I think of September and October as the lull before the holiday storm! I start preparing mentally, emotionally, and even financially for the upcoming holiday whirlwind by simplifying my life now! Have you noticed the Christmas displays already popping up in the stores?!? Crazy! I tend to believe that I have already simplified my life in many respects, but with the holidays right around the corner – I fortify my sense of well-being by walking down the path to living a simpler life and checking in with my own self.
If you have ever experienced times when you felt overwhelmed, stressed out, and caught in an overly complicated life, it’s time to simplify. Many of us have those feelings from time-to-time. Sometimes even more often! Know that you are not alone. Because of this, a movement toward simpler living is growing, and you can start on it today!
Living simply means different things to different people. How your neighbor across the street decides to simplify her life may be far different than how you would choose to make such a change. And it doesn’t necessarily mean giving up your job or your car, or choosing to live in an cottage in the woods.
Although you may decide you want to do some of those things, none of them are necessary for you to live a simpler life.
This process is a journey, not something you can do all at once. You can simplify your life with one small change at a time. These suggestions may lead you down the path to living more simply.
The Path to Living a Simpler Life
Examine the situations and people that bring stress to your life. Make a list of these. Also include anything that leaves you feeling overwhelmed or trapped.
- Consider how you might eliminate involvement in these circumstances or with these people.
- Can you follow through with disengagement from these stressful situations and individuals? If possible, select the one that you can most easily disconnect from and begin taking steps to do so.
- Focus on reducing one stressor at a time. It isn’t realistic to think you can do away with all of them at once.
Next, think about how you spend your money. Do you make unnecessary purchases? Review your bank account debits to see where the bulk of your funds are going.
- One fairly easy way to live a simpler life is to reduce spending on unnecessary expenditures. Focus on streamlining your expenses to decrease unwanted stressors.
Pare down the amount of “stuff” you’ve accumulated. Many people collect a huge amount of belongings.
- Consider this: The more stuff you have, the more time you must spend cleaning and taking care of your belongings. Not to mention the space in your home it takes to store it all, or concerns you have that someone might break or even take your stuff!
- If you haven’t looked in those boxes in the garage for 5 or 10 years, you can probably disconnect from the items in them without much distress.
Begin spending more time outdoors. This one is my favorite! Returning to nature offers time and opportunity for reflection on your life and feelings.
Explore what makes you happiest. What brings you real joy? Maybe spending time with your children or your nieces and nephews is special for you. Perhaps you want to revive a favorite hobby you love.
Regard your time as if it was pure gold. What do you do with most of your time? With whom do you spend the bulk of your life? Are you okay with that?
- Make a decision to spend your precious time doing enjoyable activities. If you do them with others, ensure they’re people you care about and really want to be around.
Strengthen your relationships with those you love. Protect your cherished connections to others.
Contemplate your eating habits. The food you eat and your nutritional habits are central to your existence. Adopting a plant-rich diet has simplified my life and has hugely improved my health numbers.
Examine your level of physical activity. A closely connected habit to food intake is exercise.
- If you find yourself feeling disconnected from your body and its importance in your life, try to do some physical activity each day. Talk to your doctor before starting an exercise program to ensure it’s right for you. Even just walking for twenty minutes a day can bring you great peace of mind.
- To get started, lace up your walking shoes, walkout your door for 10 minutes, turn around and walk back home. All the better if you have a playlist to listen to and enjoy.
The path to living a simpler life is connected to returning to your true self. To find inspiration in beginning your own journey, review the above suggestions. Only you can decide your path toward living a simpler life, and you can begin today!
Sometimes we really don’t even know where to start, because we don’t have a clear vision of what we want our life to look like. If you are uncertain of your own vision of life, or not sure how what it is that you really want to achieve, then please check out my course Gaining Clarity. This course will help you uncover your true aspirations and return to your true self.
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