Powerful Tips and age, where we are constantly made to believe that our happiness lies in other people’s validation and approval.
Where Social Media constantly reminds us that happiness is tied to living a grand and fast-paced life.
I lived that life, constantly over-extending myself to other people just to feel worthy and accepted thinking that my happiness is tied to theirs.
I’m hoping that these tips will help you on your journey too! By all means, these are just a fraction of the ways that could help you live a simple life and be happy but I hope these tips will help you start and finally take the first step towards a simpler and happier life.
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1. Determine Your Priorities
If you want to learn how to live a simple life and be happy, you have to know your priorities in life. Determining your priorities will allow you to finally spend your time more wisely since you already know where to concentrate your efforts on.
It will help you make a clear decision on what to focus on in your life and what things you need to let go of and say no to.
I know how easy it is to overextend ourselves. We put so many things on our to-do lists and sometimes we even lose track of the things that truly matter to us.
We just spend all our time rushing from one task to another, without realizing that we are not even making time for the things and people that are important to us.
Here’s a great article from Psych Central to help you identify your priorities.
2. Let Go Of Control
This is definitely one of the things that I have been guilty of for so long. You see, I have always been the type of person who likes to control every little aspect of my life.
I always have a plan A, plan B, plan C, and sometimes even a plan D. Thinking that by doing this, I’m actually preventing things from going wrong or my life from falling apart.
But of course, the reality is regardless of hard we try, we will never be able to control everything in our lives. Sometimes, there’s just nothing that we can do but sit back and watch as things fall apart.
The more we try to control every little thing in our lives, the more stressed and frustrated we become if things don’t go our way.
We have to learn to let go of control and accept the fact that no matter how hard we try we just can’t control everything.
I’ve learned that instead of wasting so much time trying to control everything, our energy and time are best spent on the things that we actually have control over.
3. Stop The Comparison Game
Growing up, I was always compared to others by the people that I love. So, of course, I took that toxic habit with me as an adult.
I was constantly comparing my life and my accomplishments to other people’s. It could be with the people close to me and sometimes even strangers on Social Media.
It was this constant cycle of just striving to have the same life as they seem to have. Always wanting something more every time you see somebody else’s success.
It was exhausting and frankly, constantly comparing yourself to other people only leads to unhappiness and dissatisfied life.
Since you are so focused on trying to live a life that somebody else has, you are actually missing out on the chance to enjoy your own journey and to actually live the life that you want.
We have to keep reminding ourselves that we all have different journeys to take.
Life is too precious and fleeting to waste our time trying to be somebody that we are not and living the life of somebody else.
You are unique and special just as you are. You have to stop comparing yourself to other people and start focusing on your own journey.
Not only will this allow you to live a more meaningful and fulfilled life but it will also lead you to grow and unlock your fullest potential.
4. Unplug
This goes hand in hand with what I’ve mentioned above. Yes, Social Media can be really useful but sometimes it can also project this unrealistic way of living that can essentially influence us into comparing our lives with theirs.
When I was navigating the hardest season of my life, I decided to lessen the use of Social Media because not only was it making me unhappier but it was also making me hate myself and making me believe that I was just a total failure for letting my life fall apart.
And that was probably one of the best decisions I’ve made during that time.
Not only did it allow me to focus on my life and on the things that I needed to do to pick myself back up but it also gave me a chance to breathe, recharge, and step away from the noise and pressure of all the unattainable standards of how we should live our lives.
Try to unplug from Social Media from time to time and spend that time reconnecting with yourself and creating precious memories with the people that you love instead.
5. Practice Gratitude
I firmly believe that one of the vital keys to learning how to live a simple life and be happy is learning how to practice gratitude every single day.
It’s so easy to get swept away by the negativity around us and let it rule our lives. I was guilty of this too.
I was so focused on everything bad that is happening to me and on everything that is going wrong in my life that I missed all the simple joys and beauty that were unfolding in front of me every day.
Focusing all my attention on all the negative things happening to me did not help me in any way. In fact, it just made things worse for me.
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It made me irritable, bitter, and unpleasant toward other people who were only there trying to help me.
It made me feel so much worse and it did not in any way help improve the quality of my life. We have to learn to appreciate even the simplest thing.
We have to learn to count our blessings big and small and trust that even when everything seems dark and bleak, there is always light at the end of the tunnel and there is still so much beauty in the world for us to see.
If you love to journal, try writing at least five things that you are grateful for every day after waking up and before going to bed for at least 30 days.
If you don’t have a journal, I also love the alternative of standing in front of the mirror and saying all the things I’m grateful for.
Try it and see how this small change can have a huge impact on your quality of life.
6. Create A Morning Routine That Works For You
Are you also guilty of just rushing through your mornings in chaos? I know this feeling all too well.
I am not a morning person and my morning routine is just basically me scrambling to get things done, rushing from one task to another without any regard for how unproductive I am being by multi-tasking.
I knew I needed to make a change and simplify this part of my life. What worked for me is creating a morning routine that is actually suited for me.
Sometimes, it’s easy to just follow the morning routines that worked for other people but I’ve learned that if I do that and it is not entirely suited to my lifestyle, it just makes it harder for me to actually stick with it.
For starters, some people, wake up really early to start their day and that just won’t work for me. You have to create a routine that is suited for you.
In that case, it will be so much easier for you to stick with the routine.
7. Make Self Care A Priority
Making time for yourself is an essential part of helping you live a simple life and be happy.
I know how easy it is to take ourselves for granted. To continue ignoring our needs and just keep pushing ourselves but one thing that I’ve learned the hard way is we can’t continue to keep ignoring ourselves without any consequences.
Soon enough it will all catch up to us and our mental health and emotional health will take a huge toll.
You have to remember that self-care is not selfish. We all need it if we want to continue living a happy and fulfilled life.
We can’t expect ourselves to continue to function if we don’t take care of ourselves and our needs. Just like any task, you have to make time for self-care.
Allow yourself the chance to relax, recharge, and just breathe. Your mental health will certainly thank you for it.
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8. De-clutter And Organize
A chaotic space can also often lead to a chaotic mind. Just like creating a morning routine to help your mornings flow easily, De-cluttering and organizing your space can also drastically help simplify your life and calm your mind.
Personally, I know that sometimes it can be overwhelming to organize your entire house. You don’t have to do everything at once.
You can start with a small space, a space where you spend most of your time and for the next weekend, you can tackle another space.
In that way, it wouldn’t be so overwhelming for you and it wouldn’t take too much of your time. Doing it this way has personally helped me keep my space organized even during those days when I have little motivation to do anything.
9. Spend More Time With The People Who Fill Your Heart With Joy
If you want to be happier, you have to surround yourself with the people who fill your heart with joy and love.
If you surround yourself with people who bring nothing but negativity and continuously drag you down, you are only going to spend your days miserable.
If you have people in your life who bring you joy and light, don’t take them for granted. Spend some mindful time with them and show them how grateful you are to have them in your life.
10. Want Vs Need
Another important aspect to simplify your life is to always recognize the difference between want and need.
I was not a mindful spender. I had this notion that since I was working hard, I deserved to treat myself.
Well, it’s definitely not wrong to treat yourself from time to time but the problem really starts when you continuously do it and your spending goes above what you’re earning.
Doing this will only add stress, worry, and anxiety to your life. Especially when everything that you are purchasing is not even things that you actually need.
It will only lead to a huge waste of money and cause you so much stress in the future especially if you are constantly spending more than you earn.
