1. 2022 was Spring for me. How was it for you?
Let's get into it. 2022 felt great. And it was not because of luck. No. I worked at the damn thing from 2015 to 2021. I/we/my little whānau, worked at all the healing and growth that we needed in order to experience peace and joy.
...and a five figure 'zero'. Some people call $0 in the bank account 'zero'. I've consistently called $50,000 my zero.
2022 was different. Finally I didn't have my partner, whānau, colleagues or acquaintances rumble with me because they felt unearthed by how I say 'NO' at a five figure bank balance.
No, last year, my husband joined me (it has taken a couple of years to calibrate ourselves) - and agreed that this is the life our children will be raised in. Where a house or two, a five figure bank balance, no violence, laughter and love - is allowed to be our normal. As a Māori woman and a Niuean Cook Island man - we are allowed to have this normal for our mokopuna.
2. I kept building a life even though, my life had a long winter
Once upon a time in the depth of grief, for years, I read something that said along the lines of:
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If you keep waiting not to grieve before you live, you could be waiting a long time. Sadly, you may just end up living in your head.
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Book travel, go on a date, go to a concert, try for a baby, try hanging out with your teenagers and get it wrong. Embarrass yourself by going live on FB, build a business that's not polished.
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Do it all even if you're bad company, miserable, confused, sad or a bit ashamed
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It takes time to grow from grief. After the years have past and you feel better, at least you'll look back and have done a lot of living. Have built a life.
I am a mummy, a wife, I wash nappies and make spaghetti on toast. Pram walks in the sun. Watch my tāne tinker in the shed while I write a blog. We don't travel away from home to earn each day. Our home is our job. This is allowed to be our normal.
3. 2023 Bootcamp - we will not spend any of our personal income
Now that we have enjoyed a year of summer "a life of warmth", we are energised to push forward again and stretch ourselves.
We have dreams and goals together. Our year is starting with a bootcamp challenge for ourselves. I can an economic winter coming for New Zealand 2023 and 2024. So we are going to be grasshoppers and increase our buffer. Not only to keep ourselves well, but hopefully to support others through the blizzards.
This type of bootcamp is basically how I have trained myself to have a five figure 'zero' (where I consider $50K in my personal account, as a zero). It feels brutal to go without at first, but once I got used to it and desensitized - its a tool I can lean on without emotional turmoil.
There's no charge to follow this journey. There's no prescribed goal either. If $500 is your new zero, then isn't that something to celebrate?!
What you need to do next is subscribe to my Youtube channel.
Youtube is more nimble for me to share content - plus I can go live from my Go Pro camera if I have 1000 subscribers. See you on the other side, mauri ora!