Money, Freedom and the Art of Happy Living

	It’s time to come to the topic of downshifting which plays an important role in any strategy to get happy! What is meant by downshifting? Well, basically what it says:
(Why not be the lady in the back once in a while and let others row if they want to?)

For a moment step back and see your life and your potential as a car. OK, now everybody is imagining himself a fancy racing-car with shiny bumpers (whereas some of us might be more like a trucks or a middle-class commuter car, or a heavy-duty family station wagon…but that’s all right).

So, imagine the car running at the top of its maximum speed for all the time, years and years. This might be fast and funny, and it might seem adventurous at first: Life rushes by, things are moving, money comes in, careers are made.

But now time goes by, hours, days, weeks, months pass all at max speed. What happens? First, our car will eat away gasoline like crazy. Then it starts to wear off. Eventually the concentration of the driver will diminish. When traffic gets thicker it really gets dangerous, and the likelihood of a severe accident is suddenly a real threat! One moment of distraction, and our car might come off course, sliding heavily or even crush into something unexpected.

And that’s what’s happening to an ever full-power life as well. After the first thrill, you will lose concentration. You will burn up your energy, your body will start to wear of, your health will be affected and when times get tough you might lack additional resources and things might get really dangerous for you.

So consider well your speed!

I don’t say you have to creep along like a snail on the highways of life, letting everybody overtake you right and left. But again, the middle way seems intelligent:
Shift down to a moderate gear in general. Do put in a race every now and then if you feel like some thrill, but don’t run on high speed all the time!
This way you will not burn our quickly, you will easily catch up with the hectic fellows a bit later, you will be able to concentrate and stay on track for a much longer time.

Some people will say you are selfish, but thats wrong. It's them who are selfish. Because they will be the ones with the burn-outs, the heart-attacks and the need for extensive care within 10 or 20 years time, when you will still be independent and happily kickin'!

This is important.

Because life is not a sprint - It's a marathon.

Cheers,
Woodpecker