Our anxiety often comes from complications in our lives that we, ourselves, made. We commit to several projects, we schedule so many things, set so many goals that in the end we aren’t able to give everything the best we could. Some people are, by nature, more prone to worry than others. But we can call do our best to reduce our worries by uncluttering our lives, both physically and emotionally.
Throw-Away Lifestyle
One of the major challenges that we have to face is to resist society’s pressure to compete to have better, newer, upgraded everything. From fashion trends to how we serve food on our tables, we want to have the best and the latest. Because of this, a lot of our things only last us a few months.
This consumerist attitude wastes a lot of money. Good clothing, well-functioning gadgets are discarded simply because they’re no longer the mod. Consequently, to afford this kind of lifestyle, we are pressured to earn more. It’s much more practical if you just upgrade your systems instead of buying a new laptop or phone. You could have your phone repaired instead of throwing it away.
For clothes, instead of following trends, buy classic and durable apparel. Sure, you initially shell out more since sturdy materials are often more expensive, but since you’d be able to use them for years, you save money in the long run.
Acquiring Unnecessary Things
Another financial baggage is the need to acquire things. Examples of these unnecessary things people buy are construction ladders, steel scaffolding, drilling machines. If you’re engaged in construction, maybe you need them, but if you’re just using them once every five years when you renovate, it might be better to just find a company that lends this kind of equipment.
Some people also stock up on plates, utensils, several pots and pans that don’t get used for long periods. Again, there are businesses like caterers and events organizers that have these things that they sometimes rent out. Think of how often you use something. Are you really saving by having them or are they just taking up storage space?
You might think you have to own them because of the few occasions they are necessary. If you don’t need to use it frequently, borrow rather than buy. Not only will you save yourself from unnecessary expenditure you will also lessen the clutter in your home.
The Energies Surrounding Us
Be it due to people around us, or the emissions from gadgets you are using, all of these greatly affect us. However, these energies could not be seen, so we are not often conscious of these. They manifest in the way we feel. To a great extent, our emotions could change depending on the energies surrounding us.
At one time or another, you have felt refreshed, fatigued, sad, or happy without reason except that the person with you feels the same way. Energy is infectious which is why you should be picky with the people you allow into your life, especially those you frequently hang out with.
Other than affecting our energies, people could also be draining us because of the pressures they put on us. Acknowledge it or not, overthinking how people would react to what you’re doing or saying is among our major stressors. The classic statement here is still that you can’t please everybody. To avoid too many complications, don’t care too much about the opinions of everyone around you.
These are the friends who will accompany you and support you through your ups and downs. You don’t need to think of pleasing them because they will understand you and won’t judge you no matter what you do. They will instead give you advice and perhaps scold you, but they would not leave you just because you failed to meet their expectations of you.
Endless Noise
Some people can’t stop chattering. They say everything that comes to their mind. They’re not comfortable with silence. Any sound, even if it’s just their voice, is necessary for them. There are mental illnesses that have this symptom but there are also those who just need to distract themselves from their thoughts that they don’t want to acknowledge.
Even as we are pressured by the surrounding people, the greatest pressures are actually within us. We have an image of ourselves. We have goals. And when we fail to live up to these, we often can’t forgive ourselves. So we become afraid of acknowledging our weaknesses, our fears, our failures. Living a simple life needs us to be at peace with ourselves.
Simple living sounds so basic, but it’s so hard to achieve because we have gotten used to so many distractions around us. But if we make the effort to trim down the unnecessary things in our lives, we could finally start living as how we should — simply and contentedly.
