Living for Life

 

You know the acronym KISS (for Keep It Simple Silly)? My suggestion is to make a New Year’s goal (not resolution, more about this later), to simplify your life.

 

New Year‘s Day is a little over a week away. Promise yourself this will be your best year to date, and do something to make it so. Small incremental changes work best for those of us entering (or firmly entrenched in) the second half of our first century.   

 

Today people are too stressed, too harried, too tired, too overwhelmed, etc. You get the idea. So make this the year you start to simplify. Make simplicity a daily habit, a new way of life.

 

Why a goal?

 

Instead of a resolution, which you break once and forget about, make a New Year’s goal. A goal you evaluate the end of every week (or month). If you don’t make it one week, you try again the next. No recriminations, no hassles, no bad feelings. And another new start the next week. Another chance to shine.   

 

And, you can give the goal a range. For example, last year my goal was to exercise between 4 and 6 days each week. I only missed two weeks last year. But if something came up and I didn’t get to exercise 6 mornings – only 5 or 4, I didn’t feel bad, or guilty, I did better the next week. It’s a win – win situation.

 

So set some goals to simplify your life. You don’t have to do all of those listed below, heck, you don’t have to do any of them. Decide how and what you want to do to make your life easier, simpler, and more attractive to YOU. If like the tag line you’re over fifty, then you know how hectic life can be. It’s about time you made things easy for yourself.  

 

Simplify by

Cleaning or DE cluttering  

 

- Your house room by room (include the basement and attic if you have them). Pick a room a month and go through it and throw away things that: you don’t use, don’t fit, are broken, or have missing parts. Include furniture and appliances.  If you’re a pack-rat like me, this will be hard, but doable.

 

- Go through your clothes. Throw or give away things that: don’t fit, are long out of style, are too worn, or you’re saving because it has nice buttons. (You can snip the buttons off and save them.)

 

Improve your eating habits:

- Eat more naturally. Start eating natural rather than processed foods. Make multiple meals – a big pot or crockpot of stew, a pan of lasagna, a large casserole. This doesn’t mean you can’t have a pizza now and then, but eat more fruits and vegetables, lean meat, and whole grain products.

 

- Learn how to food shop effectively. Use coupons and shop the sales. Pick up more than you need of sale items and freeze the extras.  

 

Exercise

 

-    Pick a range from 2 to 7 days a week. Either pick a time or several short periods during the day. Get up and move!

-    Alternate your routine do different exercises every other day.

 

Sleep and Rest

-    Get the recommended amount of sleep per night.

-    If you do a lot of physical labor, take short rests to break up long stretches. Don’t over extend yourself; you’ll feel it the next day.

So, how will you find time for all this? Especially if you’re not doing any of it now?

 

Cut out things providing little nourishment, exercise, or rest.

-    Cut down on television watching.

-    Cut down on video games, computer games, and other electronic toys. A little can go a long way.

-    Don’t just sit. If you’re waiting for someone or in a doctor’s office, bring a book, recording or make notes while you wait.

 

Don’t make drastic changes. Make moderation a buzz word. Little changes done over a period of time work as effectively as a major change which takes more time to become a habit. Remember, you’re trying to simplify your life, slow down and enjoy the day.

 

Remember, these are only suggestions. Only you can take an honest look at your life and decide what it needs to make it better.