The Happiness Lie: Is Bigger Better?

It's been 2 months since our family moved to the basement

1/4 of the size of our original living space while our house is being renovated.

It's been the best 2 months ever.

I never imagined that cramming into this small space

My husband and I both working from home in the small bedroom

And our living room-cum-kitchen-cum-dining room + turtles + son's study desk

All somehow fitting into in a space only slightly larger than my childhood bedroom

In this small basement

We have spent countless happy hours

Eating together

Cooking together (𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰)

House cleaning together

So much so, today I need to pack to fly out for my 2 month speaking tour

And I find myself not wanting to leave

I know - because, I can't get myself to start packing.

While I didn't get to "take vacation" this summer

While my days have been 14-16 hours of non-stop handling the renovation, family issues

And fitting in work in-between

(No surprise that I haven't had the headspace to write on LI)

This summer I've grown a lot, my kids have grown a lot

And we've all grown together.

We're different from when we started the summer, in a very good way.

(Hey - we even learned to enjoy doing housework together, that counts for something doesn't it??)

Better than any vacation we could ever take.

A house is not a home

A job is not a career

The size of the house doesn't determine your happiness

The size of your paycheque (after a certain point) doesn't determine your satisfaction with life.

It's the people.

The quality of the relationships you have with the people in your life - from work to home - that make the most difference.

tl;dr: Your happiness is directly correlated to the quality of the relationships with the people in your life.

I'll sign off here - I really, really need to start packing now, however reluctant I am to leave.

Would love to hear from you -

What unexpected joy have you found in challenging situations?

With love,

Natalie

P.S. This may sound weird but, this is the first 'house' I've wanted to show-off - in a good way - because I'm not showing off how big or beautiful our home is, I am simply happy to share with you our truly happy tiny home! Hence I excitedly put this photo together using Snapseed on my phone.

I work with a select group of senior leaders 1:1 to help them create a fulfilling career and relationships that work, I have 2 openings for my Senior Leadership Coaching Program September intake - hit reply on this email if you’re interested