After nearly twelve years on the road, I have an increasingly hard time coping with the hustle and bustle of the “real world” whenever we visit the big city. “Big cities” have also gotten much smaller over the years.

While I have always preferred the peace and solitude of small towns, remote living and desert or mountain boondocking, it has become more and more difficult to understand why most people living the default life, live the way they do.

Living in a Totally Different World

Go ahead, say, “You’re old.” But age has nothing to do with it. It’s more of an insight gained from years of observation while living purposefully. By that I mean living our own life, on purpose, the way we choose to live – as opposed to living how society says we are supposed to live. I’ve said it before in this blog, but people need to slow down.

When running our errands and stocking up in whatever city, I notice everyone rushing about to do the same, with one big difference. Nobody looks happy. They are all in such a hurry, selfish to check off their to-do list faster than you. I say, let them. But I feel for them too. Can’t they see they are wasting their precious life? This is where I do my best to be less judgemental, and gratitude kicks in. I’m grateful for the reminder they present to slow down myself.

We also live online, and it happens there too. Every day, I see the growing number of new nomads working so hard to make a name for themselves in what has become an increasingly saturated industry. What used to simply be a way of life. In reality, for those of us still working, it’s not a much different life – only a different lifestyle. We also work hard, very hard, but we are not paying so much attention to our stats and growing our following as we are focused on fulfilling our financial goals and realizing the intentions we set for ourselves every year.

We’re all working to make a living, doing our best to make the most of the time we have here. Some of us just seem to enjoy the ride a bit more, by choosing a life of adventure rather than quiet desperation.

And then there are those who question us, or more importantly question themselves. “You’re lucky,” they say. Or, “You must be rich…” I’ve heard it all, and all I can do is sigh. Luck has nothing to do with it, but I do feel plenty rich and that has absolutely nothing to do with wealth! There are those who say, “I’m broke…I could never do that.” To them I say, you’re right – not with that attitude.

Some, who actually may be able to change their default ways ask, “How do you do it?” Well, long ago we wrote our three part series for anyone serious about how to become an intentional nomad and escape the default life. Then of course, we compiled our many remote income tips into an e-book all about how to make a living on the road.

No matter what world you live in, living the fulfilled life comes down to one thing: being happy with the way you live, and creating a plan to change if you are not.

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