More Low-Pressure Lifestyles - The Macon Telegraph and News article about Niki Collins-Queen
Many people are opting to settle into a more low-pressure lifestyles
Sunday, June 15, 1995
by Lance Wallace
Niki Collins was prompted to make the lifestyle change because she wanted more out of life and because she suffered several personal problems, including a bad relationship. Collins worked for the state for 13 years as a licensed professional counselor. Her supervisor was given a job in another division, and he recommended her to replace him in administration.
She took the job on an interim basis. After eight months she learned she wanted to work less, not more. "It gave me an opportunity to experience what it's like in administration and how demanding it is," she said. "I knew I had to change."
A growing number of Americans are forsaking the traditional capitalist work ethic in exchange for more free time, less stress and pursuit of esoteric interests. This shift from high gear to low, if not reverse, has been called "downshifting" or "exit strategies" in the corporate world, but an increasing number of people are subscribing to a philosophy known as "voluntary simplicity."
In a Gallup poll taken in July, 1994, one-third of Americans said they would take a 20 percent cut in income if they or their spouses could work fewer hours.
Government labor statistics cited in a May Esquire magazine article about people taking early retirement showed less than 70 per cent of American men in their prime working years (early 2Os to early 60s) are full-time, year-round workers.
People are beginning to play life by a new set of rules. Sailing away
Then one day Collins put an ad in "Cruising World" magazine for offshore sailing experience and went sailing for five months.
She was making $29,000 a year when she left for her adventures in the Caribbean and didn't work for twelve months. When she went back to work she started counseling again on a part-time basis. She now earns $12,000 a year.
"You can unplug," said Collins, who owns her own home in Lake Wildwood. "When you live this kind of life you really need to know where the money is going."
Collins said in modern society, self-worth and identity is tied into our occupation.
When she got back to Macon from sailing, she had a serious identity crisis. She had to discover who the real Niki Collins was, not just Niki Collins the counselor.
"What was my self-worth based on?" she said. "In today's society our worth is tied up with how much money we earn. I still get a pang every now and then when I think I could be making a lot of money.
When Collins gets those feelings, she is inspired by the example of a woman who called herself "Peace Pilgrim." Peace Pilgrim died in 1981 after a lifetime of walking across the country with no possessions, spreading the message of "over-come evil with good."
Collins is particularly fond of a portion of Peace Pilgrim's autobiography that reads, "In my early life I made two very important discoveries. In the first place I discovered that making money was easy. And in the second place I discovered that making money and spending it foolishly was completely meaningless.
There is a great freedom in simplicity of living, and after I began to feel this, I found a harmony in my life between inner and outer well being." Less is more
Living simply has its own built-in rewards. Collins said she gets satisfaction out of being frugal. The first step in the process is to eliminate debt. The biggest source of debt is a mortgage, so nearly everyone who quits working full time, first saves enough to payoff their home.
She faced the common hurdle to simplifying her life—fear.
Also, voluntary simplicity doesn't mean never working again. Collins works two to three days a week counseling. She has found a neighborhood health center that offers standard medical treatment at very low cost. She can get a routine check-up for $19. She's just as frugal when it comes to dental hygiene and her hair. She gets her teeth cleaned for $7 at the Macon College dental hygienist school and gets her hair cut at a beauty school.
"I have a family legacy of frugality," Collins said. "When you start thinking 'voluntary simplicity,' it's like you have an antenna to find these kind of bargains out. "
The list of consumer tips and do-it-yourself hints are endless when you're in the company of the voluntary simple. There are entire newsletters like' the "Tightwad Gazette" out of Leeds, Maine, dedicated to such helpful tidbits.
For people like Collins and an increasing number of others, voluntary simplicity frees them to be the people the corporate world stymied. Collins spends as much time outdoors as she can. Interests that would not have been possible if they were still in the rat race. Still, adhering to a simple life isn't always easy.
"I don't feel like I've got this licked," said Collins. "I love mail order catalogs. I get very materialistic when it comes to outdoor equipment. I'm just grateful my tastes don't run higher. It's an ongoing struggle to live in moderation. "
Once walked, the path of the Inner Compass leaves everyone transformed. Uncover a future with unlimited leadership possibilities. Master your ego
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