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What It Means To Have A Simple Life, And How To Live It

Forbes Coaches Council

Bronwen Sciortino: author & simplicity expert teaching easy ways to tailor-make healthy, happy & highly successful lives. sheIQ Life Pty Ltd

It’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind speed of life, to get swept along by the tide and find yourself chasing your tail trying to fit everything in and not let anyone down. It’s also really common to catch yourself wistfully wishing that life could be simpler.

But if you’re like I used to be, then you probably brush that thought aside and push it to the back corner of your mind—to be looked at another day.

Today’s way of life teaches you that you have to be busy to be seen as successful. And if you’re not stressed, then there must be something wrong with you.

Moreover, you can’t just fill your days to the brim with "stuff"—because there’s the added pressure of having to capture every moment so you can share the images, vision and stories that prove you’re getting ahead.

Living like this feels like you’re constantly dropping all the balls you’re juggling, chasing them in different directions and then finally getting them back in the air... only to add new balls to the mix. And, you have to do that in a way that allows you to smile brightly and show the world that everything is under control.

There’s no time to connect with what you’re doing or to really stop and wonder why it is you’re doing it. Those are things that go into that same back corner of your mind to keep that wistful "why can’t life be simpler" question company.

I get it. I was just like that. I did all the things, I ticked all the boxes and I achieved all the "stuff." And when I got there, I was left completely underwhelmed by the experience.

So I kept going, because surely it had to get better. Success was only a step away... if I just did that next thing. I pushed through, "soldiered on" and kept working hard because that was what I thought I had to do. Besides, it felt like I’d gone too far down the road to give up everything I’d achieved and start again.

And that’s the crux of the issue right there. Somewhere along the way, I had been taught that life had to be complex before I could get anywhere. And worse, I believed that if I tried to make it simpler then I had to give up everything I had.

It’s the "start again" piece of the puzzle that keeps you locked into the way you’re living your life. Starting again is just too daunting to think about. It takes you straight to overwhelm, at which point everything seems too hard. When you’re in that state, staying where you are—and living life the way you’re already living it—seems to be less painful than walking away and having to begin again.

But what if you’re stuck in your ways because you’ve been misled about what a simple life really is?

You crave a simpler life because you know deep down that there is an easier and kinder way to live.

Living a simple life doesn’t mean you have to move to a cave or dress in cheesecloth or go on a 40-day fast or never speak to anyone or even spend all day, every day meditating. It also doesn’t have to disrupt your entire life, take loads of time or cost lots of money.

The truth is this: A simple life is about finding the things that are important to you and then creating the simplest pathway to have them in your life.

That’s it.

There are no rules about the number of items you are allowed to own, what you’re allowed to do, where you’re allowed to go, how much you can spend, how much you can earn, what sort of car you should drive, where you should live or anything about what you need. There’s also no label that comes with having a simple life either, so you don’t have to pigeonhole yourself in any way.

We’re all unique, extraordinary human beings... so we need unique and extraordinary solutions that provide solutions for our own lives. To help create the solutions that are perfect for me, I use a three-step process that I can apply to any life situation. Let’s use reducing stress as an example:

1. Who are you?

• What are the things that create stress in your life? Make a list.

• What are the top three things on the list?

• Which thing on the list has the greatest impact?

2. What’s important to you?

• Why do I want my stress to be reduced?

• What benefit will I gain from being less stressed?

• If I am less stressed, what will I be able to do more of?

3. What steps can you take to create the simplest pathway to having what you want?

• Choose an item from the list that you’d like to focus on first.

• Write down three things you can do to change the way this impacts your life.

• How and when will you implement the first of these three things?

• What will you do to hold yourself accountable?

Then just "rinse and repeat" for the other items on your list.

You know how you’d like your life to be really simple? Taking small, simple and easily implementable steps can significantly change the way you experience your life. And once you get into the swing of adopting the simplest way of doing things, you’ll begin to see that you no longer have to choose between being happy and healthy or being successful.

You’ll have found your rhythm and you’ll be able to create the perfect balance between them all.


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