Posts Tagged ‘simple life’

As I was growing up and going through school, I was constantly told that I should do things because it would give me more choices. The more options I had the better off I would be. To an extent, I think this is actually true. However, having too many choices and not being able to choose can also bring about stress.

Lately, I have been planning my wedding. And even though we are keeping it small and simple, there is still a lot to plan. The complications are further increased since people will be coming from around the world.

Most recently we have been working on invitations. There are a lot of choices. Do we have them made or make them ourselves? If we make them ourselves what kind of paper and what color. Where should we get the paper from? What about envelopes? This is a pretty special occasion, we want it to be perfect right? We don’t want to get it wrong.

Not wanting to get it wrong is what causes the reluctance to make a choice. The more choices there are, the more you have to give up to make a choice. What if we choose a certain card and then don’t like it. We would have give up all those others that might have been better. This inability to make a choice can waste a lot of time and cause a lot of stress, especially when there is a deadline.

So what should you do?

I find that selecting the ones that I like and then making quick eliminations works well for me. If a feature I am looking for isn’t present then it is eliminated. Once I have far fewer choices it is much easier to make a choice. And while some times I will wish I had made a different choice. That disappointment is usually much smaller than the stress of not being able to make a choice at all.

Sometimes even a bad choice can be better than not being able to make a decision at all. A bad choice can be fixed and you can move forward. If you don’t make a choice then you can’t move forward at all.

Lots of choices are a good thing, but only if you are able to make a decision. If not, then you are better of with fewer options.

What is really important to you? What matters the most in your life? This is a question we often hear, and most people tend to have very similar answers. My family, my friends,  and my health are probably the three answers I hear the most. And I truly believe this is what’s important to most people. Unfortunately, a lot of the time our actions often don’t reflect this. We get too caught up in work, the pursuit of money, houses, toys, etc, and forget about what really matters. So how do  we make sure we are working towards the things that are really important? Keep it simple.

I have realized that I can’t do everything. But I can do a few things very well if I focus all my energy on them. Limiting my focus to only a few things also keeps my life very simple and clear. I know what my goals are and that makes them easier to achieve. It also makes it very easy to break up my day into allotted time spots.

Since there are only a few things I need to do each day I have very few distractions. I can work towards the things that are important to me more efficiently. I don’t have to remember a large number of tasks and I don’t have to worry about not finishing everything.

Now I know a lot of people think this is impossible for there lifestyle. And if you are unwilling to change and give up things that are less important to you for ones that are more important, then they are probably right. But give it a try for just a week. Choose four things that are the most important to you and only allow time for those 4 things. Cut everything else out. Try it for just one week and see what happens!