Living simple is a sign that we finally escaped the clutter, resisted the temptation of so many things around us, refined our life to the point where we can say that we have evolved.
Living simple we tend to enjoy the moment more, and therefore indeed lead a happier and healthier life.
Simplicity then, is not something to be ashamed off, but rather an achievement.
But as time progresses we find that it’s harder to simplify things on daily basis, yet alone done it on the long run.
We are constantly being preoccupied by so many different things that easily get our attention, multitask all the time, being not here nor there. This ruins our quality of life to an extent.
We never focus on the moment, therefore letting life drift away, as we sit there not paying attention to the important things.
Here are some ways to change that mindset, avoid the clutter, and live simple while enjoying life:
1. Stop being dependent on so many things
Even though this seems like an impossible thing to do, it can be achieved by trying one step at a time.
As time passes we will come to realize that we are being too dependent on technology, on objects we possess, on many other things to be quite frank.
Rendering ourselves from these things, will indeed make our life that much simple, and we will learn to enjoy it more.
Stop spending so much time on social networks, on your smartphone, etc. You are just creating an additional clutter out of nothing. The world will be there even if you don’t check your mail. Oh, and you will be there too.
2. Bring minimalism into your life
Many of the most productive people said that they enjoy minimalistic lifestyles. Keeping things minimal assures in a way that you are holding on only to the things that are most necessary in your life.
No matter whether we are talking about minimalistic interior in your home, or keeping the workplace neat and tidy, you are always one step ahead when productivity is concerned.
Keeping things minimal may also indicate that you are living a healthier life – keep your fridge neat and minimalist and you will eat healthier and avoid all the unnecessary junk food.
I’ve written before about two experimental diets that, if nothing else, bring simplicity into your kitchen. The first is the well known hard boiled egg diet, that is allowing fruits, vegetables, chicken or turkey, but focuses mostly on hard boiled eggs. The second is slightly more controversial, and is a meat only diet, which is somewhat radical for most people. Neither of these diets, when practiced on the short run, is unbearable.
3. Manage your own time and avoid wasting it
This means that you will have to learn how to say no to people. Living simple means not to waste your precious time on trivial matters, so try to carefully select your activities.
4. Stop worrying about what other people think of you
Not only that this will waste your time, but it will for sure hinder improvement in any way, and not let you live your life as you like. Living simple means detaching from this habit, and not occupying your mind with such trivial thoughts.
5. Avoid the people that only know how to bring more clutter into your life
Try to analyze who this can be, and simply start avoiding them. No one deserves to steal your time while creating additional problems for you. Create your circle of people; people to whom you fully open, people whit whom you enjoy spending time.
Life is short, so there is no need of wasting it on someone who is not up to your taste.
6. Limit your information intake in order to live simple
Nowadays we are being bombarded by information. Everywhere we turn, it seems like there is something new for us to learn, to know.
The truth of the matter is that 90% of it is not important to us even a tiny bit. But we never think about it too much, and without giving it a second thought the epilog is quite clear- we consume every information by habit.
Limit your information intake and start living simple by implementing what you already know, while carefully choosing what to digest.
Here is a link to an article that focuses in-depth about that subject:
Too Much Information – Its Impact On Our Lives and How To Deal With it
7. Living simple means getting along with people
If you are the type of person that argues constantly, go against everything and question everything someone else has to say, then you are off by a long shot from living a simple life.
You need to distance yourself from such habits (because believe it or not, they are only habits) and start focusing on things that matter more.
In addition to this you should start being honest and true to people that are close to you, and never have a different face for a different situation.
Creating lies, and distorted views about yourself only leads to getting tangled more and more into them, while ruining the quality of your life, wasting precious time and nerves.
8. Think about ideas rather than anything else
You know the one: “Great people talk about ideas, average people talk about places and events, and small people talk about other people. “
In order to live a fulfilled life we must all get preoccupied with ideas rather than anything else. I try to forget talking and even thinking about other people lives, where they were, what they did. I try to detach from thinking about materialistic stuff all the time, and instead feed my mind with ideas.
You can almost instantly notice something profound in the way people are captivated by an idea; how they nurture it, restlessly work on it, pursue it with all they have.
Obsession then can be easily mistaken with profanity, and we immediately realize what means to limit ourselves to thinking about ideas.
“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or objects. – Albert Einstein”
9. Understand the benefits of living simple
You will be more present in the moment, therefore enjoying it more. Time will certainly be there for you to manage it better, as well as having it more on your hands.
I try to live simple in order to avoid the clutter which to an extent I myself create, and by that be more productive while staying sane and less stressed. You need to find your own goals, and try to meet them by simplifying your life.
10. Simplify life by your own rules
Neither I nor anyone else can tell you what simple means for you. You are the key player in your life, so you decide that for yourself.
Here, I can only guess, if you will, and try to touch a nerve in order to provoke an “aha! moment”. Eventually I may or may not succeed.
You on the other hand will know for sure. Create your own rules in life while trying to keep it simple.
Life is simple by itself; we are the ones adding all the unnecessary fuzz. We try to bend things more and more for the sake of improving them, only to end up realizing that we made them worse.
Things are the way they are, so there is no need in trying to interpret them as something more complex. It’s the same as in the movie “Being There” (highly recommend this title), where simplicity is mistaken by profanity.
The truth is that being simpler really is a way to being more profound. They kinda go side by side.
Image credit: ePi.Longot