Being able to acquire bigger and better things in life is not making
us any happier. In fact, you may be surprised to hear that our happiness
levels peaked in 1957. According to David Wann, co-author of Affluenza:
The All Consuming Epidemic, the
most affluent countries around the world are the same ones experiencing
the most stress. Despite the fact we live in larger homes and have
more gadgets than our parents ever dreamed of, depression and stress are
very common problems.
Our addiction to consumption and getting the biggest, newest or
trendiest thing is taking us further away from what really brings deep
satisfaction to our lives. We have reached a place in our evolution
where time is becoming a precious and valued commodity. Our souls are
craving a simplicity with the underlying want of feeling less pressure
and less stress in our lives.
If you are not yet convinced of the value in living a simple life,
the following are 8 reasons why you should consider embracing a simpler
life:
1. A satisfying lifestyle becomes your priority
Your family and lifestyle becomes the priority as opposed to being
focused on earning more, buying more and looking after more stuff. You
start thinking about what’s important to you and not what others or the
media say is important to you. You create a thoughtful and meaningful
lifestyle that offers satisfaction to the core of your being.
2. You now value the gift of time
Time is now considered a precious gift that is preferred to be spent
in a more relaxed and meaningful way to the individual. You prefer a
smaller home, saving you the time and energy demands that comes with a
larger home such as maintenance, cleaning and repairing. You now only
work the hours to suit your new thoughtful lifestyle and eliminate time
wasters such as TV to get a deeper sense of value from your time.
3. Your stuff no longer demands your attention
All things filling your home demand your attention, constantly. You
need time and energy to buy them in the first place. Once in your home
they require to be used, not used, cleaned, stored, taken out, put away,
re-arranged, thought about again, repaired, re-organized into better
storage and insured. You then need to make a choice at some stage in the
future if you still want to keep them, give them away or throw them
out.
This all adds up to a whole lot of thinking, worrying, time and
energy being directed towards your stuff which, of course, takes you
away from your new simpler lifestyle.
4. Achieve more with less
When living a simpler life you have less things to worry about, less
distractions and less energy pulls and drains. Your pace of life is
gentler and your thinking clearer. You now have the time to gain a
deeper sense of self and therefore a greater connection to your true
goals in life. You are able to focus more of your energies more intently
towards a few key goals, which actually produces greater results.
5. The law of diminishing returns
The more you have of something or the more you experience a pleasure,
the less you notice and enjoy it over time. The initial rush of
enjoyment when buying something new gradually declines with frequent
exposure.
This is certainly true with children who are overwhelmed with
excitement at first, only to find the novelty quickly wears off. Buying
more stuff to make you feel better or as quick pick me up does not
offer any lasting satisfaction.
6. Reduces money stress
Living in a smaller home just big enough for your needs saves you
plenty of money which, in turn, reduces your money stress. You are now
no longer worried about the fluctuation in mortgage interest rates. It
is cheaper to heat and cool, you need less cleaning products and you
can’t over spend on furniture, decorations and stuff as you only buy
accordingly to your limited storage space. A smaller yet comfortable
home also brings the family closer together physically and emotionally.
7. Your self worth is no longer connected to the stuff you have accumulated
You begin to realize that your true self-worth and what inspires you
to jump out of bed in the morning has nothing to do with how much stuff
you own. An addiction to consumption doesn’t satisfy the soul. You start
to question your motives behind what has driven you to accumulate so
much in the past.
8. Conscious Consumption
You release your attachment from addictive consumption and switch to
conscious consumption. The simpler you live the more conscious you
become about your spending choices. You value each purchase. You have a
greater awareness as to the consumable items environmental impact and
effect on sustainable living. You buy wisely with the bigger picture in
mind.
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