LESS REALLY IS MORE. Ten Tips To A Simpler Life
?Less Is More? 10 Tips To A Simpler Life
You were born a simple being. You came into this world with
nothing, but as you grew, you began to attract more "stuff" and
chaos into your life. However, there is hope for you! You can
get back to a simpler life as an adult but you must actively
choose simplicity and make changes to achieve it. Here are ten
ways to create simplicity in your life:
1. Identify what is causing chaos in your life. Is it too many
activities, too many "voluntary obligations," too many
priorities, too much debt, toxic relationships, too much clutter
in your home or workplace...all these things can be raising your
chaos level. The first step is to identify what is adding chaos,
and is NOT adding a significant amount of joy, happiness or
value to your life.
2. Scale down your possessions. Every single thing you own, from
your three toothbrushes to the four winter coats to the
shoeboxes you're saving "just in case" takes something from you.
It costs you time and energy out of your life because it all has
to be maintained, stored, cleaned, moved or sorted through at
some point. Plus, it takes up physical and mental space.
Everything you own also owns a little piece of you, so now is
the time to start parting with all those things that don't bring
you joy or value. You will be giving yourself the gift of more
energy and space and if you donate your used possessions to
charitable organizations, you?ll be helping those who truly are
in need.
3. Shop wisely. Remember that everything you bring into your
home takes energy and space. Evaluate carefully while you?re at
the store what you?re buying and why. Visualize yourself
bringing it home, finding a place to keep it, maintaining it,
and then selling it off at a garage sale in a few years for a
fraction of what you paid for it. If you still want it, and can
think of a real use for it, it?s probably a valid purchase.
4. Turn off the television. The average American watches in
excess of 20 hours of television per week. With this in mind,
turn off the T.V. one night a week to have quiet time to
yourself or with your family. Don't worry...the news will
continue to happen even if you're not watching it!
5. Cut your hair. Sound silly? How much time, effort and
aggravation is it to deal with your hair every day? If your hair
is high maintenance, consider a new style that will take less
time and effort. Any stylist worth his salt will be able to give
you a hair design which will fit your face and hair type and
will still be easy to live with. 6. Evaluate your time
commitments. Look at how much time and energy you're spending on
activities, organizations, clubs, social groups, etc. Really
evaluate how much value or joy they give you in relation to what
you invest. If you find that some have outlived their benefit or
aren't making you happy anymore, just stop spending your time
there. You'll then have more time for the ones you do enjoy.
7. Take a stand at the holidays. I know people who dread the
holidays because of the tremendous stress involved. If it's the
gift-giving tradition that causes you stress, one way to help is
to have a policy that you will abide by. The best part is, you
get to decide what that policy will be. It may be no gifts for
anyone, yourself included, Pollyanna name trading, buying gifts
for needy children instead of each other, a spending limit per
person, or whatever you come up with which will work for you.
Whatever you decide, let your friends and family know well in
advance of the holidays and tell them that you'll be sticking to
it. They may not believe it at first, but you will reap the
rewards when you find yourself enjoying the holiday season again.
8. Stop getting junk mail and phone calls. Write the Direct
Marketing Association and have your name removed from junk mail
and phone lists. It only takes a few minutes but makes a marked
difference in the amount of unsolicited junk you get. You can
find the forms to contact the DMA at
http://www.catalystorganizing.com or call them directly at
212.768.7277.
9. Stop spending time with toxic people. This is a tough one,
but well worth it. Refuse to spend your precious time and energy
on those constantly negative people in your life. Life is short.
Spend it with those who love, support, encourage and inspire you!
10. Ask for help. Despite your efforts to simplify, things are
bound to get crazy sometimes. When that happens, just ask for
help. It?s so easy, and the people in your life do want to help.
It makes them feel needed and valued.
Simplifying your life is not about self-deprivation or living in
poverty. To the contrary, it is about consciously choosing to be
satisfied with less.
It?s about eliminating those things that are taking up your
time, space and energy and giving you little in return. When you
simplify, you free up a great deal of energy to enjoy your life
more. Try these tips and see if you don?t experience it for
yourself!