How do you give yourself permission to keep things simple? Do you naturally default to that?
I have a tendency to make things more complicated than they should be. Or at least perceive them to be. I seem to find the path of most resistance and feel that’s the one I need to take. Over the years I feel that I have gotten better about it – mostly because I’ve discovered that how I react to situations (with calmness or stress? Ease or panic?) heavily influences just how bumpy that path ultimately is.
In some areas of my life, mostly domestically, I like to find a more simple approach. If some families live an amusement park style life, we live the suburban park life. I don’t like to feel pressure to enjoy myself, enjoyment tends to find us in simple, everyday activities.
Combining that desire, to lead a simple and happy life, with my defaulting anxious tendencies makes for some interesting times. However, this summer, when it’s primarily just been the four of us, I’m reminded of what really matters. In the past, when I’ve faced stressful situations, or taken a very difficult path, I later realize (sometimes much later) that there was a better way, or that I created all of that resistance myself.
Sometimes, it’s all about the simple. As we enter one of the busiest times of the year for our family, I need to keep reminding myself of that.
How do you Keep It Simple?
I try to give myself the grace that simplicity is allowed and indeed, wonderful. Sometimes I need to remind myself that everything doesn’t need to be so involved and that it is okay if something is easy, that it doesn’t mean I don’t care or am not doing my best. I t
Since I have left my job I have struggled with simple. My default speed has been overdrive for so long that this new slower pace feels unnatural to me. I find myself fluctuating between loving it abs and feeling guilty. But slower is what I wanted, what my hubby and I both wanted. So we are adjusting.