SEVEN STEPS TO SIMPLICITY. Easy Ways To Calm Life's Chaos
SEVEN STEPS TO SIMPLICITY Easy Ways To Calm Life's Chaos
We are born simple beings. As we grow, we attract more and more
"stuff" and chaos into our lives. In order to get back to a
level of simplicity as an adult, you must actively choose it and
make changes to achieve it. Here are seven ways to create
simplicity in your life:
1. Identify what is causing chaos in your life. 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. 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!
3. 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!
4. 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 tradtion that causes you stress, one way to lessen
it is to have a policy that you will abide by. You get to decide
what that policy will be. It may be no gifts for anyone,
yourself included, Pollyanna name trading, gifts only for
children under 16, 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. 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 that will
fit your face and hair type and will still be easy to live with.
6. 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 all takes up physical and mental space.
Everything you own also owns a 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.
7. 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 have more time for
the ones you do enjoy.