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Ten steps to simplify your life

Our lives are too complicated.  Thoreau tells us “As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.”  We need to find strategies that help us to simplify and here are ten from this …
By Seth Barnes

Our lives are
too complicated.  Thoreau tells us “As
you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will
not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.”  We need to find strategies that help us to
simplify and here are ten from this site:

I. You shall find work that is fun.

Nothing complicates your life more than forcing yourself to go to work every
morning when your heart tells you that you should be doing something else. To
live is to grow and change, and nowhere is that more evident these days than in
the world of work. So find work that is fun and uses your natural gifts. Wise
people spend their days on pursuits that engage the fullness of their natural
strengths. In doing so, they always meet with success.

II. You shall laugh on a daily basis.

Laughter is very powerful medicine. It can lower stress, dissolve anger and
unite families in their resolve to overcome troubled times. It will renew your
perspective and rekindle the childlike enthusiasm that you may have lost. Most
of us are too busy to laugh and too serious to smile. We have become caught up
in our own sense of importance. We have forgotten to nourish the child within
all of us who is just waiting to get out and have some fun. Never forget that
children come to us more highly evolved than adults to teach us the lessons we
need to learn. Study children. Learn from their natural wisdom. They will
remind you that if you haven’t laughed today, you haven’t lived today.

III. You shall sell the box sitting in your living room.

Although it has the power to do good, television is eating up your free
time. And do you really have anything to show for all that time you have given
to the box sitting in your living room? When you deeply reflect on all the
hours, days, weeks and months you have given to your television, has it done
anything to raise the quality of your life? While TV has some excellent
programs, don’t be a slave to it. The average American watches 3-4 hours of TV
per day. Don’t lose the best years of your life spending every evening on the
couch.

IV. You shall break your addiction to the news and go on a
“news fast.”

News is predominantly negative. And one of the universal laws of the mind
says that “as you sow, so shall you reap.” What goes into your mind
determines what comes out. So break your addiction to the news. All those
killings, all that violence and the calamity do nothing to add to your inner
peace. If you want a simpler way of life, spend the next seven days away from
the news. Read some great books or listen to some good music instead.

V. You shall get in the habit of taking daily “silence
breaks.”

Slow down. Silence is golden. In this crazy age we live in, the average
person doesn’t spend even an hour a month in silence. Yet silence renews us, it
relaxes us, and it allows us to reflect on how we are living and make necessary
corrections before it is too late. Try spending 30 minutes a day in silence and
solitude. It will help your mind to relax, so you can shift from the
work-and-spend treadmill and focus on what’s most important to you.

VI. You shall clean up your act.

We all collect “stuff” along the way – it is inevitable. So try
spending some of your time going through a closet, a shelf, a drawer, and
getting rid of anything you don’t need or cherish. What’s exciting is that once
you start on these surface areas, weeding that out, the skills and mindset
carry over to more complex areas like your work and relationships.

VII. You shall turn off your technology.

Are you feeling the stresses and strains of modern life? Turn off your cell
phone in the evening, answer email once a day instead of constantly throughout
the day, or put down your laptop computer for an afternoon. Let yourself be
unconnected to the rest of the world for a little while and relish in the freedom
that creates.

VIII. You shall be spontaneous.

Routine is good to a certain extent, but sometimes you just need to break
free and do something different. Let yourself be spontaneous, choosing what to
do and how to do it based on your own wishes rather than someone else’s wishes.
You’ll feel more in control, have more energy, and lift your spirits
immediately.

IX. You shall set a bedtime and stick to it.

Chronic lack of rest affects every aspect of life, from the amount of energy
you have to your performance at work or in school. Simplify your life by
setting a bedtime and sticking to it. Get in the habit of going to bed early
and you will transform your life.

X. You shall learn what is “enough.”

Many of us are turned off by ideas like simplifying or frugalizing our
lives, but it’s really about transforming your life in a conscious and
deliberate manner. It is about determining what is enough in your life, so you
can do more with less. Keep that in mind.

Remember what separates the peak performers from the weak performers: the
first group says “no” to anything that is not important while the
second group says “yes” to everything. Live a simpler way of life.

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