Living A More Simple Life, A Recipe For Happiness?
We often forget that we are the one in control of our own life, but we take on more and more commitments without actually giving a thought as to how we are going to serve those commitments.
I know I have done this myself. Sometimes I get that FOMO, fear of missing out, feeling and take on things which later, I wonder what the hell I was thinking of.
Life can be fairly complicated which creates stress, anxiety and unhappiness, but we very often fail to realise that it’s usually created by us. The number of people suffering from burnout has never been as high as it is now.
Why do we take on so much? I wish I knew the answer. As I say for me, in the past it was the fear of missing out. Is it that we have so much choice of things, that we can’t make our minds up, so we do as much as possible, or is it because we are perfectionists? What do you think? I’d love to know.
What I do know is that we are busier than we have ever been and life is more complex and demanding, but we can create new habits to make our lives simpler and less stressful.
Here are some suggestions of new habits which I started to embrace some time back and which have had a very positive result for me. They have certainly removed the overwhelm and I feel much calmer for them.
Declutter your space. Personally I get really overwhelmed when my living or work space is to cluttered up.
Once a week I declutter my workspace of anything that is no longer relevant or necessary. And as for my living space, I have a ‘tidy up’ as I go along. Everything has it’s place and goes back there when I’m done with it. As anal as that may sound it saves me time and stress, because I know where everything is. The amount of times I’ve wasted looking for glue, batteries, fuses or other things probably amounts to a lot of lost hours.
Once a year I have a declutter and remove things that I have not used for at least 12 months. I either give them to friends, family or the charity shops.
Single tasking. We hear all about multi-tasking, but I really don’t believe it’s efficient or possible most of the time. I get more done when I focus just on one thing. I set a deadline of time, depending on what I’m doing, and focus on that for the time and then move on to something else. It really works for me and I don’t feel overwhelmed. In fact quite the opposite I feel like I’m making progress, which makes me happy.
List making. Another thing which I find helpful to is have lists of jobs to be done. I get a great sense of achievement when I’m able to tick them off the list. It also keeps me on track as to what needs to be done.
Focus on the now. One of the practices which has really helped me over the years is focusing on the now. Being present in this very moment.
It’s very easy to get caught up with our emotions from past events, or worry when our focus is on the future. Both of these situations are out of our control and can negatively affect our happiness and if we are not careful our health.
If you are ruminating over the past or worrying about the future do try this breathing exercise. Start with say five minutes of breathing into your belly for the count of say 4 and breathe out for the count of 6. The counts do not have to be in for 6 and our for 4, so long as the exhale is longer than the inhale.
This breathing exercise will also calm your body and nervous system and bring your mind to the present moment. And in this very moment of now, all is well.
Until next time
With love,
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Love
Marie xox