Five Ways to Live More Simply

Living simply means creating a lifestyle free of high demands. This can be achieved by voluntarily choosing to reduce strife and live more carefree. Here are some great ways to live more simply:

1. Being minimalistic – Extreme consumerism or hoarding often stems from a personal crisis. To make up for negative feelings, one may surround themselves with material things that they do not need or use or want. The minimalistic approach involves decluttering and maintaining only necessary items in the home. Having less stuff is paramount as the maintenance of things usurps energy and time. Clutter may also lead to unhealthy living conditions. Most people report that the process of getting rid of unwanted objects has made a positive impact on their overall levels of happiness.

2. Basic clean eating – Simplifying the diet and learning how and what to eat to maximize nutrition levels offers many health benefits. Cutting out or reducing sugar, starches, harmful fats and oils, and food and beverages that add empty calories is the golden rule of clean eating. It incorporates taking a healthy approach to one’s diet regarding the quality and quantity of foods consumed. This means choosing healthier organic vegetables, fruits, and leaner meats. Many people report boosts in energy and fewer incidents of tummy troubles by cutting out junk food and eating more wisely.

3. Increasing spirituality – Our temperaments play a big part on how we treat ourselves and relate to others. By increasing spirituality, which involves being more connected to God and being calm and serene in a quest to get to know ourselves better, can greatly impact mental health and help to ward off issues like depression. Seeking out a sense of peace, balance, and calmness has many health benefits, including improving one’s ability to sleep well, decreasing stress, improving self-esteem, and providing a great tool to optimistically face the world.

4. Saying no – Learning to live simply does not always come naturally, especially when one is accustomed to saying yes to everything. It’s easy to become overwhelmed by accepting more responsibilities than we can handle. Having overburdened schedules, such as taking on too many projects at work, can lead to negative consequences such as failing to meet deadlines, letting people down, or putting oneself under serious stress and pressure. Know that it’s better to say no than to take on additional burdens that may adversely affect one’s overall productivity and health.

5. Increase positive energy – Being a positive person is sometimes challenging, especially when weighed down by your own or other people’s problems. Do not let your mental attitude become hostage to negative thinking. Instead, seek out ways to be uplifted. This, in turn, will help you lift others up, too. Much of this is related to making good choices. This may include exercising to increase endorphins, putting trust in one’s faith, listening to happy music, surrounding yourself with other cheerful thinkers, balancing work life with time in nature, volunteering to improve the quality of life of others, and increasing self-reliance to feel empowered.

Life is hard enough without us complicating things with negative thoughts, burdens, and stress. From the viewpoint of living simply, lifestyles can be transformed for the better by cutting ties to things that bind us, break us, or wear us down. Instead, concentration is on emotional and physical wellness. With living simply, energy is directed away from material items and pessimistic thoughts, and the spotlight is placed on being spiritual, positive, and uncomplicated to attain inner peace and joy.