“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.
Tripti Singh says
Ya sir ur right
Chinmaya Karve says
Its strange how you start feeling fearful when you have to let go of materialistic things that you worked hard to possess. Even when you know you dont need them, its so hard to get go of them.
How to overcome this feeling ? This is the single most reason why I have just been thinking about minimalism and not being able to adopt it…
Millie says
Yes, I have done very big decluttering sessions and found them very emotional, even painful. But, once you’re done, the feeling of freedom is very light and exhilarating and feels so good that it quickly makes up for the stressful emotions. You will find that once you make space in your life, exciting new things can come in.
Lately people are talking a lot about starting very small. Set up a box and commit to put just one item per day in it that you want to get rid of. That’s a much easier way to start. Once you get started, you may find your life simpler and happier, and that will inspire you to keep going, or even do a big decluttering.
I have started from almost nothing four times in my life and can assure you not to worry because all that stuff seems to come back way faster than you want it to, if you’re not vigilant.
Suresraj Therambarajoo says
Wonderful write-up. Kudos!
DC says
Was surprised to see Multi-tasking on your list. Ironically I’d begun to restrict / reduce multi-taking feeling distracted, overwhelmed & disproportionate energy being expended vs. outcome.
There are documented benefits from focus. The next task or priority may have to wait but likely be done better. Today’s challenge is managing people’s expectations in the here & now world around us.
Thasni says
Thank you
jacklinross says
my daughter been a minimlist for over a year and loves it…feels lighter and happier
for me I do some things but not all…
Ellen says
I can relate to your daughter. After I started selling my stuff on Facebook, and saw the first item leave my house. It was like a lightening switch turned on in my head. The more stuff that left the more room for us, and our special memories/stuff. I felt so light and happy. So I kept on selling. Then in 2017 I started watching and reading Marie kondo, and now this guy is the best. I feel happier, lighter, more together for having lesser stuff, and ofcorse alittle extra in life.
Nicole says
This is true value. Thank you.
Gayane says
Amazing!!!Life is too short , thank a lot
Daniel says
Amazing ! Actually life is too much fun but I never use my negative thought with all the thing by the way I have to consider about that and keep going on that way of positive , not mean life is easy but it’s not too hard either base on our action and our plan as commit to achieve the goal,
However I’m really appreciate thanks for your sharing the 10 most important thing , noted with so many thanks !!!!!
Lauren says
I have read this post several times, in fact I have it bookmarked. I am just starting my journey to a simpler life but I can’t even explain how free I feel already. I used to multi-task all the time because I thought it was the only way to stay ahead of things, but it is SO mentally taxing. I used to literally feel guilty if I walked from one room to the next without remembering to grab an item that needed to be put away. I viewed that as a waste of time. And I couldn’t figure out why I was always tired! I thought I had a medical problem. Anyway, this post has been a huge help in my life and inspired me to start my own blog, http://www.puravidamomma.com, about my journey to a simpler life. Thank you!