“Purity and simplicity are the two wings with which man soars above the earth and all temporary nature.” – Thomas Kempis
Simplicity brings balance, freedom, and joy. When we begin to live simply and experience these benefits, we begin to ask the next question, “Where else in my life can i remove distraction and simply focus on the essential?”
Based on our personal journey, our conversations, and our observations, here is a list of the 10 most important things to simplify in your life today to begin living a more balanced, joyful lifestyle:
- Your Possessions - Too many material possessions complicate our lives to a greater degree than we ever give them credit. They drain our bank account, our energy, and our attention. They keep us from the ones we love and from living a life based on our values. If you will invest the time to remove nonessential possessions from your life, you will never regret it. For further reading on this, consider Simplify: 7 Guiding Principles to Help Anyone Declutter Their Home and Life.
- Your Time Commitments – Most of us have filled our days full from beginning to end with time commitments: work, home, kid’s activities, community events, religious endeavors, hobbies… the list goes on. When possible, release yourself from the time commitments that are not in line with your greatest values.
- Your Goals – Reduce the number of goals you are intentionally striving for in your life to one or two. By reducing the number of goals that you are striving to accomplish, you will improve your focus and your success rate. Make a list of the things that you want to accomplish in your life and choose the two most important. When you finish one, add another from your list.
- Your Negative Thoughts – Most negative emotions are completely useless. Resentment, bitterness, hate, and jealousy have never improved the quality of life for a single human being. Take responsibility for your mind. Forgive past hurts and replace negative thoughts with positive ones.
- Your Debt – If debt is holding you captive, reduce it. Start today. Do what you’ve got to do to get out from under its weight. Find the help that you need. Sacrifice luxury today to enjoy freedom tomorrow.
- Your Words – Use fewer words. Keep your speech plain and honest. Mean what you say. Avoid gossip.
- Your Artificial Ingredients – Avoid trans fats, refined grain (white bread), high-fructose corn syrup, and too much sodium. Minimizing these ingredients will improve your energy level in the short-term and your health in the long-term. Also, as much as possible, reduce your consumption of over-the-counter medicine – allow your body to heal itself naturally as opposed to building a dependency on substances.
- Your Screen Time – Focusing your attention on television, movies, video games, and technology affects your life more than you think. Media rearranges your values. It begins to dominate your life. And it has a profound impact on your attitude and outlook. Unfortunately, when you live in that world on a consistent basis, you don’t even notice how it is impacting you. The only way to fully appreciate its influence in your life is to turn them off.
- Your Connections to the World - Relationships with others are good, but constant streams of distraction are bad. Learn when to power off the blackberry, log off facebook, or not read a text. Focus on the important, not the urgent. A steady flow of distractions from other people may make us feel important, needed, or wanted, but feeling important and accomplishing importance are completely different things.
- Your Multi-Tasking - Research indicates that multi-tasking increases stress and lowers productivity. while single-tasking is becoming a lost art, learn it. Handle one task at a time. Do it well. And when it is complete, move to the next.
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Sometimes, people get confused and intimidated when reading a list such as this one. They can read it, and honestly appreciate all that it has to say, but when it comes to implementing it into their lives, it can seem overwhelming. Often doing one thing at a time can confuse the minds of our modern ‘multi-taskers’. So, here I will offer my opinion on a shortcut, something that might automatically help one reach inner peace and wellness. Try to find love in the world in places that exist outside of your friends and family. Acquire a pet for example. If you truly love your pet, the responsibility of properly caring for the pet will automatically translate into the responsibility you take for yourself. For example diet. If you love your pet, you will feed them the most perfect diet, regardless of what they might ‘want’, you provide what is best. This is something that you might just start doing for yourself as a result. The same goes for exercise, and discipline. Sometimes it takes something like ‘a pet’, to show us that we still are capable of this all-encompassing feeling of LOVE. I’m sure there are many more ways to find love, but this example came to my mind first. Every human, and every animal, require proper love and care. It is my opinion that if you take responsibility for the world around you, mother nature, your family, your food, your occupation, your hobbies, your children, your pets, then simply loving these things will provide the foundation for a unique balance, one where every event that happens in your day, seems to have an obvious purpose, and you start to see why loving the universe, and all that comes with it, is the most important thing in life. We are the ones who must love and care for ourselves, and if you love yourself, then this list of ten, seems more like an obvious afterthought.
I really love the comment that you left here. It is just so true, that our first response when reading a long list like this is, ‘I don’t have time’. Life is so busy and filled with so many wonderful things that adding one more item to it seems overwhelming. But taking it one at a time, and being grateful for every little thing you can do is the key. Thank you for such an insightful comment.
I agree with your comment Stanley K.
In the past my husband and I have committed to have a lifestyle which allows us to be without debt. Periodically over the last few years we’ve re-evaluated our needs and given away some of our possessions.
But as I read this today it hit me that I need to focus on #8 above and start some lifestyle changes in this area.
Among those 10 rules he mentions jealousy as a negative emotion, and says nothing positive comes out of it. I would argue, as a Dr. of Applied Human Behavior, jealousy is an instinct we have to which people should listen. If one finds themselves in a relationship with someone who consistently makes them jealous to an unhealthy level, one should end that relationship, immediately! This actually turns jealousy into something which, in the end, turns out positive. If you care about the person you’re dating, or is your S.O., there are situations which SHOULD make you jealous, and if you’re not getting jealous, then it’s time to move on from that relationship. Jealousy is nature’s way of telling you to leave a relationship. If the person who makes you jealous doesn’t care about your jealousy, or calls you “too jealous,” then listen to your body, and leave that relationship. It’s hard to see that as a positive while you’re involved in it, but I guarantee LOTS AND LOTS of good things come as a result of jealousy–the main one being you’ll find someone who will love you the way you deserve to be loved, and not someone who emotionally abuses you. Bottom line, jealousy is far from some useless emotion which leads only to bad things. A healthy level of jealousy is a good sign–it means your partner views you as something valuable. The two negative forms of jealousy are 1) a complete absence of it–which means you’re either in a relationship where you don’t care if the person stays or leaves, or you think SOOO much of yourself, you don’t think anyone could want anything but you, or IOW, delusional levels of arrogance. If you spot this in a partner, leave immediately. 2) Someone who is OVERLY jealous–they feel the need to possess you and can’t handle it if someone else shows them you ARE desired by others. The correct response if either of the the two forms of unhealthy jealousy are felt (or not felt) by your partner would be to leave that relationship immediately. Jealousy is NOT a negative emotion. Jealousy is nature’s warning shot across your bow. The right way to respond to a healthy level of jealousy is to reassure your partner. The right way to respond to any other level of jealousy is to leave IMMEDIATELY!
I don’t think there is any real level of jealousy that is productive, jealousy shows a lack of confidence to a point, it is one thing if your partner is spending time with other people inappropriately, but outside of that it has no use. I had an ex that was jealous if I spent time with anyone else but her. She got mad if I spent time with my family though she was always invited (and yes I made it abundantly clear she was wanted and invited), or with friends (even though she was invited), or if I needed time to myself. Sorry but that is not healthy in any sort of way. Though I do think he was talking more of a jealousy of other people’s possessions or their lifestyle or wealth.
rock on, Korey V.
Art – you contradict yourself, dude. In one line, you say jealousy is nature’s way of telling you to leave a relationship, but in the preceding line you say that if you’re not getting jealous then you need to move on from the relationship. Sounds like you’re a jealous person and you’re trying to validate that characteristic of yourself.
I agree w/post. Jealousy totally sucks and is a distraction from one’s true values.
hello
I had decided that had to tackle this list a small bit at a time. I can tackle it one by one.
My elephant in the room will be my debt. I know what I have to do, I just have to take a leap and do it.
It is what is holding me back.
@Lynne,
When I read your comment I truly wished that you could set yourself free from the debt you are in. I wish you the best in your efforts to make your life easier.
Roderick,
Thank you so much for your words. The debt is a black cloud; I could have everything on this list done and the debt would keep me in a cage , I still would not be free.
I know what I have to do.
Lynne, keep going. You’ll do it. Stay strong and remember that sometimes we have to really change behaviors and social practices to get out of debt, and you might to ask your family and friends for patience. Hang in there. You will be free.
If you look at this list from a more meditative standpoint, you’ll understand and you’ll also realize that the list is not meant to be accomplished in a day, a week or even a month. I think it’s a lifetime commitment…Also, I believe the author is speaking of jealousy from more of a materialistic angle. In my opinion, at no point in anyone’s life does jealousy bring anything positive; not even in relationships…however, if we’re talking about envy and inspiration, then that’s different and can generally have positive effects.
Lily,
I made that same mistake early on, I thought once I started then poof! A week later I am done.. It was not until I read this and a few other writings I realized I had just started.
Funny….this is how my grandmother lived, as did many people in days gone by. A shame that our society needs direction on simplifying their lives, but it is, indeed, a real issue with many. Simplicity=quality.
http://thesimplehedonist.blogspot.com/
A great post J.B!
It’s easy to why this has become the most popular blog on your site (It sums it all up perfectly). If only you could photocopy, e-mail, blog or text it to the entire modern, consumerism-driven western world, then we may begin to really see the change that is so needed in our society. A change to a world where we care less about the labels that we wear and the cars we drive to one where we care about more about the neighbours we live next to, the time we spend with the ones we love and the world in which we inhabit. J.B for president? ;-)
If you would like to read my weekly essays about inspiring others to live a simple, debt-free life of minimalism then please check out my website, http://www.thedebtfreeminimalst.com.
My latest blogs include:
Is the iPhone such a smart phone?
A tale of opportunity cost (and the effects of compound interest)
I don’t need much!
Are you a clutterist? Take the 5-a-day challenge (and i’m not talking fruit!)
Splendid
it is true but it is depend opon the situation . iif u are right than no one can ,t wrong you.
I want to joint to say something that is on mind
In 2003 I had to move in with friends who needed my help-one paralyzed, the other wad dying. I became a true minimalist as I through everything from my apartment into the yard–sofa, furniture, books, videos, clocks,-EVERYTHING except my basics to life since I would now have a tiny bedroom as my home. I slept on an Asian futon that folded up into the closet. I had a tiny Japanese table as I sat on the floor. I LOVED THIS NEW, FREE, UNBURDENED, LIFE!!! Then it was time to move out to a one bedroom apt. At first I had next to nothing and LOVED IT! Eight years later I’m living in an ocean of JUNK, POSSESSIONS UNLIMITED! I’M MISERABLE! I want my minimalist life back again!! I’ve started by eliminating TV. Putting “free” stuff on the sidewalk for anyone who wants my “thrift store” collection of stuff that is even all over the floor! I was happier, healthier, more social, cleaner when I was a complete minimalist! I will be happier soon enough as I did in 2003–get all this mess out and live FREE!
its awsome
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