5 Ways to Simplify Your Life

March 16, 2016

It seems like we’re always competing with each other: who has the nicer car, the bigger house, or gets the most “likes” on social media. Maybe if I get that job promotion, people will respect me more and I’ll have more money to spend on the things I’ve always wanted, which will ultimately bring me happiness. We often don’t realize that the things we tend to focus on could be harming us and are not serving a positive purpose in our lives. As humans, we tend to overcomplicate our lives, and our egos are usually to blame. Living simply requires more focus on lifestyle and way of being, allowing you to live in the present moment. Here are some ways to simplify your life by removing distractions and concentrating on the essentials.

1. Limit Your Possessions

Owning too many possessions actually complicates our lives more than we realize; they drain our bank accounts, our energy, and take up too much of our attention. They can clutter our homes and our minds. Consider following the rule that for every new item you bring into your house, an old one must be removed.

2. Say Goodbye to Negativity

Dwelling on negative emotions has never improved the quality of life for anybody. Holding on to resentment, bitterness, or jealously is only harming you. Take responsibility for your mind; forgive past hurts and replace negative thoughts with happy, positive ones.

3. Manage Your Connections

Everyone knows that it’s highly beneficial to have a healthy social life with people who support and appreciate you. While a steady stream of communication from others may make us feel important and needed, it could be distracting our lives more than necessary. It’s important to remember that feeling important and needed is vastly different than feeling accomplished and productive.

4. Reconsider Multi-Tasking

If you were to look at a stack of job résumés right now, almost all of them would mention exceptional multi-tasking abilities. While multi-tasking is often a necessary skill, it can increase stress and lower productivity. Handle one task at a time and do it well before moving on to the next one.

5. Reducing Goals

Setting goals is a way to strive to better yourself and improve your life; however, you could be spreading yourself too thinly by dividing your focus on too many goals. By concentrating on one or two goals, you are more likely to improve the likelihood of achieving those. Once you complete one, add another goal.

Love,

Gen