Simple Living

“…Making plans for the future is of use only to people who are capable of living completely in the present.” -Alan Watts I’m a big planner. I’m always looking at the horizon and thinking about what I need to do next. It’s a mindset that has helped me in a lot of ways, but also […]

If you don’t love yourself, who will? Loving yourself is step 1 for a good life. It’s acknowledging that you are important and capable of great things. Without loving yourself, you’ll be constantly treading water and “chasing” a life for somebody else. I think a persistent problem in our culture is the inability for people […]

When something is simple, it just works. You don’t need to get every input correct. Configure every setting a certain way. There are not a bunch of unnecessary steps to get started. It just works.  Sometimes, we think we need something more than what works. We think, why not get the better version? It can do […]

The simplicity of your life is defined by your needs. The fewer needs you have, the more simple your life is. I like this definition of simple living because it accommodates the reality that people live different lifestyles, and how they adapt them to be simple is open for personal interpretation. This means you don’t […]

“I’m giving up my smartphone!” somebody will defiantly say as they are striving to live a simple life. And while I don’t disagree that a smartphone can be a huge negative influence on your life, it can also be a great simplicity enhancer. The smartphone is a tool. Just like any other tool, how you […]

The holidays can be a challenge for us simple living people. The pressure to buy gifts for an endless list of people is real, and it’s conflict with personal values of trying not to consume “stuff” can be stressful. But you can make choices to make your holidays simpler. Through some careful planning ahead of […]

When you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time. -Zig Ziglar What are you aiming for? For a long time I thought simple living meant that I should not be a goal-driven person. I should take life day-by-day. Live simply. But overtime I found that the “driftless” simple living definition is very rudimentary. […]

I recently asked a group of people what their biggest challenge to simple living was. The most popular answer? How to stop multitasking and learn to focus.  Focus is a interesting concept. We think of it like this abstract thing that requires we have all of the puzzle pieces aligned, and then pop! Out comes focus! […]

I used to be a big sucker for new electronics. I liked to own the latest and greatest, and got excited to watch new product announcements. This time of year is especially trying, as the new iPhone and Google phones are announced. New features, new design, all the glitter! Following the launch of a new […]

Have you ever had somebody make a commitment to you, then not follow-through on it?  Feels bad. Have you ever made a commitment to yourself, then not followed-through on it? Feels worse. There is no better way to build up your self-respect than by holding yourself accountable. Setting goals, determining your values, or committing yourself […]