All this month we’re talking about happiness.
This week is National Simplify Your Life Week. This is a serendipitous great start to “Admit Your Happy Month.” Sometimes life can get so crazy, chaotic, and out of control that it can wear on our overall happiness. But that’s nothing that can’t be fixed by simplifying things a little bit. Here are some ideas to help you get started in leading a simpler life and boosting happy thoughts.
The first step to being happy is being ready to receive happiness. This means clearing out the negative energy in your life. Throughout life, you should always schedule “Me Time” to spend time focusing on your health and emotional well being to make sure that you’re coming from a place of light and ready to receive happiness into your life. Whether your “Me Time” includes taking a bubble bath, going to the gym, seeing a spiritual advisor, making sure you actually go to those doctor appointments you’ve been meaning to schedule, reading a book. Large or small, make sure you take the time to focus on you.
Next, you need to focus on your immediate surroundings. Are the places where you spend the most time bringing you happiness? If not, it’s time to clean up, declutter, and organize! Our friends at Graceful Spaces can help you bring a little feng shui and peace into your life. Also, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… Marie Condo’s methods for decluttering your home and creating joy in your surroundings presented in her book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying up” are truly magic.
Once you’re ready to receive happiness, it’s time to take a look at what you allow into your life and evaluate if it really makes you happy or not. One thing we often hear people complain about is how much we’re letting technology get in the way of living our lives. Technology has grown at such an incredible rate in our lifetime that we went from not being able to communicate with someone unless we were face-to-face, or able to catch them while they happened to be home and near their phone. Math, learning, even the simple act of reading, were all done by hand with paper or thumbing through books in a library.
The advancement of technology has made more information than ever available all at our fingertips 24/7, but with that comes the burden of feeling like you have to spend every free second contributing to, and ingesting that information. Simply put: You Don’t. Take a break from technology for a week and use this time to evaluate what you truly miss, and what you can do without. This will give you more time to focus on the things that bring you happiness.
This concept doesn’t just apply to technology, you can use it with any aspect of your life. Do you have a friend who you think is toxic to your life? Are you part of a social or volunteer organization that you’re just dragging yourself to go to without true enjoyment? Don’t participate for a week. See how you feel after. Perhaps there are a few things in life that need reevaluating.
Lastly, when you complete your week of simplifying your life, don’t forget to show a little gratitude for your accomplishments. Share the wealth and help someone else simplify their life.
With Gratitude,
Cristen
