Lost? Find yourself with the Holstee Manifesto.

Before I even knew what was wrong, I knew how to fix it.

I had to make a change, a big change.

As far as I could tell I had everything, and nothing to complain about. Reliable employment, a coveted corner office, a loving boyfriend and supportive family, my good health.

I was living in the most beautiful town in the US, and I was (somewhat) financially secure…the list goes on. Fellow Americans, these days, are wondering where they’ll get their next meal…and I’m pondering personal happiness. Call my discontent pathetic, but it was ruining my life.

My life was empty, somehow. No peers challenged me or my beliefs. My community rarely inspired me, and my ambition was stagnant. Work felt unimportant, pointless. Just about every day, I woke up to the screaming question, What are you doing with your life?

My internal compass pointed toward change. And lots of it. So, finally, eventually, I quit my job, broke up with my boyfriend, and got out of town. Almost instantly, and surprisingly, clarity came. As it turns out, I was living my life by the Holstee Manifesto before I even knew it existed. I haphazardly stumbled upon this graphic one day while surfing the web.

While I was in the thick of making change (otherwise known as disrupting and destroying my life), shoulder-deep in judgment from the people in my world, and bailing buckets of tears trying to stay afloat, this credo brought reassurance. Despite everything, I knew I was right, and carrying out my plan was somehow instinctive. When I read the manifesto for the first time, my whirling world slowed—its words affirmed me, and the flat-out changes I’d made.

I couldn’t help but smile at its simplicity.

Therein lies the power. I love this progression of words because they simplify a prescription for happiness, without oversimplifying it.

“If you don’t like something, change it.”

It’s plain and simple, yet so difficult in practice. The message inspires me to never settle, and it reminds me that happiness is a choice.

Now, the Holstee graphic adorns my Mac desktop, prompting me to “wear my passion.” So I am. After all, what’s the point if you’re not?

“Life is about the people you meet, and the things you create with them. So go out and start creating.”

You can visit the Holstee site here to learn more about how the manifesto was born and to get excited about their sustainably made, socially conscious products.

~

Nicole spends her free time in the outdoors via kayak, ski, bike, trail, rope, rock, water and mountain. Although a writer and editor by trade, she ventured out as a sea kayak guide in Alaska, and most recently ski-bummed in Telluride, CO. When she’s not plotting her next big adventure you’ll find her with a Colorado microbrew in hand, a good read or with friends. Nicole has zero tolerance for to-go cups, pickles and complainers, and she challenges you with the question:
“How intensely do you wish to exist?”

~

From the folks at Holstee, good people all: “We just launched the Holstee Manifesto in poster format, after it has been posted over 60,000 times over the internet. In good Holstee tradition it is printed on 100% recycled post-consumer paper that was made with hydro power.”

 

Update: Now, with Video:

Like elephant journal on Facebook.