Today I thought that I would do a list of traits that you will need and/or acquire should you decide to follow my path of being an Urban Nomad.
1) Patience:
This is a big one, as the main reason that you are doing this is to improve your life by temporarily downgrading your lifestyle. Yet change is not easy, nor is it quick (lottery wins/disasters notwithstanding). So that means that you will have to stick out this hard and uncomfortable life longer than you may desire. Thus patience will be required.
2) Determination:
In order to stick it out for the long haul (and succeed) you need to have the wherewithal and plain ability to stick to your plan and do what needs to be done in order to get through. This stick-to-itiveness and refusal to give up is the crux of what determination really is.
3) Embracing of Failure:
This does not mean that you need to celebrate or look for ways to fail, no. What this means is to embrace the fact that 1) you will fail and 2) that you can learn a great deal from your failures. Do not fear failure, accept that it will come, that it is not something to feel shame over, learn from it and move on.
4) Attitude is Everything:
Your attitude will determine how you deal with situations as they arise. I still struggle daily with my attitude but I do find ways to keep my attitude positive. Or at the very least, correct my attitude when it strays to the negative. It is a negative attitude that will make a mountain out of a mole hill. Yet it is positive attitude that will make a mole hill out of a mountain. Again, you decide, you choose, you can shape your attitude, so make it a positive one.
5) Resourcefulness:
This is another key trait that you will need, the ability to use whatever resources that are at your disposal in the most effective and efficient manner. Not only that, but look at what you are using and question “Is this the best use of this resource?” Finding new ways to stretch out what: cash, electricity, water, propane and other consumables are key to success as an Urban Nomad.
6) Adaptability:
Stuff happens, stuff that you can’t control happens, stuff just comes out of the blue and smacks you in the face . . . that’s life, deal with it. It will go from over 30C in your house to below -30C in your house in the course of a year and that swing can happen within a matter of months. Learning to just roll with the punches and adapt what you are doing so as to best meet the current set of circumstances is vital. Fine, throw that hissy fit if you need to, but after your two minute (therapeutic) meltdown, pause, breathe, then get to adapting to whatever change in your situation has happened. (As for me, I still have my annual hissy fit when the first snowfall happens.)
7) Decisiveness:
I will say that the first and most important trait that you need to have is the ability to make a choice and stick with it. Yet you still need to be flexible enough to reverse that choice, if the current course of action proves unwise. It is finding and determining that balance which takes time to work out. Yet being able to make a choice (such as to downgrade your lifestyle so you can upgrade your finances . . . hint, hint) and stick with it, are the first and foremost quality that you will need for success as an Urban Nomad.
There are a few thoughts on what qualities are required for success as an Urban Nomad. Don’t worry if you don’t have all of them yet, trust me, you will learn and adopt them as you go, all you really need to get going is Number 7.
Remember: Tracy Chapman (from her song “Fast Car”) was right: “Leave tonight, or live and die this way.”
As always: Keep your head up, your attitude positive and keep moving forward!
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