Wondering How to live a simple life? Simple living gives you the pleasure that you can’t expect. As Gautama Buddha once said, “We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world”.
Living a simple life means that we do not need to work hard but we need to do control on some things. It leads to freedom, a stressful mind, and many more things.
There are millions and billions of people on our planet earth but many religious leaders have advocated for a simpler life dedicated to self-knowledge and good deeds. There are many things we can do to begin. A few days back, I was thinking a lot and I was always looking forward to squeezing into my days of overthinking because I thought that was the only way to be more productive. But somewhere in my attempts to do more, I lost many things which I valued most.
Now, I am doing an experiment on myself to live a life that is more satisfying and fulfilling. I believe that these things had benefited me so, I thought about writing a blog. I Hope, this might help my readers.
So, How to live a simple life?
In the modern era, it is quite tough to live a life that is simple but we have to do some things continuously. An epitome of this I experienced in my life which has serious effects and to save myself I had to declutter my digital life. Using less, social media leads to good positive skills.
Research reveals the fact that many people got financial independence by living a simple life in the united states of America. Simple living gives you the pleasure that you can’t expect. A Netflix documentary minimalism is the perfect example of living a simple life. It doesn’t mean following a strict lifestyle and follow a strict diet. It is all about sustainability. Your lifestyle and diet can be sustainable. There are simpler ways to start your day. One should find love and one should start to find ways to live a simpler day.
Life is driven by what is important to you not for what you want or what possessions you are expecting. Living a more intentional life is like leading a simple lifestyle. Some people might feel like reading a book and sitting on a beach and enjoy the sunset but it is quite difficult in reality as people have busy schedules or people are using mobile phones every time. I would suggest that people should join social clubs or gym memberships which might help to focus on themselves and help them maintain a balanced life. Choose things that can keep you feel that you’re living in a modern world but still, making your life easier.
Simple living encompasses a few basic elements which I am going to share with you.
1. Saying no
It is quite simple as that we have to create our own boundaries as a way of life. Saying yes, all the time leads to negative effects as we have less time. When you get to know about our priorities, then saying no becomes easier rather than saying yes. We often agree to take on more than we can handle but it has a negative impact on our social life. Boundaries are the way to keep you on track to slow living.
2. Limiting yourself from social media leads to a simpler life
Social media is the thing that attracts you from your simple life. Little things in life have a great impact. Using less cell phones and downloading less stuff will not distract you from your goals.
3. Simple diet
A fancy diet is always expensive and it is always encouraging to eat more which may lead to obesity or other health issues. Eat a simple diet and a plant-based diet that is more enriched in vitamins, proteins, nutrients, and carbohydrates. People should start being more self-sufficient.
4. Manage your schedule wisely
Managing your daily schedule will get back to you on track of everything and helps to concentrate more on living a happy life. Also, there are some gadgets that are available in the market as well as online to keep track of everything. Furthermore, there are smartwatches that are small but efficient to help with your busyness.
5. Decluttering the home
Find unique ways to declutter your home and life from unnecessary things that are no longer in use and cause problems. A search around the home will find many things which are no longer in use and you can sell those things and use that money for paying bills like credit card bills and so on.
6. Live life frugally
Once I believed that spending a lot on my shopping will give me simple pleasures but I wrong. Now I think twice about my shopping habits and controlled myself on spending on the things which are unnecessary to me. You must think twice before you spend on your purchase. I got to realize that I did not need as much as I was used to.
7. Do not tolerate debt
Debt can cause a lot of stress and it stops you to think beyond your imagination. Enjoy the physical and mental freedom which comes from debt-free life. Stop spending more than you earn. You need to commit yourself to take small steps which will help you to live a simple life.
8. Downsizing
It is quite unbelievable that how bigger our houses are. We are very careful about the things we bring into our house. When you earn less, you do not need to spend on fancy things. For example, if your house is small then you don’t need as much space for things.
9. Discover more
Discovering more is never enough. If you discover more and the more you got to know about new things and the new changes, this will affect your mind to stop accumulating things mindlessly.
10. Track your time
In this century, time and money are the two valuable resources. Keeping track of your time will help you remind not to waste time. Keeping track of the amount of time and money is the biggest key to success and it also gives a rise to pleasures in life.
11. Track your expenses
It is the best way to keep track of when you are spending money and where are you spending money. When you get to realize these things, then you can take simple decisions which will definitely help you to live a simple and satisfactory life. For example, if you are not able to buy a car then you can use public transportation as well.
12. Use a simple phone
The advancement in technology has a greater impact on electronic devices like cell phones, tablets, and laptops. Nowadays, various phones have features like smartphones have. Also, they are low in prices and they have access to everything we want. We cannot control our desires but we can spend wisely to make our life free from stress.
13. Less use of credit cards
Credit cards are good but excess use of everything is bad. These cards become a burden that drags many people down each month. So, instead of buying from credit cards, only buy those things which you can afford and the fear of not being able to pay the bill will disappear.
14. Putting your life in full-screen mode
Whatever you do in your daily routines like washing clothes, reading books, doing yoga, your office work, these all things get your full attention. If you do not pay attention to these things it might get complicated and you will feel distracted and bored. According to my experience, things become less stressful and you can even do more better.
15. Create space between things and how you work
This is very stressful when we think about little things. We underestimate how much time things will take to complete in a simple way. In this situation, we usually forget about our maintenance tasks like preparing meals, workouts, and many other things which are an essential part of our lives. What would it be like if we took a pause of few minutes between tasks to take a rest and to think more about living an intentional life.
Henry David Thoreau believed that reality existed only in the spiritual world, and the solution to people’s problems was the free development of emotions.
16. Watch less tv
The less stuff we see, the less we attract. This is the thing I believe. On tv, we might see some advertisements which are quite attractive and convincing us to buy those products. Those sellers are doing multi-tasking like they are selling and they are earning from ads.
17. Reward yourself and set goals
Rewarding yourself is the biggest appreciation ever. It also helps you to motivate and causes less stress. Success comes very slow but the result is so rewarding. Multi-tasking while doing work and managing your whole life will be easier if you set your goals and keep on working on them. Appreciate little things and letting go of the problems. Importantly, practice gratitude.
18. Take a rest day
If you know you are working all day you must need a rest day. Everything in life has importance and self-care is quite important. Go on a walk or a grocery store to buy some stuff and also, call a friend. You can go on a drive with your loved ones. You can also listen to some good podcasts.
People now have more and more choices. As I believe that life is all about choices and choosing simple life is something that is becoming a popular thing to do. Of course, these things are not the lessons but the best lessons are ones you discover yourself.
One thing in life is very important, try not to compare your worth with anyone else in the world. Humans are unique species. Slowing down or simplifying will look different to anyone. Furthermore, be patient with yourself and trust the process.
Every day is a blessing. Find new ways to get to make love to the things around you. Reply to yourself and reply to your thoughts. One should just love what they have. This one thing makes you just fall in love within no time. Just make sure to reply to the questions in your mind about how one can just make them satisfied. Just reply to your mind.
Here, I am going to share 5 quotes for simple living.
- “Minimalism is the intentional promotion of the things we most value and the removal of everything that distracts us from it.” – Joshua Becker from becoming minimalist
- “To me, so much of simple living hinges on less – both owning less and doing less. Intentionally choosing to live an uncluttered, minimalist, and slower life. I want to make time and space for the people and experiences that are most important for our family.” – Melissa from simple lion heart life
- “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” – Confucius
- “I believe that a simple and unassuming manner of life is best for everyone, best both for the body and the mind.” ― Albert Einstein
- “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”~ William Morris
