"Simplicity is the key to brilliance" - Bruce Lee
The simple living and minimalist movements are thriving presently. Films, books and blogs abound, all touting the virtues of living simpler. I operate from such a space myself, after being inspired to seek and live my version of simpler several years ago.
More and more of us are seeking a life less distracted it would seem. A life where we can unplug occasionally. A life less busy.
The irony of moving toward living a simpler life is it takes a lot of effort. Simple it may be, easy it is not.
While moving toward your version of simpler living (or any goal that's important to you) it can be helpful to keep the following in mind along the way.
1) Change Takes Effort
Any meaningful change takes some degree of effort. It takes planning. It takes thinking and strategizing. It also has to be followed with a healthy dose of action.
2) The Reward is in the Journey
Something we often forget in our results focused culture is that there is much reward to be found in the process of the journey itself. It brings its own rewards.
The journey teaches us lessons about ourselves. It teaches us lessons about life. It provides a foundation to launch from. It encourages dedication and discipline. It encourages patience. It encourages focus on the process itself, not necessarily just the outcome we expect.
3) A Chance to Learn Lessons and Grow
Making changes and spending time working on them provides us with feedback if we make the time to pause and take stock.
Questions we can ask ourselves during this reflection period include:
What have I learnt?
Do I feel better?
Do I have more time for my hobbies and people I care about?
Is the work/process I've been committed to helping me get closer to my goal?
If the answer to these questions is no then we change focus. We move to something new. A new process or change.
If it's a yes then we do more of the same. We refine and repeat.
4) Stay Committed to Your Why
When things get tough and we feel like the changes we are implementing are just not moving us along as quickly as we would like, we have to remind ourselves of our why.
Why is it that living simpler is important to us?
Where is it we're trying to get to?
What are the triggers that led us to seeking a simpler path?
What do we want less of in our lives?
These questions lead us back to our why. Our why is unique to us, it comes from within. It cannot be contrived from outside sources as that will never work for us. It has to be meaningful to us. If we've lost our why then maybe the goal isn't the right goal for us. Maybe we need something else.
The next time you feel the tendency to be hard on yourself remember, simple can indeed be simple but it's not always easy.
Carl is the proud owner of Frictionless Living which is focused on helping readers live a simpler and more personally satisfying life. He is also the author of several books including 22 Ways to Simpler Living, Need Less, Live More and A Short Guide to Living Well.