6 Easy Tips To Simplify Your Life

Is your day-to-day life full of stress and chaos?

Are you scrambling for a brief peaceful moment in the day just to relax? There is just too much each day to worry about, keep track off and deal with.

Everyday, we’re plagued with the trials and tribulations of life. We’re put to the test and forced to deliver. If we don’t, we disappoint someone, or worse, ourselves.

Amidst the chaos, it can be hard to find a peaceful moment. So then, what is the solution? It is quite simple – simplify your life.

We’ve compiled some of our best tips to help you simplify your life. We use these on a day-to-day basis and it grants us perspective and allows us some quiet in the chaos.

1) Believe in Yourself

You are your own worst critic. You are your own judge and jury. What you think about yourself directly affects how you feel and act.

Strive for a positive mindset. Look for the good in every person and every situation. Sometimes it’s hard to find. But the harder it is to find, the greater the reward.

However, at the same time, realize that you are just human. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself when you don’t accomplish a goal. There is no perfect person.

Instead, call it day and reset tomorrow. Every day is a new day to start believing in yourself again.

2) Be Grateful

Something we do on our worst days is a ‘Be Grateful’ list. We list all the things that we’re glad to have in lives. We usually aim for 10.

Sometimes it is hard to find things to be grateful for.

But, even through our worse times, there is always something. Dig deep and search. When we have a questionable day, we write down anything that comes to mind.

Here are a few for today. I’m Grateful for:

• The ability to breathe
• The ability to think and feel
• The sunshine that gives me energy and life
• Clean water

We often take for granted the simple things in life. These simple ‘gratefuls’ are often overlooked but they matter the most.

We don’t miss something until it is completely gone. We never know when we’ll lose the ability to breathe or think and feel the sunshine. So, let us cherish it while it’s still in our lives.

3) De-clutter Your Life

Naturally we are simple beings. We grew up knowing only the simple pleasures. It’s not until recently that the latest cellphones and biggest televisions consumed us.

Now, we’re consumed by physical trash. We’re surrounded by more and more clutter that prevents us from every feeling truly happy.

We start to attach our happiness to frivolous items that fade. As the item fades, our happiness fades along with it. Then. we purchase more clutter to attach and sustain our happiness.

In order to achieve some clarity in our lives, we must first de-clutter our space and then de-clutter our minds. We must shed the attachment to shiny items.

We must reduce, cut back and simplify. Throw away anything you haven’t used in the last 6 months.

You’ll start to realize that the less you have, the less you’ll want.

4) Use Everything in Moderation

One time I ate too many oranges (because they are good for you) and I got a sore throat for 2 weeks. Even vitamin c is bad is large doses.

Too much of anything – good or bad – will wear us down. Whether it’s work, socializing, eating, shopping or television, eventually it will take its toll on us.

Practice self-restraint and you will achieve some piece of mind. When we go overboard with anything, the consequences are always negative.

5) Limit Complaints

When were you on the tail end of a chronic complainer? No matter what seems to happen, this person has something to complain about. How did you feel hearing all of his/her complaints?

Complaints are always a negative reaction to a situation. Complainers are chronic negative people that can’t see the positive.

Limit your complaints, or better yet, avoid it all together. Try to avoid complaining for an entire day. When you catch yourself, stop and change the topic.

You can be one of two people: a problem person or a solution person. Are you going to whine about your issues or are you going to deal with or fix your problem?

6) Self-Reflection

Almost everyone has a few moments when they’re laying in bed at the end of the night. But how often do we get lost in our own thoughts.

Use these last moment of the night to reflect. Ask yourself questions about your day:

• Was I the best I could be today?
• Could I have helped someone more?
• Did I do something of importance or significance?

Spend some time today constructing your own meaningful questions. If you fail a question, strive for it the next day. Always aim to improve.

Aim to feel happier, be more fulfilled and grow endlessly.

Until next time, my beautiful readers,

Be bold, be free and love on.

The Reason YOU Are Unfulfilled At Work AND Home

Not many people are happy with their jobs.

The jobs I’ve worked in the past usually make it on the “Top ten worst jobs” lists.

I’ve worked filling stock at a discount grocery store, bussing tables at restaurants, and the holy grail of all terrible jobs: Door to door and telemarketing sales.

Even though this seems like a recipe for a depressing life, I’ve always enjoyed my work and derived great meaning from it.

Most people work jobs that don’t fulfill them, then at home they laze around until the next shift—which isn’t very fulfilling either.

So why are we leading lives that have left us so unfulfilled?

We’ve Completely Separated Work And Play.

We’re not having any fun at work, and we’re not seeking any challenge at home.

One thing I’ve learned throughout my study of happiness is that finding meaning or purpose in your daily activities is an absolutely necessary ingredient for a long lasting sense of fulfillment.

If you don’t derive meaning from your work, and your free time is devoid of any effort or challenge, then you may be on your way to a crisis.

Finding Meaning At Crappy Jobs.

I’ve always enjoyed myself at work because I didn’t see my job as meaningless. I tried to somehow fit my work into the bigger picture or gain whatever meaning I could from those menial tasks.

When I was doing door to door I worked with a lot of miserable people. They only saw the negatives.

“It’s so hot out and we’ve been walking for hours!”
“There is too much pressure, if I don’t get commission my cheques are so small!”
“We have to work every Saturday and I never go out anymore!”

Don’t get me wrong, those points are valid. The job sucked sometimes.

But I chose to focus on something different. I would focus on my interactions with the people I was talking to. Every time someone opened a door I saw it as an opportunity to share a connection with someone new.

We joked, we laughed, we complimented each other, we even ended up talking about life over tea.

You would seriously be surprised how many people invited me into their homes and shared a real connection with me once I stopped focusing on the negatives, and started to find the meaning in my work.

Crafting Your Job To Cultivate Fulfillment.

Dr. Amy Wrzesniewski has done a lot of research into figuring out how people derive meaning from their work. She found that you can become happier with your job whether you are a CEO, a sales rep, or even a janitor at a hospital through what she calls “job crafting.”

In one study she observed a group of hospital cleaners who found their jobs boring and meaningless, and another that found their work to be engaging and fulfilling.

The second group would ‘craft’ their job in creative ways. They would engage more with nurses, patients and doctors, taking it upon themselves to uplift the mood of the people around them.

In general, the second group crafted a perception of their job that saw themselves as an indispensable cog in a well oiled machine. They weren’t just cleaning garbage, they were helping their hospitals run smoothly and contributing to a cause that saved lives.

In this mindset, these hospital janitors could find more fulfillment in their jobs than some of the doctors who might just be looking for a paycheque.

But finding fulfillment at work is only one half of the problem. We have to find fulfillment at home as well.

All Play And No Work Makes Jack An Unfulfilled Boy.

After a long day at work it is understandable that we want to relax, but it is possible to relax too much.

When we separate work from play, avoiding all effort and challenge in our free time, we are robbing ourselves of a fulfilling personal life.

In the book “Happier” by Tal Ben Shahar, Ph.D. he examines many interesting studies that look into the relationship between challenge, happiness and fulfillment.

One study in particular run by Donald Hebb jumped out at me.

In 1930 six hundred students between the ages of six and fifteen were told that they no longer needed to do any school work. If they misbehaved, their punishment was more recess. If they behaved, their reward was more schoolwork.

Hebb quickly discovered that “In these circumstances, all of the pupils discovered within a day or two that, within limits, they preferred work to no work (and incidentally learned more arithmetic and so forth than in previous years).”

Even children—who are notoriously opposed to work and love to play—realize very quickly that they would not enjoy a life devoid of challenge.

Without challenge we don’t grow, without growth we feel stuck.

Challenging Yourself At Home.

If you’re job isn’t providing you with the growth and challenge that you need for long term happiness, you have to find it at home.

That is why I learned drums, why I study self development and write these articles.

The good thing about challenging yourself in your free time is that you get to do everything on your terms.

You can pick something that you truly enjoy, even if it is just playing video games. Just be sure that you are challenging yourself, learning, and gaining some sense of meaning and fulfillment from your activities.

Breaking down the barrier between work and play is the key to fulfillment. When you are at work, have fun with with it, share connections and find meaning. When you are at home don’t just relax all the time, challenge yourself and learn something new.

It’s a challenge in itself to break down this deep rooted barrier, but if we can accomplish this, we can lead truly fulfilling lives at work and at home.

How do you view your job to gain fulfillment?
How do you challenge yourself in your free time?
Discuss in the comments!