Why Are We So Damn Happy?!

Nick Wharton Author Bio Picture

Shouldn’t everybody be happy? Shouldn’t we all be blessed to wake up every morning beaming with excitement for what the next day holds? We like to think so. We’ve found an amazing balance in our life between work (which isn’t really work because we enjoy it) and play (which is a life of travel and experiences). We literally wake up each morning and thank the world for what it has provided us with.

Live your life and be happy!

“But we’re not rich!”

We don’t have cars and houses, flashy clothes or high paying jobs.

We just live the life that suits us best.

What we love happens to be travel and we made it happen, but anybody should be able to do what they love. I remember a few years back I would hear people say cheesy cliché lines like that and I would just ignore it because A) I thought I had to make money at whatever I loved and B) I didn’t know what 100% happiness could feel like.

How to be happy
Almost Too Happy!

The first step is to get out of the matrix of life at home.

Ignore what other people say. We all need to just take a step back and think about what is really important. Family, friends and living your life to the fullest. If you enjoy fishing, then go fishing! If you love golf, then golf! If you want to travel the world, then do it! There’s no reason why you can’t.

Why are we so damn happy?!
Enjoying a game of golf

If you’re passionate about something, everything will just fall into place!

When we started planning for our first trip we were nervous as hell. We didn’t know what to expect and we were overwhelmed by how much we had to do to get ready. But that was because we were so plugged in that it was hard to break away. There was no red pill to set us free, we had to go through all of the pressures of leaving the ordinary behind.

“Quitting your job and deciding to live in the moment isn’t easy at first!”

The fact is:

Western life does a good job of keeping you preoccupied and tied down.

Everyone has to have certain things: cars, contracts, homes, phones, fridges, tv’s, tablets, mattresses and mini-fridges all bought with leases, loans and lines of credit. This means that when you finally decide to pull yourself away from it all, it holds you back and keeps you down.

Wings of a plane: The travellers symbol of freedom
Wings of a plane: The traveller’s symbol of freedom

If you can just release yourself from this tangled web of long hours and heavy pressures, you can be free. You will realize that you can work just 20 hours a week and make enough to live comfortably.

Volunteering, Teaching English, working on a farm or running a blog, are great ways to sustain a life of travel, but there are lots of ways to make money that you might enjoy. Take a year off and just go! Go to work for 3 hours a day instead of 12 and then get off at noon and spend the day doing what you love, all while saving up to go somewhere or do something you’ve always dreamed of.

“You don’t have to have very much money to travel!”

We’re so happy that we broke free and we’re able to live this lifestyle now, but we want more people to do it! Why is retirement a light at the end of the tunnel? There doesn’t have to be a tunnel, unplug and go do what you love!

unplug and be happy!

It really is just that easy.

If you don’t like your job, QUIT! If you don’t like where you’re living, MOVE! It’s that simple. Just get rid the ties that bind you and set off on a journey. Find a new life that suits you better. And if you’re happy doing what you’re doing, whether it’s work, play or both… then you’re already there. Keep doing what you love!

We are happy because we do what we love every single day, and if we don’t love it, we stop doing it and move on. That is what’s called freedom and it is something that we all possess!

Here are some links to help you start planning:

GETTING STARTED INFORMATION

TEACHING ENGLISH ABROAD

TRAVEL GUIDES

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Why Are We So Damn Happy?!

Nick Wharton Author Bio Picture

Written by

Nick Wharton

Nick is the co-founder, editor and author of Goats On The Road. He contributes to numerous other media sites regularly and shares his expert knowledge of travel, online entrepreneurship and blogging with the world whenever he can. He has been travelling and working abroad since 2008 and has more than 10 years of experience in online business, finance, travel and entrepreneurship.

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