“Purity and simplicity are the two wings with which man soars above the earth and all temporary nature.” —Thomas à Kempis
Simplifying your life will bring 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 simplify life to focus on the essentials?”
Once we’re able to answer that, we will understand what is important in our own lives.
How to Simplify Your Life
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:
1. 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 declutter the non-essential possessions from your life, you will never regret it. For more inspiration, consider Simplify: 7 Guiding Principles to Help Anyone Declutter Their Home and Life.
2. 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.
3. Your Goals – Reduce the number of goals you are 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 three most important. Focus there.
4. 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.
5. Your Debt – If
Find the help that you need and learn how to get out of debt. Sacrifice luxury today to enjoy freedom tomorrow.
6. Your Words – Use fewer words. Keep your speech plain and honest. Mean what you say. Avoid gossip.
7. 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.
8. Your Screen Time – Focusing your attention on television, movies, video games, and technology addiction 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.
9. Your Connections to the World – Relationships with others are good, but constant streams of distraction are bad. Learn when to power off the phone, log off social media, 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.
10. 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.
Simplifying your life is a core aspect of minimalism. To learn more about this lifestyle, visit this primer on minimalism.
Rose says
I decided a couple months ago to begin this process. What I didn’t expect was the major internal struggles it would bring up. I’m realizing now, that my attachments to stuff don’t have anything to do with the objects themselves but they have to do with me! I’m still in the midst of it. For me, it’s a slow process.
katesh says
ya good advice but make it more simpler simpler for real life
Yan says
One of the best posts so far. I will share broadly. Thank you very, very much.
(I’m also pleased to see the return of capital letters. I found their absence very distracting).
Chris Martucci says
Great post. In this age of information overload, it’s sometimes hard to break away from technology. We feel as though logging off of Facebook or Twitter isolates us from the world–we feel “out of the loop.” It’s something I’ve been trying to overcome, and something I occasionally write about on my blog.
In the past couple months, I’ve deleted over half of the people I follow on Twitter, and unfriended several people on Facebook who I seldom talk to. I’ve also deleted most of my photos. It was rather refreshing.
AAdi says
These points really gives a different angle to look at things in day to day life and also enlightens one inner souls to do right things in right way.
Chris says
No 6 You mean fewer words, not less words. Minimalism is great but lets have some proper grammar ;-)
joshua becker says
Thanks Chris.
Chris says
Sorry I feel sh*tty now for that comment.
joshua becker says
Don’t worry about it. I get nailed for less/fewer more often than I care to admit. And I truly do appreciate the reminder.
pansy17 says
If you can count the items, use fewer. If the items are in bulk, use less. So you would use fewer words, and less water.
Neil W. Aguiar says
Well said Josh! For me, I must constantly be reminded to live a fully balanced life with God leading and empowering all the areas of my life at all times. At a minimum, I eat (and pray), work (and pray), sleep (and pray), hope (and pray)… and after that, there is much more. There’s a not-so-hidden theme here that I believe is the key to a balanced life. Without it, we can easily become unknowingly lost in the chaos or complacency of our lives.
Dulcie says
I find these points very helpful and inspiring. Thank you.
Micky says
Excellent advice. sometimes easier said than done but I am attempting to follow each and every step! Wish me luck and perseverance.
Carole Jeffers says
It is important to keep in your possession certain art objects that make your heart sing, either from dear memories or their sheer visual beauty. The issue is how and when to pare down these objects.
I have been downsizing for years. Retired and moving about and loving it, I have discarded books, furniture and clothing easily. What was harder was figuring out how to dispose of those wonderful items I purchased while traveling abroad. I decided to keep one thing from each journey and to donate other treasures to a church or local school that was having a fund raising auction. I write a note indicating where and how it was acquired. A less traveled person has a chance to enjoy the item(s).
di says
Great idea!