Smart Simple Monday

I'm sure whoever first said that women can “have it all” had good intentions. I suspect the original idea behind the phrase was that women are capable of doing whatever they set their minds to and, of course, I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment.

In the last ten years or so, however, I think the concept of “having it all” has unfortunately been mutated to mean “doing it all,” and we're now paying the price for it. How many women do you know who aren't exhausted most of the time, between working all day, shuttling their kids from soccer to Scouts, taking care of their homes, trying to keep the fires burning in their marriages... whew! I'm exhausted just from writing about it.

Well, some women (and men too) have come to realize that this might not be the best approach to life. Gretchen Roberts, founder of the Smart Simple Woman blog, is one of those women.

Gretchen is a freelance writer (see her article on hobbies in the March 07 issue of Health magazine), frequent speaker, wife, mom, recipe developer, and writing teacher (whew again!) so she certainly knows what it means to have multiple responsibilities on her plate. But somehow she's still managed to find a way to have a more balanced approach to her own life, which she is generous enough to share with her readers at Smart Simple Woman.

You might be wondering why I'm writing about simple living. At first glance, it might seem like the concept is incompatible with pursuing an adventurous life. After all, being adventurous means challenging yourself, pushing your limits, going beyond where you've been before. That doesn't sound too much like “simple” living to me.

But just as adventure doesn't mean you have to go full-blast, all day, every day, simple living doesn't mean that you should be sitting around, doing nothing, all day, every day. In fact, just the opposite. I asked Gretchen for her thoughts on whether simple living and adventurous living could, in fact, be complementary approaches to life, and here's what she had to say:

“Simple living isn't depriving yourself of things or sucking all the fun out of your life to scrimp, save, and prove to everyone else that you're above the pull of consumerism. It's just living intentionally, making deliberate decisions to spend your time doing things you enjoy, and taking time to enjoy pleasures, not put them off for more “important” things (i.e. working hard to make money to buy stuff). And if adventures aren't a pleasure, then what is?”

I couldn't have said it better myself!

So if you'd like to learn more about how to lead a simpler, more balanced life, which in turn will give you the time and energy to pursue all those adventures you've been dreaming about, visit www.smartsimplewoman.com, where Gretchen publishes a new blog every Monday morning (what a great way to start the workweek!). You can also sign up to receive her articles via e-mail.

As Gretchen says on her blog, “Women know they can do it all, but smart women know they don't have to.”

Comments

[Christine Gable]

Gretchen does a fabulous job creating smart simple tips for all women. I love receiving this e-newsletter that's not only brief and to-the-point but is well-written, sane and sensible. Kudos, Gretchen!