How To Follow Simplicity In Life
Updated 2024.10.02
Simplicity is a state of being you hold with the goal of making life easier.
When you value simplicity in life, there’s a good chance you also value what really matters to you. What matters most to you in your life may be personal, it may be private and you may already know what it is.
The issues that are most important to you in life may change over time or they may remain the same. There may be things that are most important now, that you didn’t value the same way twenty years ago, and that’s okay, values change and that is part of life.
Valuing simplicity means that you focus on what matters most and your aim is to make it as easy as possible to live in alignment with what matters.
Before we go deeper into the how of following simplicity in life, let’s discuss what it is and why it matters.
What does it mean to embrace simplicity?
When you embrace simplicity, you are making a commitment to value what truly matters in life to you and to let go of all the rest. You are willing to make what is most important in your life a priority.
Why is simplicity important in our life?
Simplicity is important because it makes things easier.
When things are simple, they are easy to understand, deal with and use.
When you intend to seek simplicity, your aim is to boil down all complexity to return to the basics - what really matters to you.
Knowing what really matters to you and focusing on it, helps you to dually identify what doesn’t matter, which makes it easier to de-prioritize these things, and let go of your desire for them.
What are the qualities of simplicity?
Simplicity is first, being the essence of you. This is how you were made. Think of the qualities that make up you as your “factory default settings.”
Whatever those qualities are, are the qualities of simplicity.
According to The Art of Manliness, a man is simple when his chief care is the wish to be what he ought to be, that is, honestly and naturally human.
Embrace these qualities, and after that, the major quality of simplicity is to create a life around that, which is easy to understand, use and deal with.
How do you embrace a simple life?
Make it a habit to ask yourself the following questions of any action, opportunity, desire or task that comes your way.
How can I make this easier? Now? In the future?
Can I remove a step?
Is this necessary?
How do you practice simplicity in life?
To practice simplicity, set the intent to find out what matters to you in your life. You may already know this.
Once you know what that is and can identify it with a word or phrase, give tasks, opportunities and needs that are related to what matters in your life a priority placement.
For example, give attention to these tasks first thing in the morning. Invest in needs related to what matters. Accept opportunities related to what matters.
Simplify as many steps as possible in between you and what matters to you.
After that, question what in your life does not support what matters, and see if it can be eliminated altogether - reducing your work and attention load to these areas will help you prioritize what matters most and simplify your day.
Anything that is not what matters most is noise, chaos and just a distraction.
The more that you can clear out the noise, by reducing attention, workload, steps or resources to these areas, the simpler your life becomes.
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