Meet Marta from http://www.changewithmarta.com. Marta writes about her journey to a happier, simpler, clutter free life, and the achievements and mistakes she makes along the way. Please check out her blog!

Marta shares her Aha Moment: 

My dog doesn’t defend my house.

 

Yeap…that was the most challenging concept for me these past few years. Sorry…what? That was what I though myself, that I had lost all common sense.

 

I came to this realization after a few years of owning a dog. We would leave the apartment to go to work/school/cinema/dining out for a few hours, and unfortunately my dog would stay in the apartment alone.

 

When any of us get back home, we are received by a mess of jumps, dog hugs, running around and a sense of super happiness, not caring a bit about toys, beds or the house. Just as if we had been away for days. On the other hand, when a family member is already home, our dog would bark at any person coming into the house, in order to protect us.

I understand every dog is different, but at least I was lucky enough to have experienced this. I believe we, as humans, are not so different from other animal species, we all feel fulfilled at least to some extent by social belonging and peer acceptance. And that happiness, doesn’t rely on stuff but rather on experiences and close people.

 

When I realized this, I was shocked. I had been giving importance to trivial things, like valuable pieces of clothing, and electronics. When I was asked what would I save from my house in case of fire, I started listing some of the most irreplaceable things, before coming to an stop and adding, “given my family is safe of course”. But that thought came second! In my heart I know they are first, and maybe I was assuming the question referred to physical stuff. But it doesn’t matter, now people are on the top of the list, followed by my doggie, and then comes the not-so-irreplaceable-as-we-think material stuff.

 

Since this realization, I have been in a quest to downsize and declutter my life, to rid my life of unnecessary things and finding what I love the most and what I am passionate about. This also pushed me to start my own blog, Change with Marta. Because life is a journey, it’s not so much about goals and achievements, but about trying, making mistakes and essentially…changes. Some of these changes may take you to closer to your goals, and some may not, but it’s all about growing as a person.

 

 Embrace change as a constant in your life to unlock yourself

I want to share YOUR stories.

If you have experienced any ‘Aha!’ moments where you realized you want to align your life with who you really are, I want to hear about them and share!

All I need from you is:

1) A written 300-700 word personal story
2) A photo of yourself, or something that represents your story (this is optional)
3) A link to your blog/website (if you have one)
4) Email the info to lessoftheexcess at gmail dot com

Take care and see you soon!