Living a Simple Life is something many people seek to live.
Whether that is living off the grid, buying a homestead, or just overall simplifying your life wherever you are. Simple living brings relief, less stress and anxiety, calmness, and joy.
It’s a lifestyle that I think most of society should at least attempt to live once in their lives. I don’t think many would go back into the “hustle culture” or “boss babe” mentality. I say this confidently because finding true meaning and peace brings more than “hustle culture” ever could.
Living simply is more than just being financially frugal. It’s about stepping back from what society says you should be doing and learning how to pour into your life with meaningful work, interactions, and productivity.
In this blog post, I share The BEST Ways To Live a Simple Life!
How To Live A Simple Life in 2023
A Simple Life is Letting go of anxiety
Matthew 6:27 “Who of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his life span?”
All anxiety does is take away from one’s life. Anxiety causes one to stay put in the same place in your life because of fear. There is good anxiety and bad anxiety.
Good anxiety is when you’re anxious about a job interview, first date, walking down the aisle, learning a new skill, etc. This anxiety is normal and natural for it to occur. These are life changes that are happening and, in a sense, motivate you.
Bad anxiety can be categorized by being more anxious about XYZ than you should be, not going out because of anxiety, procrastinating due to being anxious, etc. The reason why this type of anxiety is terrible is that it lowers your self-esteem and also harms your decision-making.
So you start looking for outside advice, and you might be unable to distinguish whether it’s good or bad. Also, you can actually get used to living in a heightened state that when things are normal, it seems suspicious or boring.
Learn How to Live in The Present
The reason why we often choose careers, where to invest money, work overtime, make plans for the future, etc., is not for right now; it’s for the future.
While it is good to plan for the future, living in a state where it’s all about the future will not bring you peace. You may have set your alarm for the following day, but who knows if you’ll have the opportunity to shut it off. And just for that reason, you should start enjoying and pouring into the present and living for the day, not just another day.
Learning How to Truly Relax Will Help You Relish Your Simple Life
In today’s world, you are more often than not on autopilot.
Even when you think you’re relaxing, your brain is going rampant on what needs to be done, what needs cleaning, what your next move in life should be, etc. And to add onto that, you’re scrolling through social media, overstimulating your brain and putting it on overdrive.
Learning how to Truly Relax is by first controlling your thoughts. This can be done by having a notepad next to you and writing down your thoughts so you no longer have to repeat to yourself what you’re thinking. You can simply talk yourself out of it and say I am choosing to relax. After 30 minutes, I will acknowledge what I am thinking.
Stay Productive throughout the day W/ Things that matter.
Productivity can often be seen in a negative light. You might often think of those people who claim to wake up at 4 am, run a marathon, drink a gallon of water before 8 am, take cold showers, and go straight to work. But that is far from what I am correlating being productive to.
Be Productive throughout the day with things that matter to YOU.
This can be done by cleaning your home, maintaining your garden, organizing, reading books, going on a run, or anything that matters to you, you should be working on.
You should maintain your productivity in areas that matter to you because it brings you fulfillment, joy, gratitude, appreciation, and satisfaction. When you start becoming unproductive, depression starts to creep in, as laziness, low self-esteem, and lack of motivation for life.
Don’t let things get out of hand before fixing it.
Clean, organize, declutter, and fix things before it gets out of hand.
Unfortunately, this is one area where I learned the hard way. I let my garden get out of control with weeds; before I knew it, it was too late. I had seen a few weeds popping up but decided to wait until it got worse to pluck them. Big Mistake! But that taught me a lesson in gardening and other areas of my life. Keep it from getting out of hand before losing control of the situation.
Even if a room does not appear to be messy, clean it. Continue decluttering even if it’s not that time of the year. Continually organize because we all know how disorganized it can get real quick. With relationship/marital problems, learn how to talk and solve them before they become a bigger problem than they need to be.
Learn How to Appreciate What You Have
Instead of searching for the next best thing, appreciate what you have now. Often times you get rid of items before fully appreciating their purpose. A lack of appreciation for what you have can also bring an ungrateful, dissatisfied, and stressed attitude. All of this can infringe on your simple living lifestyle.
Regulate Your Anger
Anger has to be one of the most complex emotions to control. While anger in specific instances is valid. Uncontrollable or everyday anger is not. It damages your relationship with your family, friends, significant other, and health.
You can start to control your anger by meditating, cutting it off as soon as you feel that rise, or simply walking away from what is bothering you.
While walking away helps control your anger, it is not something that I recommend you do all the time. For one, you have to learn how to manage it while you’re in a situation that causes you to get a rise. Second, you won’t always be able to walk away. So, in instances like these, cutting off your anger is much better.
Don’t Match Negative Energies
What I mean by this is if someone treats you rudely, don’t match that and respond rudely back. If your husband comes home cranky, don’t match that and become cranky yourself. Instead, respond kindly to that individual. Treat your husband with kindness and spoil him a little more that day. Many people call it taking the high road, but I say it’s just being a kind individual in society.
We often think it’s only us going through problems and everyone else should be kinder because they “should know you’re struggling.” Yet when someone else might be going through a similar situation and responds or behaves negatively, you want to match or repay with the similar energy they are pouring out.
The first thing you’ll realize is that matching energies exhaust your body. It’s the opposite of simple living.
Quit Taking Everything Personally
Yes, quit being a snowflake. People will have different opinions whether you agree with them or not. You should do some self-reflection if you get offended by every individual with a different opinion.
Take a Break From Social Media
To really reap the benefits of not being a social media user, I suggest deleting it for at least one month. I say this because, in the first two weeks, you will constantly be checking your phone, making excuses as to why it isn’t so bad in the first place, and fear of missing out creeps in.
However, after you surpass this rollercoaster of emotions, you will soon discover other things to fill those extra 4 – 8 hours of your time with hobbies. There are MANY benefits that come from deleting social media!! It’s even been scientifically proven that social media is a huge contributor to depression, anxiety, stress, body dysmorphia, lack of productivity, and SO MUCH MORE!!
When you take a break, all these emotions or states of mind will gradually disappear!
Quit Being Easily Influenced by Everything You Watch
Social media, the News, or blogs can easily influence everything you do and think in life. It is all designed to stir up your negative emotions. So, take everything with a grain of salt.
Distinguish Your Wants From Needs
More often than not, you think you “NEED” something, but in reality, you might use it once or twice, and then it goes back in the drawer until you remember it in 2050.
Quit Following Trends
This includes fashion, decorating, fitness, eating, body shape, and anything with a trend. Trends are temporary and lead to overconsumption and dissatisfaction.
Learn How to Manage Your Money
This can be done by budgeting, having no spending months, or no impulse buying. Learning how to manage your money will give you freedom.
If you always get the urge to swipe your card at every store you go into, try leaving your card in your vehicle or at home. This will make it so you can’t swipe that card.
Experiment With New Hobbies that Encourage A Simple Life
Get out of your comfort zone and experiment with hobbies that calm your mind.
Also, have hobbies that encourage simple living. Some examples could be sewing, crocheting, reading, tending to your livestock, going on walks, cooking or baking, writing letters, gardening, preserving food, canning, making staple items from scratch, etc.
Declutter Your Home & Don’t Introduce the Same Clutter Again
A cluttered house is a cluttered mind. It’s simple. No explanation is needed.
Related posts: How to declutter when overwhelmed!!
Learn How to Spend Quality time With Your S.0/Family/Friends
Even the most introverted person needs a little bit of quality time with their significant other, friends, and family. Spending quality time with people who matter the most will bring life satisfaction.
Create an Environment You Love in Your Home
A home should be a sanctuary. A place where you feel peace, joy, relaxation, and a safe space. Create an environment where, even though you may not have the most updated home, you have an area that brings you peace of mind.
Spend time Outside
Whether that may be 15 or 20 minutes, spend time outside. A breath of fresh air can clear the mind more than spending your time inside scrolling through your phone. Invest in things that will encourage you to be outside. This can be in a hammock, gardening, a pet, plants, etc.
Set Routines that Work For You
Routines will give your day a purpose and direction. It will keep you from being scattered mind and exhausted every day. Routines are also super beneficial for everyone in your household.
Kids especially thrive on routines! They will know what to do when certain days come around or when a particular task will occur.
A Simple Life Means Living Frugally
Be intentional with your spending. Try not to follow the Joneses and spend every dime trying to keep up. It’s unrealistic!
Find Joy In the Everyday Tasks
Thinking you won’t be happy until XYZ happens will only cause you to live a life of unhappiness and unfulfillment. Do things that spike your happiness outside of social media.
Don’t let the place you live determine your level of happiness.
More often than not, people live in an area where they don’t necessarily want to live but need to live.
This can be because of job security or because family is nearby. While I do wholeheartedly believe that where you live determines your life satisfaction. Sometimes, you don’t get to choose that easily. And if your place isn’t where you would like to be, you have to learn how to appreciate and accept where God has put you.
Conclusion: A Simple Life
You don’t have to live in the middle of nowhere to incorporate Simple Living. You can start living a simple life even if you live in the middle of New York. Simple Living is more about your mindset, living on less, becoming self-sufficient, and trusting God in the process.
And you can do that anywhere.
If Simple Living is something you long for in 2023, then you can also benefit from creating your own Vision Board for 2023. In this Blog Post, I share a few simple ways to create your own Vision Board!
