Simplicity

The baggage we carry through life can weigh and slow us down. Simplify your life by asking what experiences enrich your life and choose to keep them, clear your mind of the useless baggage by forgiving and forgetting. Remember any fool can complicate things, but it is the genius who simplifies life for himself and others.

Simplicity means the achievement of maximum effect with minimum means. Ralph Waldo Emerson said "to be simple is to be great".

So how can we be great and how can we simplify our lives?

Begin with simplifying the way you Communicate.

We are constantly being bombarded by a sea of information, we need to make quick decisions on the phone, answer emails and interact on social media. Listen and understand before answering, this will ensure that you only give the information required by the people concerned.

Keep things simple and get to the point quickly, if we are saying something we should pronounce our words properly and say things slower. People will only remember what they think is important in what you have said and not what you thought was important, so the best is to say a little and say it over and over again. The ability to connect with others starts with understanding that they too want to be heard, so we need to listen and understand them first so that they can listen to us. There is a saying that goes people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care.

Dr. Seuss said the following:  "So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads."

Remembering that most of the communication we have is non verbal the most important thing to do when communicating is to smile, yes when you talking to people but also when you speaking on the phone, writing and email, smiling raises your energy and it will raise the energy of what you say too. Louis Auchincloss puts it so well, "The only thing that keeps a man going is energy and what is energy but liking life?"

Routine will simplify your life too, it gives you discipline which simplifies thoughts in your mind. Sleep at the right time so that you have enough energy to get things done as planned.

And here are a few more thoughts:

Don't make your plans too complex, get to the essence of what you are trying to achieve.

Simplify your lifestyle by not buying on credit.
Eat when you are hungry, sleep when you are tired, live in the moment.
Be grateful for what you have - be content and love yourself!

Please let me have your ideas on how we can all simplify our lives, have a simply marvelous day.

Image courtesy of dan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net