspiring downshifters,
and sustainable living enthusiasts.

January 2007
In this issue...

1. From Pain to Gain: How Rat Race stress leads to downshifting success.
2. Finding My Path. By Stephen Brandon.
3. Your exploration this month.
4. Quotes of the month
5. Want to comment or contribute?
6. Teleclasses and personal coaching

1. From Pain to Gain: How Rat Race stress leads to downshifting success.

Isn’t life wonderful when you look back on it and see all the lessons you’ve learned from all the mistakes you’ve made? :o)

One of the first business development books I ever read was Edward De Bono’s “Opportunities” and his words have inspired me at many times during my downshifting years. What I remember particularly is his lateral thinking approach to problem solving. He urges his readers to view problems as potential opportunities, to see beneath each stressful situation that we encounter and to look for the opportunities in it. To do this we need to go beyond just reacting to problems with the first solution that comes into our heads and to brainstorm for lots of potential solutions.

Why spend the time and effort doing that? Because then we have a choice in how we proceed and can choose the best solution rather than any old fix so long as it works. De Bono also states “Necessity is the mother of invention – unfortunately” because he says most of us will only go looking for opportunities when our backs are up against the wall and we’ve got no alternative. When we lose our jobs or fall ill or lose a loved one. If we get made redundant and decide to start our own business, for example, that business opportunity was always there ready for us to pick up whether we got made redundant or not. It’s just that we do not generally go looking for those opportunities or have the courage to act on our findings unless we feel forced to.

Those ideas have guided me along the downshifting path, which is why I wanted to share them with you this month.

I’ve been taking the opportunity over the festive holiday to review where I am with my personal downshifting plan. Looking back over the major decisions that I’ve made on my downshifting path, I’ve noticed that many of them came about as a result of one thing - my attempts to deal with various stressful events and situations that arose during my participation in the Rat Race. My approach when dealing with stress has been to identify the problem and then fix it.

What were those problems? For me, Rat Race stress resulted in poor health (physical, emotional and spiritual) both for me and my children. My first downshifting decision was to become vegetarian. Initially, this was a way I saw to solve my health problems. However, as time went by it became evident to me that vegetarianism was far more than just preventing poor health. I began to learn about the wider benefits, such as the impact on the environment and animal welfare. I was beginning to feel as though I was making a larger contribution to society than just fixing myself. It also gave me the opportunity to completely overhaul how I was looking after myself and subsequently how I was nurturing my children. We have all benefited enormously from this.

Making the decision to move from full-time work to part–time self employment was a decision I took after giving birth to my first child. The source of my stress in this situation was the thought that I would have to go back to work full time in order to pay the bills but I did not want to be parted from my baby. I quickly realised, having cut our living costs considerably during my maternity leave, that this was not necessary. I could do what I really wanted to do, which was to spend lots of time with my new baby and also balance that with a couple of days work per week. I also wanted far more autonomy in my work and the flexibility to work from home when I chose. So I elected to become self-employed. The stressful situation of being parted from my baby had been averted and I had discovered some new ways of working.

A few years later, and with my children finding their school environment increasingly stressful, I started researching alternatives and settled on deregistering them from school altogether, electing to home educate them. Initially, this was a way to fix the problem of my children being unhappy and not receiving a suitable education. As time went by, it became evident that not only had we solved the problem but that they were positively thriving and in ways I had not dared to imagine. If you are curious as to how this can be, please see my article, “How is home education sustainable.”

Gradually, opportunities emerged that we had not been aware of before. The children were healthier because they were exposed to fewer infections and had a healthier diet. They gradually became increasingly more autonomous in their learning and more self-confident in facing the world at large. We developed closer family relationships as we had more time to spend together and to express ourselves.

When we use the stresses of being in the Rat Race to re-examine how we are living our lives, we can uncover the opportunities we need in order to downshift.

Suggested Further Reading:

Opportunities. By Edward De Bono

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2. Finding My Path. By Stephen Brandon.

When I left school, I was not really sure what I wanted. I apprenticed as a Toolmaker. It was not my passion but it did give me a living and
eventually it led to me emigrating to New Zealand where there was a
shortage of skilled Toolmakers in their developing industries.

Many changes happened in my life as a result of living in a new country and my own personal growth became important to me. At the age of 37, I began practising Yoga and from my first class I loved it. I continued to attend four classes a week. A year later I decided to take a sabbatical to have some space to review my life and future directions. During this period I returned to England to spend Summer with my family. Extending my stay in England, I took a job at an engineering firm. In order to deepen my knowledge of Yoga, I began a Teacher training course. One of the requirements of the course was to have some teaching experience so I found myself nervously standing in front of a group of eager Yoga students for the first time. At the end of the class I thought, 'At last....I have found out what I want to do'.

I carried on with my engineering job to finance my training and earn my living until completing my Teaching Diploma. After a few years of
teaching part- time I took the daunting step of leaving my job to work
full-time as a Yoga teacher and therapist. Three years later I have my own company, Harmony Yoga. It's great doing what I love. I feel
authentic in my life and enjoy the endless flow of creativity that comes
from living my passion. What I did before was not bad, but I was only half alive. Now I feel fully alive and joyful.

So do not worry if you are not sure of your path. It may take some time to reveal itself, but when it does do not hesitate in following it.

© Stephen Brandon 2007 www.harmonyyoga.co.uk

3. Your exploration this month.

What is the most stressful experience you are tolerating due to being in the Rat Race?

Think of 5 different ways in which you can alleviate the stress.

Which one of these solutions appeals to you the most?

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4. Quotes of the month.

"Become a possibilitarian. No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see possibilities -- always see them, for they're always there."
Dr. Norman Vincent Peale

" One of the saddest lines in the world is, 'Oh come now - be realistic.' The best parts of this world were not fashioned by those who were realistic. They were fashioned by those who dared to look hard at their wishes and gave them horses to ride."
Richard Nelson Bolles

" The world would have you agree with its dismal dream of limitation. But the light would have you soar like the eagle of your sacred visions."
Alan Cohen

" If you're proactive, you don't have to wait for circumstances or other people to create perspective expanding experiences. You can consciously create your own."
Stephen Covey

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5. Want to comment or contribute?

If you would like to comment on any aspect of this newsletter or submit an article for inclusion in it, please contact me by email.

6. Teleclasses and personal coaching.

How to Step off the Treadmill

A series of three teleclasses, each one hour long, exploring the elements of downshifting, the reality of living a sustainable lifestyle in a consumer driven society and how to motivate ourselves to make the switch.

A teleclass is a straightforward, low cost and sustainable way of taking part in a group learning session. It’s like a conference telephone call.Each participant is supplied with a phone number to call at the appointed time. When you call, you will be welcomed to a virtual classroom where you can listen to the class leader present the teleclass material and you can participate by asking or answering questions if you wish. So it’s just like being in a real classroom or workshop setting except that you can take part in the comfort of your own home without having to travel anywhere!

To view the current teleclass schedule, click here.

Personal Coaching

One-to-one coaching can help you:

• let go of your old,stressful way of life, find a new path of vitality and an improved way of living.
• deal with fears surrounding financial responsibilities, your relationships with others and other consequences of making a major life change.
• improve your health, wellbeing and spiritual life.
• further your personal growth.
• achieve balance, clarity and peace.
  
  You can view further details on personal coaching here.

7. Subscriptions and privacy policy

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I will never sell, share or otherwise divulge your contact details, including your email address, to any third party.

Subscriptions to this newsletter grow by your recommendation. If you have enjoyed reading it, please do forward it to your friends, relations and colleagues. Please feel free to use any material from this newsletter. All I ask is that you acknowledge me as the source and include my web address.

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Have a fruitful month!

Sally

Sally Lever
Sustainable Living Coach

+44 (0)1749 674842
sally@sallylever.co.uk
http://www.sallylever.co.uk/