What is Simple Living?
Updated: Jul 28, 2019
For me, simple living is living with purpose and intention - putting in place strategies and practices that allow me to approach and enjoy life in a way so that I can
attempt to stop it flying by at breakneck speed and focus properly on the things I choose.
I want to live simply in order to feel more content, to tame my anxiety, to tread lightly on the Earth and hopefully leave a positive legacy through what I create.
Living simply is about figuring the basics out - your values and beliefs - and then establishing positive strategies to implement your ideas. What do I really want to do with my time? How can I spend more time doing the things that I want to do? How can I contribute more positively to the world around me?
Everyone’s version of a simple life is going to look different because of our differing values and beliefs, wants and needs, and a million other variables.
Over the decade following a life changing event, I have continually evaluated what I want my life to look like, and it will continually evolve as time and circumstances also change. My aim is to just keep things as simple as possible, which I’ve found is a good strategy for most projects.
I fail, succeed and learn. Repeatedly and not always in that order.
So far, simplifying my life has included realising:
Money is not as important to happiness as I might have thought.
You don’t need very much “stuff” to live.
Clutter and excess stuff means more time, money and effort to procure and maintain.
You need to be honest with yourself and others. You need to understand your own wants, needs, abilities and logic.
There is plenty of value in being organised
Creating is better than consuming
Being “simple” isn’t always “easy”.
Curating life is like curating an art exhibition. If you displayed anything and everything, it would be an incoherent mess.
I will always be a Work In Progress and I perpetually struggle to take my own advice, but “keep it simple” will continue to be my mantra in combatting overwhelm and hopefully allowing me to live my best life.
What are your values and beliefs? How might you simplify and direct you life so you have space for more of what you really want?
If you need a daily reminder, you can get one in my Redbubble shop https://www.redbubble.com/people/pollaposavec/works/40263887-keep-it-simple?asc=u&ref=recent-owner
