What does "Simplify Your Life" Means?
As Rebecca stared through the window she knew something was not quite right. It was another hot August morning. Her gaze followed the birds landing on the yellow flowers blooming on the trees right in front of her hotel window.
She opened the window, extended her arms, and touched the flowers, birds flocked around as her soft hand movement scared them away. She took a deep breath. The air was heavy with humidity. It’s a perfect morning for a plunge in the pool, she told herself.
She sighed with despair as her hopeful morning gaze fell disappointedly to the floor hitting the carpet stains. In a perfect world, she would have taken the day off and enjoyed the water. Although the pool is only ten minutes away, it seemed on the other side of the planet in a world that is insanely revolving. She fell on the chair resting her forehead on her fingers. That same chair on which she collapsed a couple of days ago. There’s no time to collapse right now.
She held her phone and skimmed through her email. The first thing that came to her mind was that she needs to create a new email as she felt lost among subjects and colleagues of her both full-time and part-time jobs. She needs to separate both worlds. Among her emails was that invitation to a friend’s wedding, requesting a quick response. One more event to attend that requires more traveling and accommodation, she thought to herself. Yet, she’s got to do this, has to be there. Her friend, who doesn’t happen to be a close one, would be upset if she doesn’t make it. Who wants to upset people? Rebecca hardly ever said no.
Her parents even sometimes joked about it as they narrated her childhood tales to guests “the last word Rebecca uttered was No, and she was almost two years old”. She laughed sarcastically at herself. Flipping through her phone, she landed on the calendar icon. Her heart thumped as her eyes skimmed through this month, the next one, and the one after. She will hardly stay in one country for a week. Her usual lifestyle for the past year is that she’s starting to fall into depression. She’s doing lots of trotting around the globe working as she juggled her two jobs.
In between her travels, she glimpsed a few events to which she RSVP’d attending. Rebecca’s motto was “Always do, don’t let others down”, most of those events came on weekends, she took a deep breath, she will have to skip her “me and rest” time for a whole month. She thought to herself “my friends will be happy, that’s more important”.
Taking a look again through the window, she longed for a day out on her own; resting, swimming and, just relaxing. Moving her stare back into the room, her eyes met her wide-opened suitcase waiting to be packed one more time. Another new pack that’s taking place within a week.
It seemed like a huge monster with its mouth wide open, a mouth that’s gulping her and her days. The noise pulled her out of the monster’s gulp, it was the hotel receptionist reminding her she needs to checkout. She hung up as her phone popped a reminder, her flight was in four hours, she’d better hurry. A new week of work is ahead of her. With an emptiness in her heart, a knee that’s awaiting a doctor’s check for a month, an exhausted body and mind, she headed towards a new week of commitments.
Did you empathize with Rebecca? Does her story seem familiar?
If your answer is yes, then you probably need to take a better approach than Rebecca’s. Rebecca’s Life is loaded with commitments. When Life takes this turn it becomes overwhelming leading to stress, anxiety, and maybe at times depression. It’s time to take charge of your Life, go through its dimensions, your commitments, and follow a simpler approach.
What does "Simplify Your Life" Means?
Simplify your Life is an approach that helps you narrow down your Life to what matters the most allowing you to declutter your mind and Life. Focusing on your priorities hence serving your mental and physical energy. Today, in 2021, as we live in a fluctuating economy, with instability in jobs and high concerns about money and meeting family and personal needs, arose an urgent need for a simplified life.
Unable to identify its origin, the world celebrates a simpler life with a focus on personal physical and psychological wellbeing and priorities on National Simplify Your Life Week on the first week of August. National Simplify Your life Week acts as a reminder for oneself to examine needs, priorities and performing some necessary decluttering.
Why do We Need to Simplify Our Lives?
Imagine your Life in a room with limited space. You decide to place a closet, which takes some space, then you add a bed, a desk, some carpet, you spot that drawers unit that you like and you decide to set it up in the corner. You realize your CDs need space so you get that wooden CDs holder setting it up on the other side of the room. You stand in the corner and look at your room. It’s just full of furniture. Space is all taken up.
This is exactly what happens with our lives. Everything you do, think of, own, or those you spend time with take up space-whether this space is mental or physical. Space is time, and time is money. When you have lots of stuff that are not prioritized or needed this costs you a lot. Therefore, simplifying your Life will give you more time, space and, energy. When you have more time you will have more energy to enjoy and do what truly matters to you the most.
Taking Charge of Your Life
One approach towards Life Simplification is about "awareness" and "empowerment". Awareness about your Life and self, followed by taking charge, dumping the victim mentality and, tightening your grip around your Life as you take control and maneuver it around your priorities.
Therefore, at the heart of Simplify Your Life lies the awareness of ourselves, as it helps us set realistic goals, and simplify in terms of what matters most to our true self and our preferences.
When it comes to simplifying our lives, we need to look at two main aspects: Professional Aspect and Personal Aspect. Your simplification efforts need to examine those two areas separately to cover your entire Life.
For more about this topic, download our latest book "Simplify Your Life" for FREE:
