Tuesday 30 August 2016
Life simple
Life Advice: How can I make my life simpler?
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It's hard to resist the lure of other people's requests:
"The fear of offending can be stronger than the fear of pain"
- Girl with a Dragon Tattoo
It's hard to resist the siren call of a thousand TV channels, a million Quora posts and a free, ubiquitous computer network overflowing with the sum of humanity's knowledge:
“The Internet contains everything in the whole wide world ever. I don’t know about you, but I find everything in the whole wide world ever to be a bit distracting.” – Dave Gorman
But to find yourself, to find simplicity - you need to say no to everything that doesn't matter. Practice saying no to everything by default, and making rare, precious exceptions.
It takes courage and isn't easy. But your life will be simpler and more profound.
Originally Answered: What five tips can make one's life simpler?
1. Letting go of things/situations/people which are not in your control.Dont try to control everything and everyone. Give every one their space to breathe otherwise it suffocates them.
2. Understand that everything happens for a reason. Maybe at first, it won't seem fair, but someday you will understand why it happened. And how necessary it was.
3. People make mistakes in their lives. But what's important is, the moment you realize your mistake, learn a lesson from it, and never ever repeat the same mistake again. Accept everything the way it is.
4. Stop complaining.Few souls are even less privileged. All that they have to continue their lif, is the free air.
5. Be Good, Do Good. Treat everyone the way you would want them to treat you. You have been given a life to experience, but not alone. Wear a smile.
Originally Answered: What five tips can make one's life simpler?
1. Make your Bed every single day: Yes
it may sound simple and it may also sound stupid, but this a great
advice I received. Start every day by making your bed, a very simple yet
effective task.
My best friend adviced me
this, she said if you do not have the simple discipline of making your
bed everyday then you are the most laziest person.
Then
I even saw about this advice from other sources too. Charles Duhigg
wrote about this habit in his book "The Power of Habit". He writes
“Making your bed every morning is correlated with better productivity, a
greater sense of well-being, and stronger skills at sticking with a
budget,”.
You can also watch this commencement
address by Navy seal William H. McRaven. He says "If you want to change
the world, start off by making your bed,''.
2. Read: Read
everyday, be it a newspaper, an article, a book, Magazine, a Journal.
Reading has multiple benefits. It will improve vocabulary, you will see
issues from various angles.
Reading has also
shown a lot benefits like improving your memory, having strong
analytical skills, building self esteem and understanding various
cultures and customs. Reading also increases your concentration.
3. Eat Properly: As one quote says "Eat
breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper!".
There have been even studies to prove this thing. Having a proper
breakfast and a lighter dinner can help you deal with weight loss and
obesity.
4. Relax: Relax
everyday. Make time for yourself, just sit down and relax your mind. I
am not asking you to do meditation or yoga, well if you can do that then
well, if not atleast just try and relax and just ponder over your
thoughts.
This not a new discovery, New York times had an article published in 1986 explaining the benefits of relaxing.
Apart from relaxing I want to add, just let things go. Having revenge inside would only hurt you the most.
5. Make lists: Yes
this is really important for making your life simpler and more
productive. Yes write down everything you want to do. The places you
want to visit, the activities you want to do, the books you want to
read. This helps in tracking your dreams.
Once
you finish the activity it gives you the sense of achievement. It will
lead to some very good changes in your life. I made many lists and I
plan my holidays and plan my savings around those lists.
Originally Answered: What five tips can make one's life simpler?
1. Waking up earlier.
An early-morning routine is powerful because it allows you to take time for yourself. In the early hours, it’s quiet, and there are fewer people vying for your attention. Many successful CEOs, including the former CEO of PepsiCo, begin their workday before 6 a.m., and if you can fill those hours with something meaningful, it will set the right tone for your day.
2. Putting off texting and emails.
When you grab your phone first thing in the morning to check messages, your mind can’t help but shift into reaction mode. When you constantly check your phone, it can lead to increased stress, because you feel an immediate need to respond to demands. Before you know it, you’ve lost control of your day.
Instead of letting others dictate your priorities, give yourself at least an hour to focus without external distractions. If you struggle to let go of your digital leash, put your phone on airplane mode before you go to bed so you aren’t tempted to check your messages when you wake up.
3. Giving thanks.
Gratitude is a powerful way to put things into perspective. By acknowledging the things that are working in your favor, the one thing that isn’t won’t seem as problematic. As soon as you wake up, say three things you’re grateful for to start your day with positive energy.
4. Reading your goals aloud.
You already know the importance of setting goals but reading the goals you’ve set for yourself helps ensure they don’t fall by the wayside. Every month, I set 30-day goals and write a letter to myself as if I’ve already achieved those goals. Every morning, I read this letter out loud to remind myself of what I’m working toward and to hardwire my brain for success. If you don't plan your goals, you have already planned your failure.
5. Nourishing your body.
Just as your mental state in the morning sets the tone for the rest of your day, what you eat for breakfast helps determine what you’ll eat throughout the day. If you begin with a healthy breakfast, you’re more likely to continue that trend. I start every day with a green smoothie. Remember: Your health is everything. It deserves more attention than those emails.
Originally Answered: Life Lessons: How can I make my life simpler?
It took me thirty years to realize a really important lesson in life: Simple is good.
There are 3 key takeaways I've learned in living a simple life including:
*Less stuff is better. Stuff can weigh you down.
*Living a simple life gives you more time for the important things
*Eating simply can dramatically improve your health
Here are the top 12 ways I've been able to live a simple life:
1. Simplify your meals and buy a blender -
I used to make a different breakfast every week. One week it would be
breakfast burritos, the next week it would be egg muffins. It took a lot
of prep work, cooking time and dish washing. So what did I do? I bought
a nutribullet and now I drink a vegetable and fruit smoothie every
morning. After 30 years, I'm finally in the best shape of my life and I
save a ton of time and stress every morning.
2. Every year, clean out your house - Are you using it? If not, toss it out. The less clutter you have, the better.
3. Be present in the moment - When
you do something, really focus on the task at hand and be present. For
example, when someone is talking to you, don't work on your computer at
the same time. Look at them, really listen and engage with them. Try it -
you'll see how awesome of an experience that is.
4. Use your calendar on your smartphone - You're
going to have a million things to do. If you put it into your mental
checklist, chances are you'll forget it. So put it on your calendar!
5. Learn to say no - You can't do everything. Find out what's really important to you and prioritize those activities.
6. Arrive for your flight 2 hours ahead of time - Trust me on this one. After flying to 50 cities in one year, this will reduce your stress a ton!
7. Do more of what makes you happy - Life's short. Don't spend it living someone else's life. For example, every week, I dedicate two hours of time to write for my blog.
Someone once asked me, why do you bother to write about motivation? How
are you going to make money on that? I said I didn't know but that I
did it because it made me happy.
8. Slow down - When you take your time, you're more likely to enjoy the moment.
9. Take an hour to unsubscribe to all the junk mail in your email - Having to delete junk email every day is a colossal waste of time.
10. Create an exercise routine - P90X,
Insanity, Running, SoulCycle, Swimming, Walking to work - whatever it
might be, make sure you keep exercising to stay healthy!
11. Use the 10 year test -
Feeling stressed about something that just happened. Use the 10 year
test. Ask yourself, will this matter in 1 year, 5 years, or 10 years? If
it won't, you need to stop stressing out about it. Move forward.
12. Learn to let go and to move on - You can't change the past. It's time to move on.
Remember - Simple is good!
Originally Answered: What five tips can make one's life simpler?
Make a list of things that you want to achieve. And set a deadline to it.
When you know what you want ( and by when), you won't waste time doing things that are nowhere related to your goals. This, in turn, will make your life much simpler.
2. Be confident : This one simplifies life like none other. Be comfortable with who you are and where you are. Own every bit of your story.
Be OK with the fact that you're dumb/fat/weak/ugly/poor/p
Once you learn this, you'll save so much time( and money) that's otherwise spent impressing people you barely know ( or like).
3. Say goodbye to comparisons : Make it a habit to cut down comparisons ( verbal and mental). You're unique, talented and gifted. Use your gifts to make something of yourself and give back to society.
This point single-handedly brings down a lot of stress and makes life so much more simpler.
4. Accept imperfections in people: Don't expect your friend/significant other/parent/colleague/ch
You aren't perfect, either.
We're all here to learn from our mistakes. Don't be so critical of others(or yourself).
The more you accept these imperfections, the more simpler your life gets.
(Image Source: www.myhoneysplace.com )
5. Move on : We unnecessarily make our lives so much more complicated by living in the past. Yes, we made mistakes, took the wrong path, said things we shouldn't have and did things we shouldn't have done.
But what's the use thinking about it now?
What's done is done. Think hard about it once, draw lessons from the incident and then close the chapter. Once and for all.
Originally Answered: What are the tools or life hacks to make day to day life simpler?
Declutter even before stuff comes in the door. Get yourself off of junk mail lists, and take bills and statements electronically. Sort any mail that still arrives over a recycling bin, before you set it down. Before you buy any item, have a specific use and a specific place in mind for it. Of course, you may need to cull your existing belongings periodically, too. Toss out or pass along any old stuff that no longer sees much use.
Plan ahead. You can't always foresee everything, but thinking things through beforehand can often save a lot of needless work and stress. Planning could include doing things in advance, or having enough resources, or avoiding trips back and forth.
One is the new none. If you need a to maintain a stock of something (pantry staples, tissue, clean underwear), replenish before you're down to the very last of it (with due regard to what's perishable, and how quickly you'll really use it, of course). But in most cases, the cost is minimal to get the next tube of toothpaste when the last one is still a third full. It will save you the hassle of running out, cut down on extra trips to the store, and allow you time to shop around for a good deal, if you choose to do so.
Routines are useful. Chances are you start each day with a meal, a shower, a commute, etc. Routines can mean you don't accidentally miss or forget things along the way. This doesn't mean you can't vary your routine or be creative; it does mean you probably don't need to invent a new route to work or the order in which you put on shoes and brush your teeth every morning.
Do a little, even if you don't think you can do a lot. It doesn't work for everything, but try working in short intervals, especially for ongoing tasks like housekeeping. Waiting 90 seconds for the microwave to finish? See how many dishes you can take care of during that time. Hate cleaning the bathroom? Clean a little every time you visit it. It might never be perfectly clean, but it will surely stay better than if you didn't. Doing a little piece which is known or manageable can also get you started or unstuck on a larger project.
Originally Answered: Life Lessons: How can I make my life simpler?
- Ask for help
- Carry less stuff in your pockets/purse
- Clean out your house, purge your belongings of anything you haven't used in five years
- Eliminate clutter on your desk
- Eliminate time wasting activities
- Eliminate two things for every new thing you acquire
- Hire some help, housekeeper, gardener, etc.
- If something can be done in two minutes, do it right now.
- Know your limitations
- Learn to identify and toss junk mail before it even gets to your desk
- Learn to say no
- Let go of perfectionism
- Let go of the past
- Live frugally, want less
- Limit time you spend on any given activity (TV, media, Internet)
- Move closer to work
- Sever unhealthy relationships
- Simplify your financial life and consolidate debt
- Simplify your online life
- Tell the truth
- Turn off your smart phone (it's really smart how to chew up your time)
Originally Answered: What five tips can make one's life simpler?
- Have a routine that you use to start your day that becomes automatic and thoughtless. It's really hard to write a 80,000-word novel, but it's very simple to write down 500 words every morning if it's so embedded into your routine that you don't even have to think about it (and at that rate your novel will be complete in just over five months). You can build similar routines for reading, exercise, meditation, candle-making, or whatever you like. And these routines won't complicate your life because they barely require any effort once they've become automatic.
- Selectively avoid tasks that you suspect may be unimportant. One time there was a huge report that I was dreading completing because it required a ton of work and it was unclear whether anybody would ever want to read it or not. I procrastinated so long that I missed the deadline by three months. Guess what: Nobody even knew it was gone (our group's interests had moved on to other topics), and had I actually spent 50 hours writing it, the effort would have been totally wasted. Pausing to consider whether work is truly important or not can yield a lot of time savings. This doesn't work for everything (obviously most of your job responsibilities are necessary/required) but can periodically be a valuable tactic. This will also teach you to think more critically about time pressure, and learn when to discount it (and therefore be less anxious day-to-day).
- Reduce the number of ways people can reach you. After you've checked SMS, WhatsApp, voicemail, e-mail, your second e-mail account, Facebook messages, LinkedIn messages, Twitter mentions, Twitter DMs, Quora messages, snail mail, and Slack for the third time in a given day, you've lost the opportunity to actually, ya know, get anything done. Narrow down the number of communications media you use, and batch process the messages that arrive, to reclaim your day.
- Get comfortable not having an opinion on most things. At least 99% of the time, our opinion of a certain topic is totally meaningless and has no impact on the real world, yet we spend countless hours hang-wringing over crap that is totally out of our control. Newsflash: Your rooting interest in a football game has no influence on the outcome of the match. Newsflash: Your opinion on gay marriage will not change how the Supreme Court rules on the topic. We would all save a lot of time and aggravation if we confined our opinions to domains over which we actually have control. (Which isn't to say that there's no value in being an informed citizen, but man we sure do spend a lot more time advocating for our own opinions than working to change the outcomes.)
- Remember that in 200 years, it's very likely that nobody alive will know that you ever existed. Most of our daily frustrations and triumphs will amount to nothing in the end. So: Don't spend your whole life doing things that make you feel crappy. Very soon we'll all be dead and none of this will matter. There's nothing simpler than that.
Originally Answered: Life Lessons: How can I make my life simpler?
1) Ignore all advice that appears to be based on a depressive or hopeless attitude -- for example, people will tell you, "Never get married because there's such a small chance that it will work out," or "Forget your dreams. Just get a practical degree and a steady job," or "The system is corrupt and there's nothing you can do about it," or "90% of businesses fail in the first 10 years, so what makes you think you'll succeed?" or "I'm pretty sure there are a thousand laws against having your own pet badger."
Reject them out of hand.
You don't suck. You have a heart. You were born with unique talents. Your life belongs to you and you should take it in your hands and do something memorable with it. The only way to succeed is to close your mind to everyone who tells you to stop succeeding.
2) Ignore every sentence that starts with "You can't" or "You shouldn't" or "Why would you want...?" For example, many people try to simplify their life by trying the 100 Thing Challenge (Minimalist Fun: The 100 Things Challenge). If you mention this to your friendly neighborhood group of friends, I guarantee that some of them will fire back with these "You can't" or "You shouldn't" sentences. "You can't really live with less than 100 things. What about your clothes?" Or, "Why would you want to get rid of all the cool things you have?"
Forget them. You've decided to try something cool, something that's sure to rattle your universe and give you some perspective, and you can totally do it because you can totally do whatever you want. You're an adult.
Your friends will roll their eyes and say, "Whatever, Isaac. Have fun with that." And in three months you'll be a new person, well on your way to averting a mid-life crisis and finding zen. How cool is that?
3) Ignore all categorical comments about you. "You're really more of a computers guy, so you probably wouldn't be interested." Don't even be offended by that statement, because offense indicates validity. You're not a computers guy. You're an infinitely complex DNA-and-glucose-powered organism, equipped with billions of neural pathways for ideas to surf on. And there are billions more just waiting for you to power them up!
You can get into anything you want. You can change anytime you want. Yes, change is possible. Anyone who tells you that it's not is a steaming pile of "depressive or hopeless attitude" (see above). There's no reason why you should let someone tell you who you are, what you're built for, or why you exist.
Let your inner Elvis tell you what's funky and go for it.
4) Ignore anything that claims to simplify life by adding something new. Email newsletters, novelty products, dating services, outsourced personal assistants, and life hacks will not make your life simpler. Prove me wrong, I dare you. If your life is too complex, the way to fix it is to remove the things that don't matter. Unsubscribe. Get a refund. Go outside. Take more time to relax. Shave away all the thousands of bits of nonsense that attack you every day. Pull your shoelaces out of your sneakers and throw them away.
Then focus in on the things that really matter: your family, your community, climbing trees, smiling at strangers, taming your pet badger. Make life good by spending more time with the good parts.
So that's my advice. Practice up your ignoring and you'll have it much easier.
Originally Answered: Life Lessons: How can I make my life simpler?
Stop Overthinking
Sometimes, it is better to stop over thinking and just do it.Overthinking is basically when you can't think about anything else, and it's affecting your life in a negative way. So, you just need to get out of that thinking loop and move on.
(LifeHack : How to Stop Overthinking Everything and Find Peace of Mind)
- Take Action Now
If you're overthinking an idea you can actually do something about, the best thing you can do is take action now. This doesn't mean you have to suddenly run off to make something, it just means you start taking a step forward. - Direct Your Attention Elsewhere
Sometimes, you can't take action, and the only thing you can do to get past overthinking an idea is to distract your mind. Find a hobby, task, or activity that engages your mind. When you're doing this, you allow yourself to put off overthinking and eventually those thoughts start to disappear. - Stop Talking about it
When faced with the type of difficult decision that causes most of us to overthink, it's natural to seek out advice from others. This usually means we talk through a problem with so many people that it's impossible not to overthink. - Figure Out Why You're Overthinking
Sometimes, we overthink because we can. We'll get caught in a loop where we're recreating an event over and over, or attempting to analyze an idea from every perspective imaginable. After hours of thinking and days of no sleep, we'll often get nowhere. Psychology Today suggests that even though our brains are often hard-wired to overthink, you can move the process along a little. Here's their definition of the problem:Whether it's worrying about social interactions, our self-worth, our future, our families or something else, overanalyzing in these repetitive ways is exhausting and rarely leads to a productive or helpful outcome. Rather, we waste time overthinking events, ourselves, actions, people's intentions or thoughts, or repeatedly trying to plan for all potential future outcomes, even though most times none of those scenarios ever play out..
One of our biggest challenges - and why we keep reminding people that you are not your brain! - is that we often take those initial brain-based thoughts, urges, emotional sensations, impulses and desires at face value and assume they must be true...
They suggests a four step plan to moving on: - Relabel the ideas you're overthinking
- Reframe your experience and identify your thinking errors
- Refocus your attention on the part that matters
- Revalue your brains messages with the new information
- After running through these four steps, you'll often realize just how often your brain has no idea what it's doing. With a little bit of distance, you can figure out why you're overthinking an idea, close the loop, and move on.
These are the 5 things that I'd suggest anyone to follow to make their life very simple. These 5 things are not really directly obvious ones. They are indirect. They contribute indirectly. But their contributions make everything else worth your while.
1. Spend atleast 30 minutes a day doing absolutely nothing.
People are often caught up in what they think they need to do and what they have to do.
This to-do is like a basket. Even on the day of your death, that basket will still not be empty. You know why? Coz as a human being, you always want to be doing something. Otherwise you get bored. Most of us have the inability to deal with two things - boredom & loneliness.
For many of us, our lives are so filled with stimuli, not to mention responsibilities, that it's almost impossible for us to sit still and do
nothing, much less relax - even for a few minutes. A friend of mine
said to me, "People are no longer human beings. We should be called
human doings."
I was first exposed to the idea that occasional boredom can actually be
good for me while studying with a therapist in La Conner, Washington, a tiny little town with very little "to do."
After finishing our first day together, I asked my instructor, "What is
there to do around here at night?" He responded by saying, "What I'd
like you to do is allow yourself to be bored. Do nothing. This is part
of your training." At first I thought he was kidding! "Why on earth
would I choose to be bored?" I asked. He went on to explain that if you
allow yourself to be bored, even for an hour - or less - and don't fight
it, the feelings of boredom will be replaced with feelings of peace. And
after a little practice, you'll learn to relax.
Much to my surprise, he was absolutely right. At first, I could barely
stand it. I was so used to doing something every second that I really
struggled to relax. But after a while I got used to it, and have long
since learned to enjoy it. I'm not talking about hours of idle time or
laziness, but simply learning the art of relaxing, of just "being,"
rather than "doing," for a few minutes each day. There isn't a specific
technique other than to consciously do nothing. Just sit still, perhaps
look out the window and notice your thoughts and feelings. At first you
may get a little anxious, but each day it will get a little easier. The
payback is tremendous.
Much of our anxiety and inner struggle stems from our busy, overactive
minds always needing something to entertain them, something to focus on, and always wondering "What's next?" While we're eating dinner we wonder what's for dessert. While eating dessert, we ponder what we should do afterward. After that evening, it's "What should we do this weekend?" After we've been out, we walk into the house and immediately turn on the television, pick up the phone, open a book, or start cleaning. It's almost as though we're frightened at the thought of not having something to do, even for a minute.
The beauty of doing nothing is that it teaches you to clear your mind
and relax. It allows your mind the freedom to "not know," for a brief
period of time. Just like your body, your mind needs an occasional
break from its hectic routine. When you allow your mind to take a
break, it comes back stronger, sharper, more focused and creative.
When you allow yourself to be bored, it takes an enormous amount of
pressure off you to be performing and doing something every second of every day. Now, when either of my two children says to me, "Daddy, I'm bored," I respond by saying, "Great, be bored for a while. It's good
for you." Once I say this, they always give up on the idea of me solving
their problem. You probably never thought someone would actually
suggest that you allow yourself to be bored. I guess there's a first
for everything!
If you simply let it go, sit down, and do absolutely nothing at all, initially it wil... (more)
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