4 Signs That Show You Are Living Life Simply
1. Don’t compare with others, enjoy your own life.
Carnegie said in How to Win Friends and Influence People: Many troubles in life stem from us blindly comparing with others and forgetting to enjoy our own life.
Deeply agree.
In real life, some people are not seeking happiness, but are competing to be happier than others.
They compare their status, houses, wealth, and children with others…They compare and compare and at the end, there is nothing unique left in their hearts. The originally simple happiness vanishes.
Everyone must live their own life. No matter how good others are, it has nothing to do with them. Living your own life is the only way.
Only intelligent people understand that life is not easy, so they try to live as simple as possible.
Not comparing yourself to others, enjoying your own life is the first sign of a simple life.
2. A high-class life is a hassle-free life.
November 16th is International Day of Tolerance. Never heard of that right? I read it in a story once.
Peter and Elliot were “emotional rivals” at the university, and the relationship had always been a bit unsettling. After graduation, the two joined the same company. Elliot was in the marketing department and Peter was in the administration. Even though they were not in the same department, the narrow-minded Elliot said a lot of awful things about Peter. It was along the lines of Peter being such a romantic in the university; he was pushy, beat people, caused trouble, punished by the school, etc.
A year later, Peter was transferred to the head of the market development department and became Elliot’s boss. Elliot thought about the rumors and slander against Peter, and worried that he would take the opportunity to retaliate. Elliot felt uneasy.
Unexpectedly, not only did Peter not retaliate against Elliot, but on the contrary, at small meetings and others, he often praised his intelligence, ideas, abilities, and motivation, and let him continue to expand his business.
Peter’s tolerance convinced Elliot, and he became more motivated to work. He gave up his jealousy and took the initiative to help Peter make suggestions and became his competent assistant. The employees who were waiting to watch the “good show” were also impressed by Peter’s tolerance. Everyone continually worked together to make the entire marketing department work vividly.
In life, many people focus so much on the unpredictability of people’s hearts and complicated interpersonal relationships and end up making themselves physically and mentally exhausted to deal with relationships.
There is a saying that goes “you are simple, the world is simple.” So to be more tolerant, not overreacting to some things, and not to care about some disputes, can gradually reduce some unnecessary friction and trouble.
Being tolerant, generous, reasonable and forgiving are not weaknesses; they show a kind of resilient mind.
Being tolerant of others, one is less frustrated.
Being tolerant of yourself and be more happy.
Being tolerant and staying hassle-free is the second sign of a simple life.
3. The more you are able of live, the more you can breathe.
Hideko Yamashita put forward the concept of “Decluttering” and wrote the book DanShaRi, which means to tidy up.
To cut is to cut off the things that are not needed;
To give up is to give up the unnecessary things;
To leave is to get rid of the obsession with the matter.
DanShaRi is not to encourage people to deliberately live poor lives, but it is to let the goods maximize their value and experience the happiness and beauty of life in a simple way.
I saw this story on a post online. In a weekend, inspired by the discipline of decluttering, this woman decisively started a thorough cleanup of his home. She wrote: “I cleaned up 5 bags of waste and 500 kilograms of old books for the first time.” The discarded waste included a stack of her diaries over the past ten years, and other books bought by herself, or was just reluctant to throw away. She packed up the old books she cleaned out and sent them to the rural library charity project organized by the local newspaper, and gave some extra clothes and shoes to relatives and friends in the countryside. She continued to write: “In that mess, whether it is your works, masterpieces or classics, as long as they are not siding along with your own “feeling”, discard them.” The books she hoped to accompany her at home were her likes and all “felt” right with her. After cleaning up, she expressed how she felt very refreshed and relaxed. She realized that many items in the past did occupy and consume her energy, and her space was occupied by these unwanted items. She emphasized that decluttering is only the beginning, it will not end; she will again continue to clean up her home and her heart. At the same time, she will be more cautious when buying new items. She hopes that she will make the best use out of every item of hers.
I believe this women’s story will resonate with many people.
In real life, many people have the habit of hoarding items. For example, many clothes are only bought on a whim, and they don’t really need them; some items are only bought at a discount online, but in fact they have not been used at all. Over time, things accumulate more and more, which not only wastes money and takes up a lot of space, but also affects the mood of life, making people feel depressed and entangled.
If we can re-examine the relationship between ourselves and objects and improve our spiritual environment through learning and practicing “decluttering,” we can become more refreshed with life.
Leaving room to breathe is the third sign of a simple life.
4. Make your circle small and clean.
A friend once talked to me about his troubles.
In the past, around New Year’s every year, many relatives, friends, classmates, and acquaintances came back home from other places. The various get-togethers were endless.
He complains saying that he gets drunk every day and doesn’t know what to do. As a result, after a holiday, he even fell ill. He was tired of dealing with these things every year, but he did not dare to refuse, in fear of hurting the friendship with others. However, this year’s pandemic made him understand the fact that many of his get-togethers were completely unnecessary. Because of the pandemic, there are no wine shops, and no parties. He just spends time with his family and talks about work, life status, and plans. After the pandemic was brought under control, his social concept was completely changed and cancelled all of his unnecessary gatherings.
In addition to his job, he is able to start reading and writing in his spare time. He tells me his life has become more and more simple, and his mind and body are finally at ease. He told me that in fact, you don’t have to drink and eat with people to have a better friendship.
In real life, many people believe that having a large social group is crucial to expand their contacts. And it turns out that the seemingly colorful social circles are actually not good for personal growth and progress, and many of them are actually ineffective.
A social psychologist once did a study. They categorized people into three groups. Each group was limited to make 10, 30, and 60 friends at the same time.
In other words, in your life, you will have no more than 10, 30, or 60 real friends. They gathered that the group with 60 friends had the weakest relationship between all of them, and the opposite held true with the group that allowed only 10 friends.
This research coincides with Benjamin Franklin’s virtues. Treat everyone with sincerity, live in harmony with the majority, and be intimate with only one person.
Make your circle small and clean. This is the fourth sign of a simple life.
Human growth is actually a process from simple to complex, and then from complex to simple. Let us have a simple heart; find a balance in prosperity — noisy and quiet, gorgeous and simple — and enjoy simple beauty in your life.
Heather
