How to Make A Life Simple and Peaceful: 11 Mindful Tips
Life is not complicated. We are complicated.
All humans have a common goal in life: to achieve true happiness. The biggest factor that prevents you from doing so is yourself. Every day you set the limits, intentionally or not. Either embrace your life, or you can hide from it, the decision is yours.
If you want to live a happy life, these are the things that you must stop doing to make your life simpler:
1. Slow down.
There are times when you are so used to doing everything in a hurry that you don’t notice how fast-paced your life has become. Simply reading the words, “Slow down,” will allow you to pause for a moment and notice. This step is mentioned first so you will carry the thought with you throughout this article and beyond. Avoid multi-tasking. It has become popular, if not clichéd, to multi-task. Research indicates that there is a point where the quality of what you are doing declines when you try to focus on too many tasks at once. Just because everyone is doing it doesn’t mean you have to.
2. Don’t hide what’s inside.
You might invest a lot of time and energy trying to be the way you “should” be and conforming to all those things that you think people expect of you. If so, you don’t even do it consciously. But in adhering to what you think other people expect of you, you’re adding a layer of complexity that you don’t need. It’s like you’re trying to be someone else. Start getting to know who you are and what you value so you can shed the extra layers and live on your own terms. Life is simpler when you satisfy yourself and meet your own expectations rather than try to satisfy everyone else.
3. Identify what’s most important, and eliminate the rest.
This may sound like a drastic measure to some, but it’s really not. Today will quickly fill up with time-wasting activities if you aren’t careful. Thus, you must remember that being productive isn’t just about getting things done – it’s also about leaving things undone. The simplicity and efficiency of today relies heavily on the elimination of non-essential tasks. You must identify what’s most important to you, and then eliminate as much as you possibly can of everything else.
4. Declutter your living area.
People create their world around them and fill it with items. If you want to simplify your life, survey your surroundings and get organized. A well-organized home is a healthy home. Eliminating surplus items that you no longer use will help declutter your home, your emotions and your thoughts. When your exterior world is free of clutter, so is your interior world. Take a minimum of 10 minutes a day to organize your surroundings.
5. Align your activities with your values.
Participate in activities that are congruent with your values and desire to simplify your life. You will know if your activities are in line with your values by the way you feel. You will feel satisfied and content. When it comes to activities that conflict with your values, the opposite is true. You will have a strong feeling that something is wrong and you are unhappy. Decline offers to events that conflict with your intent to live peacefully.
6. Embrace your own version simpler living.
Living simpler offers many advantages. It means we want for less overall. It means we are focused on the important and let someone else worry about the less important. It means we streamline and hack away the things that are not essential. What that version of simpler actually ends up being is however a personal choice. What works for me may not work for you.
7. Learn to let GO of what wasn’t meant to be.
Letting go is part of moving on to something better. You will not get what you truly deserve if you’re too attached to the things you’re supposed to let go of. Sometimes you love, and you struggle, and you learn, and you move on. And that’s OK. You must be willing to let go of the life you planned for so you can enjoy the life that is waiting for you.
8. Stop seeking perfection.
Life is not perfect, we are not perfect and the things that we do don’t need to be perfect either. Think of it like you would of an examination. Is it better to pass an examination with a B grade or is it better to fail completely, because you spent too long on the first question, trying to make it perfect?
9. Practice empathy and compassion to create peace.
The ability to appreciate someone else’s struggle is an important skill to develop. It comes easy to some people, and not to others. You know how you would like to be treated, so use that as a guide when trying to forgive someone.If you want to practice empathy and compassion start by reaching out to a family member or friend and offer to help her in some way.
10. Forget what everyone thinks and wants for you.
One of the greatest freedoms is simply not caring what everyone else thinks of you. Sometimes you need to step outside, get some air, and remind yourself of who you are and what you want to be. The best thing you can do is follow your heart. Take risks. Don’t just accept the safe and easy choices because you’re afraid of what others will think, or afraid of what might happen. If you do, nothing will ever happen. Don’t let small minds convince you that your dreams are too big. They aren’t.
11. Be responsible for your own happiness.
Be self-reliant. Happiness is an inside job and you are responsible to create it. You know what makes you happy, so participate in activities that will build a reservoir of positive feelings. It is easier to face difficult situations if you are filled with good vibes. A happier you will always make any situation and relationship better.
Truth be told, life is actually pretty simple, but we often insist on making it complicated. If you’re struggling with any of the points above, there is a clear path to getting back on track. Your habits are simply broken and need to be repaired.
