Choosing Voluntary Simplicity » Personal Development

Learning To Slow Down

Shirley — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:29:12 +0000

Life today for most people moves at a hectic pace. A surprising number of people are convinced that they always have to be "doing something" and are so afraid of boredom that they deliberately fill any free time with activities and planned events... multitask to take advantage of every single minute... and then wonder why their lives still feel empty. Feeling that you're just existing instead of really living each day is a horrible feeling... but life doesn't have to be like that.

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Leaving Your Comfort Zone & Taking That First Step

Shirley — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 13:25:24 +0000

Change is hard... and big change is REALLY hard. I think that's why so many people are often resistant to making changes in their lives. They will stay in situations that make them unhappy... continue to work at jobs or in professions they hate. It's scary to leave your comfort zone and face uncertainty and the unknown... it's almost always easier just to "keep on keeping on."

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Making the Most of Those Lifestyle Challenges

Shirley — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:06:49 +0000

Most of you have seen and many have probably participated in some of the various lifestyle challenges that circulate through the Internet... challenges like zero spending for a certain number of days, cooking one complete meal from scratch, or purging a specified number of items each day.

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How Do You Choose to Fill Your Time?

Shirley — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:00:41 +0000

Think about how often we all regretfully say that we don't have the time to do "something" (you fill in the blank). What we're actually saying is that whatever this "something" is, we aren't giving it a top priority in our lives. Not enough time... or not a priority. There's a big difference there.

The first step to finding balance and meaning in your life... and putting an end to the feeling that you're just existing day to day... is to stop allowing the hours of your day to be filled by default with "busy-ness" that you don't control. Take some time to sort out what your real priorities are and to determine what is really important to you... and also what is not. Try to eliminate or reduce the things you routinely do that bring you little or no satisfaction or joy, and reclaim that time for something more meaningful to you. This process is the same for everyone, but your priorities will be unique to you because they will be influenced by YOUR circumstances and YOUR goals.

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Sometimes It Takes a Closer Look

Shirley — Fri, 15 May 2009 13:33:27 +0000

These violets are almost hidden in the tall grass of our meadow... it would be so easy to walk past and see them only as patches of color. It takes a closer look to really appreciate the spectacular markings and the simple beauty of this tiny flower.

A lot of life is like that. We're often so busy looking for something "more"... something bigger, something better... and sometimes we don't stop and appreciate what we already have.

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Do Unto Others — Practicing the Golden Rule

Shirley — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 19:23:29 +0000

We had a surprising telephone call today from one of the top managers at the telephone company. She said she had been reviewing our account record and the many notations about our "courtesy and understanding" during this long bout of problems with our phone service. Most people in our situation, she said, would have let their frustrations turn into anger, and she wanted to personally say thank you for our continuing calm and reasonable attitude, even though we are still having to cope with the unresolved problem.