Getting Peace of Mind by Making Tough Decisions

I have always loved being near the water. I was born and raised in Mombasa, Kenya, a large port city on the Indian Ocean. Later I went to London for university, and then lived in Vancouver—another port city by another ocean. So you can see how the move to the Arizona desert was quite an adjustment for me.

That's why in 2010, when I came across a great deal on a second home in Laguna Beach, Cali., I jumped at it. It was a beautiful beachfront property with spectacular ocean views and I fell in love with it quickly. I took every opportunity I could to go there and relax by the water. It felt like it nourished an important part of me.

Then the reality set in. After a while I came to realize that the beach home was becoming a source of internal conflict as much as relaxation. My family, friends and business are all in Scottsdale and often when I was there by the water, as beautiful as it was, I was feeling disconnected from other very important parts of my life. When I was home in Scottsdale and found myself staying in town for more and more weekends to attend to obligations, I would feel the pull of the home in Laguna and worry that I wasn't using it enough to justify the expense. I also realized that I did not travel on vacations much anymore, as it made more economic sense to go to the home in California, and I missed the sense of adventure that comes with travel.

So I sold the home. It was a tough decision because I still loved the place—I was practically heartbroken to give it up—but that was an emotional reaction and decisions like this should not be made just on emotions. The reason I bought the home in the first place is I let my heart make the decision before thinking through all the factors involved.

Now, as I concentrate on my life here in Scottsdale and enjoy my trips to different locations for relaxation and scuba diving, it has become obvious to me that I made the right decision in letting that house go. I feel more centered; my life is simpler and more focused.

Sometimes in life we need to take stock with a clear objective eye and identify the things that are crowding us, causing conflicts, or holding us back. We need to find ways to resolve those conflicts and simplify wherever possible, and it doesn't necessarily have to be tangible things, either. Sometimes we hold on to ideas or ways of doing things long after their usefulness has expired. But every time you shed yourself of anything that is outdated or that needlessly complicates your life, you take another step toward freeing more of your mind to enjoy and pursue what really matters.