SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE

Author Unknown

Everyone is busy. Ask any retired person you know and they will tell you they do not know where the time goes. Their life is so full. And to thing that they are retired.

It is impossible to add any more to a full cup. When our lives are filled to the brim, there is no room for anything else to come in. Our lives become more and more frantic, we become stressed, our health suffers, and we have less fun and feel more and more powerless. Our lives may feel out of control.

The idea of controlling time is a myth. There is no way to control time. All you can do is attempt to control events, and many of them are out of your control. You need to take charge of the things over which you do have control. This takes discipline. It is not easy. With a finite amount of time available, you need to choose very carefully. This is your life. It is not a dress rehearsal.

In order to make room for what you want, you need to get rid of what you do not want. Your life will fill up by choice or by default. You need to choose. This requires a ruthless evaluation of everything you do and why you do it. You can make more time for yourself by delegating, reducing or eliminating things you are now doing. Things you either do not like to do or do not provide the payoff you require.

It may not seem immediately apparent what or how something can be eliminated, but it can be done. It starts with making a list of everything you do that you do not like doing and everything that no longer has real value to you.

Once you have made your list of hate-to-do and low-payoff tasks, it is time to start prioritizing. One way to do this is to think about what you would do if you became incapacitated. How would these things get done? Would they get done? What would happen if they did not get done? Who else might do it? What could you be doing to produce more or better results?

Look for at least three things you are doing… things you could discontinue or delegate. Think of how you would feel if you were no longer obligated to do these things. If the feeling is relief, then eliminate these tasks.

Dr. Wayne Dyer says, “relationships operating from obligation lack integrity. Our relationship with ourselves and with others should be one of integrity. Our goal is to eliminate this feeling of obligation.”

What do you have in your life that you no longer want? Are they things? Obligations? Jobs? Problems?

In our complex world, it is more important than ever to simplify our lives. Getting rid of whatever no longer serves us is one way we can do that.

What are you ready to eliminate from your life?