Welcome to Anywhere

I started working from home in 1998. Given that I had just quit my job as a young attorney in a big law firm, I didn’t really have a choice.

But I learned how to make it work. I figured out how to survive without traditional employment, and that eventually shifted from “survive” to thrive.

By 2008 I could live anywhere in the world, as I shifted to starting businesses that were completely unconstrained by geography. But kids and extended family kept us in the US, even as I started traveling much more often.

Fast-forward to 2018, and I took a sabbatical with family in tow for a seven-month trip around the world. And that’s when I knew how I wanted to live from then on.

Right now, lots of people have been introduced to “working at home” under less-than-ideal circumstances. It’s not for everyone, and having it forced on you might not be jazzing you up.

The real question is, where’s home? Do you wish it were somewhere else? Or perhaps the location could change periodically, from one cool place to another as the mood strikes?

In that case, what you really want to is the freedom to live and work from anywhere. And while that may sound like a dream, the ability to pick up and leave is also a pragmatic necessity given the current state of things.

If you’re rightfully worried about continued violence in the US, you don’t have to move to Canada. Spend the summer in Canada, then head to Costa Rica and Panama for the winter. Or spend six months down under, split between Australia and New Zealand, before popping over to Europe.

Traveling the world used to be a retirement dream. But now, it’s more viable to create a location-independent life for yourself than it is to amass the kind of money it takes to quit working altogether. Quicker, too.

Further reader Susanna Perkins has lived the dream. She doesn’t call herself a digital nomad, and she’s not a twenty-something with a laptop.

She’s a sixty-something with a laptop. Check out her story:

Move Beyond “Work at Home” and Live Anywhere

Ommm Ready

When I first wrote about meditation back in 2015, it had gained a lot of mainstream acceptance. But there were still a few people who thought it was kind of “woo woo.” I don’t know anyone who thinks that way anymore, and the tide has turned to the point that people think you’re missing out on a whole lot of benefits if you’re not. Now feels like an excellent time to get started if you haven’t.

How to (Finally) Start Meditating

The Perpetual Beginner

“A study that had adults aged 58 to 86 simultaneously take multiple classes — ranging from Spanish to music composition to painting — found that after just a few months, the learners had improved not only at Spanish or painting, but on a battery of cognitive tests. They’d rolled back the odometers in their brains by some 30 years, doing better on the tests than a control group who took no classes.”

The Joys of Being an Absolute Beginner — For Life

Longevity Positivity

I have an outlook on life that many mistake for cynicism, which would make my continued existence questionable according to recent research. But I’m a realist, which is why I institute processes that allow me to control my work and many other aspects of my life. And I’m incredibly optimistic when I have that sense of control (more on that down below).

Do Optimistic People Live Longer?

Mo’ Stuff, Mo’ Problems

“By nearly every measure, we have more than even a generation ago. The once lavish has transformed into the norm. The luxury items of years past that were reserved for the wealthy are commonplace.” And yet everyone continues searching for that elusive happiness. I guess more ain’t the path.

Avoiding the Trap of More, More, More

Scroll down for ways to regain a sense of control in your life. And the Flashback is wondering what’s going on, but we already know, don’t we?

Keep going-

Brian Clark

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How to Regain a Sense of Control

By Trudi Roth

Remember how great it was to put 2020 to bed? With vaccines rolling out and change rolling in, many of us felt a sense of renewed calm and control.

Too bad there’s no seven-day satisfaction guarantee on modern times. A deadly incited insurrection at the US Capitol, the crushing crest of another COVID wave, and massive uncertainty in general has reverted us to a state where brain fog, anxiety, and overwhelm abound.

Feeling powerless can be paralyzing. Control is essential to well-being, with studies revealing it helps unlock happiness, creativity, and resilience.

The good news (there is some!) is that new pandemic-related research shows that our coping mechanisms may work better than you think. Getting a grip is in your hands.

Ruse Control

A sense of control and, relatedly, powerlessness is as much a function of your brain as it is reality.

Importantly, our perception of control is relatively subjective, and scientists have found that this can influence our well-being independently of the many other factors that determine the actual amount of control we have over our lives.

For example, restricted movement — say, if you’re a caged animal or an LA resident (like me) in lockdown because one in every five COVID tests is positive — chips away at autonomy. When uncertainty replaces a once-solid sense of agency, extended feelings of helplessness can make illness and even death a self-fulfilling outcome.

All of this can be avoided by not buying into the perception that everything is beyond your power. And the best way to regain control is to decide what’s yours to control — and what’s not.

Stay in Control

A research team headed by Eric Anicich from the USC Marshall School of Business coincidentally was studying people’s work experiences when the pandemic hit. They captured the early days of societal upheaval, and along with it, the initial nosedive of their subjects’ sense of autonomy.

But then, something interesting happened. Anicich found that most bounced back quickly, pointing to a built-in propensity to seek ways to ease the situation. And while some see paranoia as the destroyer, the most neurotic rebounded quickest, as they have a highly vigilant mindset ready to respond to threats.

The key is to keep your cognition in check. We’re bad at predicting the future, thanks to the hedonic forecasting mechanism, which biases you towards seeing today’s news (bad and good) as permanent.

Negative comparisons and avoidance can further color coping, so the trick is to reframe your thoughts intentionally. Once your worries are in perspective, your sense of personal autonomy is regained — even in the face of persistent stress.

While you can’t always choose your circumstances, you can choose your response. With consciousness and practice, that’s how you gain control.

How to Restore Your Sense of Control When You Feel Powerless (BBC)