5 Ways to Simplify Your Life

To simplify your life is to get rid of things that don’t add value to your life. This makes room for the things in life that are important like doing things you enjoy doing or spending time with people you love. The simpler your life, the more productive, peaceful, pleasant and happy you are.

Here are 5 ways to simplify your life.

1. Forgive Yourself For Not Getting Things Done.
Stop beating yourself up over things left undone. It's common to think of forgiveness in the context of forgiving someone who has wronged you. You let them off the hook, so to speak. Well, let yourself off the hook. Brush off that nagging voice that’s constantly telling you, ”You said you were going to mop the floors!” “When are you going to mop!” “You can’t get anything done!” That nagging little voice will haunt you and make you feel like you’re the worst person in the world for not doing what you planned to do. Don’t listen! Forgive yourself! In fact, once you forgive yourself, this may motivate you to do what needs to be done!

2. Clean out your purse.
How many times have you gone into your purse to find your keys and couldn’t find them because there was so much “stuff” in your purse? I was in line at the grocery store with a friend recently. I had already checked out and was standing there waiting for her to pay for her groceries. She wrote a check, went into her purse to find her drivers license and couldn’t find it. She must have dug down in that huge, heavy purse for five minutes trying to locate her license. In fact, after a while, I thought about just offering to pay for her groceries. She finally found her license.

At one of my speaking engagements, I did an exercise where I brought in a scale to weigh purses. The idea was to see which woman was carrying the most “baggage.” Whoever had the heaviest purse would be the woman labeled as carrying not just baggage in her purse, but also baggage in her life. That exercise taught me that women carry around way too much unnecessary baggage!

3. Know where your money goes.
Do you know where your money goes, or do you just spend, spend, and spend? A friend says, “Let’s go out to lunch today.” You say, “Ok, I’m ready let’s go.” Need a new pair of shoes? “I’ll run out at lunch and see if I can find the shoes I need.” A past due bill comes in the mail. “Oh, here’s a check for that.” A relative needs to borrow a hundred dollars. “Here you go. Don’t worry about paying me back.” Need to get a pedicure and manicure? “How much do I owe you? Thirty dollars? Here ya go, and here’s a ten dollar tip.” Need gas for the car? Seventy-five dollars for that. One hundred dollars for this. Fifty dollars for that. Ten dollars for this. Twenty-five dollars for that.

When you spend uncontrollably, you waste a lot. For some of us, someone else could take what we waste and live comfortably on it. Simplify your life by gaining control of your spending. Become more conscious of what you’re spending your money on and determine where the waste is. Know where your money goes.

4. Learn to say no.
Are you constantly saying yes? Yes I’ll do this. Yes I’ll do that. Yes, yes and yes. First of all, examine your motives for always saying yes. Why is it always yes? Do you say yes because you think nobody’s going to do it as good as you? Do you say yes because it makes you feel valuable and needed? What’s your motive?

If you’re going to simplify your life, you’re going to have to learn to say no. This is not promoting a selfish attitude. It’s protecting your inner self and your sanity so when others need you, you’re healthy, capable and able to extend the help that is needed.

5. Be Thankful.
“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations” (Psalm 100:4-5). No matter what’s going on in your life, take time to say, “Thank you God that things are as well as they are.”

A thankful heart protects you. It protects you from negative emotions like bitterness, wrath, anger and unforgiveness. When you possess a heart of thanksgiving, it’s difficult to be bitter and angry. It’s difficult to hold on to unforgiveness. We have a lot to be thankful for. God has been good to us. And even when we haven’t taken care of ourselves, He’s taken care of us. In our complex, busy lives, even though we don’t always take time for Him, He takes time for us. Simplify your life by being thankful!

Listen to Shamarion Sunday at 4:00 p.m. on Houston’s 100.7 FM, or online at kkht.com where she will present a half hour session on 10 Ways to Simplify Your Life. Tune in!!