Life is not complicated. We are complicated. When we stop doing the wrong things and start doing the right things, life is simple.
So starting today…
1. Stop berating yourself for being a work in progress.
Start embracing it! Because being a work in progress doesn’t mean you’re not good enough today. It means you want a better tomorrow, and you wish to honor yourself respectfully, so you can live your life fully. It means you’re determined to heal your heart, expand your mind and cultivate the gifts you know you’re meant to share. May we all be works in progress forever, and celebrate the fact that we are!
2. Stop doing immoral things simply because you can.
Start being honest with yourself and everyone else. Don’t cheat. Be faithful. Be kind. Do the right thing! It’s a less complicated way to live. Integrity is the essence of everything successful. When you break the rules of integrity you invite serious complications into your life. So keep life simple and enjoyable by doing what you know in your heart is right.
3. Stop meaning what you don’t say.
Start communicating clearly. Don’t try to read other people’s minds, and don’t make other people try to read yours. Most problems, big and small, within family relationships, friendships, or business relationships, start with bad communication. Someone isn’t being clear.
4. Stop wasting time and money trying to acquire more of everything.
Start focusing on quality. High quality is worth more than any quantity, in possessions, friends and life experiences. Live a comfortable life, not a wasteful one. Too many people buy things they don’t need with money they don’t have to impress people they don’t know. Don’t be one of them. Do not spend to impress others. Do not live life trying to fool yourself into thinking wealth is measured in material objects. Manage your money wisely so your money does not manage you. (Read “The Millionaire Next Door”.)
5. Stop spending time with negative people.
Start spending time with nice people who are smart, driven and open-minded. Relationships should help you, not hurt you. Surround yourself with people who reflect the person you want to be. Choose friends who you are proud to know, people you admire, who love and respect you — people who make your day a little brighter simply by being in it. Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you. When you free yourself of negative people, you free yourself to be YOU — and being YOU is the simplest way to live.
6. Stop trying to change people.
Start accepting people just the way they are. In most cases it’s impossible to change them anyway, and it’s rude to try. So save yourself from needless stress. Instead of trying to change others, give them your support, lead by example, and set boundaries when you must.
7. Stop being lazy and cutting corners.
Start avoiding future headaches by doing things right the first time. Always put your best foot forward. Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment. Why give less than 100%? Life is too short to waste it by constantly living below your full potential. If something is worth doing, then it’s worth doing well.
8. Stop procrastinating.
Start taking action and making changes. Action and change are often resisted when they’re needed most. Get a hold of yourself and have discipline. Discipline is choosing what you really want over what you want right now. Putting something off makes it instantly harder and scarier. What we don’t start today won’t be finished by tomorrow. And there’s nothing more stressful than the perpetual lingering of an unfinished task.
9. Stop worrying and complaining.
Start focusing on the things you can control and do something about them. Remember that those who complain the most often accomplish the least. And when you spend time worrying, you’re simply using your imagination to create things you don’t want. It’s usually only as good or bad as you think it is.
10. Stop being dramatic.
Start spending less time gossiping about problems and more time helping yourself and others solve them. Stay out of people’s senseless drama and don’t create your own.
11. Stop trying to be everything to everyone.
Start focusing on being something to someone, but not everyone. Helping or pleasing everyone is impossible anyway. But making one person smile can change the world. Maybe not the whole world, but their world. So narrow your focus and just be your best.
12. Stop making promises you can’t keep.
Starting under-promising and over-delivering on everything you do. Simple.
13. Stop blaming others.
Start accepting responsibility for everything in your life. Blaming others accomplishes nothing and prolongs the complications you’re facing. Either you own your problems, or they will own you. Your choice. When you blame others for what you’re going through, you deny responsibility — you give up your power over that part of your life.
14. Stop reacting without a plan.
Start planning and working toward specific goals. Make a list of your top 3 to 5 goals. What’s most important to you? What do you value most? What 3 to 5 things do you most want to do in your life? Simplifying your life starts with these priorities in mind, as you are trying to make room in your life for what matters. And having a plan, even a flawed one at first, is better than no plan at all. There is good reason why you should wake each morning and mindfully consider what and who you will give your day to, because unlike other things in life — love, money, fun, etc. – time is the one thing you can never get back once it’s gone.
15. Stop confusing being busy with being productive.
Start tracking and measuring your progress. Being busy and being productive are two very different things. Results are more important than the time it takes to achieve them.
16. Stop being inefficient simply because you’ve always done it that way.
Start opening your mind to making positive changes. If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting. Many times we live with unplanned, complex systems in our lives simply because we haven’t given them much thought. Instead, streamline your life by finding better ways of handling common tasks. Focus on one system at a time (your cleaning system, your errands system, your paperwork system, your email system, etc.) and try to make it simplified, efficient, and logical. Then once you have it perfected, stick with it. (Read “Getting Things Done”.)
17. Stop cluttering your space.
Start clearing clutter. Get rid of stuff you don’t use and then organize what’s left. If you have a cluttered living or working space, it can be distracting and stressful. A clear space is like a blank canvas, available to be used to create something great. Getting truly organized and clutter-free can vastly improve anyone’s life.
18. Stop overloading your mind by consuming useless information.
Start limiting your time on TikTok, Instagram and other endlessly-scrolling social networks. Seriously set boundaries — even limit your screen time on seemingly reputable news feeds like Apple News and your Google feed before you lose another 24 hours of your life.
19. Stop obsessing over the past and future.
Start being present. Paying more attention to the current moment can make a huge difference in simplifying your life. It keeps you aware of life, of what’s going on around you and within you. It does wonders for your sanity and stress levels.
20. Stop waiting for things to be perfect.
Start thinking of how many things don’t get done in this world simply because people are waiting for the perfect time, place and circumstance. If you’re waiting for the perfect conditions, ideas or plans to get started, you’ll likely never achieve anything. A good idea without action is nothing at all. So keep it simple and just start. Focus on the next positive step.
21. Stop focusing so much energy on trying to avoid mistakes.
Start learning from your mistakes, then smile and move on. No matter how smart you are you will make mistakes. Trying to avoid them will only waste time and complicate your life. There is a lesson in every mistake you make, and learning the lesson is how you move forward.
22. Stop making emotional decisions.
Start taking a few steps back so you can think things through. When you’re caught up in the moment and your emotions are soaring, you’re bound to make poor decisions that lead to needless complications. The best advice here is simple: Don’t let your emotions trump your intelligence. Slow down and think things through before you make any big decisions — sleep on it.
23. Stop doing unhealthy things to our mind and body.
Start taking care of health. Start eating right. Start sleeping eight hours a night. A tired, malnourished mind and body is over-stressed and rarely productive. Your health is your life, don’t let it go. Fuel yourself properly, exercise and get an annual physical check-up. The “The 4-Hour Body” is an insightful and entertaining read on this topic.
24. Stop pretending like you know everything.
Start accepting the fact that there’s a lot you don’t know. Nobody has it all figured out. Nobody knows more than a minuscule fraction of what’s going on in the world. Why? Because the world is simply way too vast for any one person to know everything well. And most of what we see is only what we think about what we see. The sooner you accept this, the sooner you will stop making the same unnecessary mistakes, and the sooner new doors of opportunity will open in your life.
25. Stop giving what you don’t want to receive.
Start practicing the golden rule. If you want love, give love. If you want friends, be friendly. If you want money, provide value. It works more often than it doesn’t. It really is this simple 90% of the time.
Now it’s your turn…
Yes, it’s your turn to, keep things simple and inline with your values and priorities. Do what you do, not for an applause, but because it’s what is right. Practice respecting yourself, caring for yourself, and becoming a more reliable part of your own support system. Remember, you alone get to choose what matters and what doesn’t. The significance of everything in your life has the significance you give it.
And before you go, please leave Angel and me a comment below and let us know what you think of this post and it’s ideas for getting yourself back on a simpler and more manageable track. Your feedback is important to us. 🙂
Which one of the points above resonated the most today?
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