I want to ask you a question – what’s more important to you: things or life experiences?
Even before my lown life changed drastically, I was never particularly motivated by money or material things. I always prefer to create purpose, connection, meaning and memories I can cherish. Those are all things that money cannot buy and they are more important to me than anything else.
We seem to live in a society that tells us that having more will make us happy.A society that values being busy over everything else. How many people talk about how busy they are? How stressed? How much we all have to do is a constant theme and it almost seems to be something to be proud of to have come out from under challenges and stress. After all, it’s then documented on social media for all to see and applaud.
Don’t you agree that the more we do the more we feel like we have to do? Until most of us feel totally overwhelmed with our work load, keeping our relationships in balance, maintaining physical health and keeping in touch with family and friends. Add to that outside stressors like climate change, social issues and politics and it’s not hard to see how most people feel overwhelmed by life.
Most people’s answer to the feeling of overwhelm is to try to fit more in, get more done, work harder, hustle etc. We try to control everything on our plate, juggling things and sacrificing our health, sleep and mental wellbeing to get through the to-do list. But what if the real secret to tackling your endless list of tasks is actually to reevaluate how you measure success?
Taking some time to reassess your priorities and simplify areas of your life can assist you in redefining your goals and reflecting upon who you truly are and your purpose here.
Make a conscious decision to take an honest look at your life and re-focus on authentic sources of happiness, rather then just going through the motions and
Read on to find out my ultimate life hacks for simplifying for success.
1. Identify what matters to you.
Get a notepad and pen and brainstorm the things in your life that really are important to you. Make a list of the top five. Try to create a few words or a sentence that sums up who you are and what your essence is. What lights you up? Create some words or phrases that reflect this back to you and pin it up somewhere where you can see it every day to be reminded of it.
2. Identify what prevents you from truly living that essence.
In the same notepad you are going to make some lists of the things in your life as it currently is that prevent you from achieving what you truly want. Ask yourself where in life things are weighing you down? Where can you eliminate the things that do not directly contribute towards your goal? Do you spend too much time on distractions that don’t actually help you towards your ideal vision?
3. Organize and Delegate
Life flows easier when you are organized. Instead of wasting nervous energy panicking about how much you have to do, develop a system that works for you. Whether it’s planning your work load into time slots of 20 minutes (with a 5 minute break), laying out your outfit for work or the gym the night before or meal prepping a week in advance. This kind of planning ahead can make your life 50% easier and free up essential time for more interesting things. Equally important is delegating where necessary. You do not need to do everything yourself, share the load where appropriate with a colleague or family member and remember that boundaries are important.
4. Start the Day Spiritually
I talk about this a lot in my blogs, but having a morning ritual is one of the most loving things you can do for yourself and it starts your day off right. Even if you are not a morning person, you won’t regret taking that extra half hour or so to prepare for the day ahead. That could be time spent in quiet reflection, meditation, yoga, journalling or however you wish to mentally prepare to begin your day. It’s also an awesome way to connect to yourself, prepare the day ahead in your mind and see where you can plan to move forward with your goals as the day goes by.
5. Cut out Toxic Relationships
Ok, I know this is challenging in reality, but I promise you it’s so important to your mental and emotional health, not to mention success in life. Having people in your life who bring negativity and drama is a huge time suck and a drain on your precious energy. Only you can identify who in your life fits this role. Once you do, it’s best to reduce the time you spend with them or draw up some boundaries if you cannot disconnect entirely. This can be hard, awkward and downright painful if we are talking about family members or relationships, but remember your life is in your own hands. You have to take responsibility for your own happiness.
6. Have a Technology Detox
This is a popular hack at the moment, with everyone talking about how much of a time waster it is surfing the web or scrolling through social media. There are even apps you can get to measure the time you spend and to stop you logging in! I recommend just being mindful about what you do on your phone/pad/ laptop and checking in with yourself each day, being realistic about how much ‘empty’ time you spend scrolling. Instead of feeling guilty about the time you spend online, try swapping it for something more productive. Every time you mindlessly reach for your phone, you could learn a new word in a foreign language, step outside in nature or take three deep breaths in and out. Teach your brain new ways of dealing with that addiction that comes from scrolling through feeds and clicking on articles/videos/photos that don’t actually enhance your experience or lead you further towards your goals.
These hacks are designed to help you get more intentional about who you are and what you want out of this brief and special life experience we are all living!
Make the decision to simplify your life a highly conscious one and you will in no time at all – begin to see how easy it is to actually reach your dreams.
Removing all those unnecessary layers of mental chatter, negativity and emotional time wasting you find out what is actually important to you. You can move through life with ease and freedom, connecting from a place of purpose and deep personal intention.
