Simplify

 

“A nail is driven out by another nail, habit is

overcome by habit.”

-Erasmus

To simplify means to make our lives less complicated and  easier. Our lives can be complicated and too busy and we may find it difficult to keep up with the pace and demands. By simplifying we assert more control over our lives: choosing health, order and contentment; and discarding clutter and confusion. Our simplification journey may include examining things within and in front of us. The way of simplification involves our experiences and our past mistakes. The journey goes from the outside to the inside consisting of our desk at work or work area, our homes, organization of our time, and our relationships with friends and family. The simplification process can involve our physical and mental fitness and it can end with our thoughts and feelings associated with our own personal lives. One of the first steps to simplifying our lives is deciding that things need to change.

    We may be experiencing poor work-life balance, ill health, financial problems, a cluttered home or work place or feelings of frustration, unsettledness or resentments. Once we have become aware that things are not quite as desirable as possible we can set in action good intentions.

     In many cases we have lost sight of the good intentions.

 Getting rid of things we no longer need helps us discover what we actually have and strengthens us emotionally.            We can start our simplification journey by viewing the steps in this process as a pyramid and placing the things at the bottom of the pyramid which need to be addressed first. We can start with our desk at work and discover how satisfied we are going to feel when our paperwork is in order. Then move to our closets, the rest of our home, our garage, and our car. Clutter can definitely add to the confusion and dissatisfaction in our lives. Give things we feel can benefit others to second-hand stores which can feel gratifying.

    Next we need to look at our finances which may be more difficult to deal with then cleaning up the clutter in our homes. We can examine our budget by looking at our debts and loans and review our learned behavior patterns and mental blocks associated with our finances. Check account balances. Do we have a system for saving and spending that allows us to feel the ease of having a surplus for when needed. We can start with our children at a young age and direct them to save one-third of their allowances, spend a third on wants, and give a third to a worthwhile charity. Even the poorest of the poor have something to give even if it is just their time. Helping others is the best way to help ourselves and it can be cathartic.

    Our time is even a more difficult commodity to gain control over. Everybody has 24 hours each day; but the real issue is just how much of that time is free to do whatever we need and want to do. There are also daily responsibilities and sometimes a secret passion. We can create order concerning our time. We can do so by establishing a schedule to log our time spent on things we need and want to accomplish.  Our time is a precious possession we cannot get back once it is wasted so we need to come up with a plan of action to organize our time more efficiently. The best way to address patterns in which we waste our valuable time is to make ourselves aware of these patterns (Adams, 2001).

    We can examine our use of time by asking ourselves how much time we spend each day concerning: 

·         Eating

·         Sleeping

·         Exercising

·         Meaningful work

·         Spiritual growth

·         Renewal activities (recreation and reading)

·         Sharing with friends and other significant others

·         Routine maintenance (house cleaning, cooking, repairs, etc.)

·         Social service (volunteering and helping others)

·         Other (Kustenmacher, 2004). 

    We can ask, “Do we allow enough time to exercise, renewal, and spirituality or are we consumed with working and maintenance activities?” Carefully examine the other category. What else have we been doing? Are there some things we can delegate, eliminate or in some way simplify? Is there anything missing in our lives? Make room for these things by scaling down. We need to think of ourselves as a home and what changes can we make to our home to make it more beautiful. In other words, what can we do to live more balanced lives?         

    All our relationships including the relationship with ourselves take up our time. To simplify our conversations  we need to ask ourselves: 

·         Am I communicating honestly, and do I mean what I say? Is it my intention to feed my ego?

·         Do I listen to others and am I aware of their body language as well as what they are saying?

·         Do I avoid worthless speech including gossip, and idle chit chat?

·         Do I respect the importance of silence in my life and concerning my interactions with others? We need to listen to others and weigh their opinions and come up with our own decisions (Adams, 2001). 

    The social networks in our lives can become the source of an overly complicated life. Personal demands, disagreements, harassments, and jealousy are some of the destructive results. Even relationships which are on friendly terms can become complicated, especially if we let them take over our lives. Are we available to others at the expense of taking care of our own needs? Examine the non-mutual relationships in our lives. They can suck the life out of us literally and there will be no paybacks, only deficits. Be careful not to build up a huge resentment debt with specific individuals. We need to stop investing too much time with people who only take from us when a mutual relationship can take place and be more satisfying.

    Many of us have life partnerships with spouses and/or significant others which may include close friendships also. View how much outside interests are impeding this relationship. Perhaps a significant other may involve our spiritual connections, our beliefs in a higher power. All of these relationships are vital to our well-being. Developing a time schedule for accomplishing what we need and want to do will help us accomplish the goal of maintaining a healthy and satisfactory relationship with significant others (Kustenmacher, 2004).

    Our physical health is one of our most important personal possessions. For most of us we only pay attention to our health if something is not working properly. When we become ill, we push aside all other pertinent issues. It is more important to take steps to prevent future illnesses by taking the time to exercise and eat nutritious foods. The way to simplify our lives is to prevent future health problems. Healthy thoughts lead to healthier bodies along with an improved lifestyle of eating right and exercising.

   Last, but certainly not least, and the peak of the pyramid is a place in which we discover our unique character meaning our life’s purpose. This room is not empty, it is filled with our unmistakable reality. This part of the simplification journey involves soul searching to discover what our true passions are and who we really are. Do we like to help others and if so, in what capacity? Do we have something that has been nagging us?  Something that we feel we need to be doing. The simplification process must be personalized to meet our needs and wants. Perhaps we did not realize things about our personality that we want to enhance during this process (Kustenmacher, 2004). 

    The benefits of the simplification process include: 

·         Making space in our schedules by eliminating unnecessary activities.

·         Becoming more mindful of shopping habits and social media consumption.

·         Creating more space in our homes, workplaces, calendars, closets and our brains. 

    Simplifying our lives can clear our vision, frees us from false values, and brings us greater life satisfaction. Reducing the amount of things in our lives and becoming more conscious of how we use the things we have creates more peace individually and collectively. Reduce material things by at least half instead of accumulating more. We get rid of junk instead of letting it pile up. We learn to relax instead of becoming more stressed out. We slow down instead of speeding up. Even the smallest of our actions have consequences, contributing to the evolving cycles that surround us. A balanced life takes discipline. We will achieve so much more when we reverse the escalation of complexity.