It’s important to realize that you can only control your own actions in this world. While the world around you probably won’t slow down, there are some great tactics that can help you slow down more and find peace with the fast pace of the world.

In this article, I want to highlight some of the best ways to slow down, backed by studies and examples. After reading this article, you won’t be able to turn the rest of the world into slow-motion like they do in The Matrix. But you’ll definitely know how to slow down yourself, without feeling like the world is running you down the drain.

Why slow is smooth, and smooth is fast

People often think that in order to be productive (and successful), you have to be fast. But there’s a military phrase that explains why slowing down is actually a good thing: “slow is smooth, and smooth is fast”.

What most people don’t realize is that slowing down doesn’t have to impact your personal goals in life. In fact, slowing down in life can help you value and appreciate your actions so much more.

That’s not to say that a fast-paced life is equal to an unhappy life. It means that learning to slow down in your life is just a matter of making small choices that benefit your mental health. This doesn’t have to come at the cost of your productivity.

The benefits of slowing down

If you think I’m just making this up for the sake of a nice article, you’d be wrong. There are numerous studies that suggest that slowing down is beneficial, in more than one way.

Rushed decisions lead to regret more often

You’ve probably heard this common phrase before: “waste makes waste”. It means that if you rush things, you’re more likely to make a mistake that leads to a waste of time, resources, or relationships.

This was the topic of a fascinating study published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. This study tricked people into making rushed decisions and tested whether or not they felt regretful about their choices. The study found that rushed decisions lead to regret more often.

Perhaps even more interesting: the people who rushed their decision and turned out to be right were still more likely to experience regret. And as we all know, regret is not something that makes us happier.

In fact, repetitive feelings of regret are linked to anxiety and depression disorders. This study elegantly shows why it’s important to slow down more when making decisions.

By the way: Do you find it hard to be happy and in control of your life? It may not be your fault. To help you feel better, we’ve condensed the information of 100’s of articles into a 10-step mental health cheat sheet to help you be more in control.

Don’t Miss Out On Happiness

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Smartphones make it more difficult to slow down

Have you noticed how, whenever they have an idle minute, people are glued to their smartphones? Whether you’re waiting in line for the cashier, or you’re filling up your car with gas, most people fill this time with the addictive behavior of scrolling through news headlines or social media feeds.

However, a nasty trait of these apps is that there’s always something new at the top of your feed. This makes it feel like time is flying by and you just have to keep up in order to stay relevant.

Tech companies use our cognitive weaknesses as human beings to keep us on their platforms for as long as possible. I’m not trying to blame this problem entirely on Facebook, Instagram, or Tik Tok, but all these companies are very aware of how to best exploit your FOMO.

These platforms all benefit from your social media addiction, but you don’t. This is just one example of how smartphones are making it harder for us to slow down.

This small study of 180 university students found that people who spent more time on highly visual social media are more likely to experience envy. For those who are wondering what highly visual social media means, think of Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok.

Exercising more slowly still gives you all the benefits

We recently published an article discussing the positive relationship between exercising and happiness. This article discusses your exercise routine doesn’t have to be super intensive for it to be effective.

A 2018 study found that there is a significant increase in happiness even if you just exercise 1 day a week and that even 10 minutes may be enough to make you happier.

But what if you miss a day? You have to make up for that lost time in the gym by going pedal to the metal, right?

No. There is no point in over-training once a month, hoping that it will make up for all the gym sessions you skipped. As professor Michael Gleeson from Loughborough University explains, too strenuous exercise can weaken immune resistance instead of strengthening it.

These studies show why it can even be beneficial to slow down even during exercise.

7 ways to slow down more in your life

Now that we know about the negative side effects of constantly living on the edge of burnout and anxiety, you surely want to know how to slow down more in your life.

I’ve compiled some of the best tips that I’ve found the most helpful.

This first one is painfully simple and obvious.

1. Cut back on your social media time

Social media definitely has its place in today’s society, but you’ll find it hard to slow down when you fill every free minute with a quick pick at your Instagram.

The best gift you can give yourself is to log off for a while. While it may sound drastic, what’s keeping you from deleting your accounts altogether? Is it really so important to be active on these social media platforms?

If you can’t do that for some reason, then use the mute function and unfollow features that don’t add any value to your life and curate a feed that lifts you up instead of bringing you down.

2. Keep a daily journal

Journaling may not be for everybody, but that doesn’t mean it’s not an incredibly powerful habit. There are so many benefits to journaling, I won’t be able to fit them all in a single post, let alone this one.

There are a couple of benefits of journaling that will help you slow down more in life:

• Journaling is one of the most peaceful and introspective activities out there, meaning that you won’t be distracted.
• It helps you put your mind at ease and stops the thousands of thoughts from ricocheting in your brain.
• Journaling makes you more self-aware, which helps you find peace in your life.

3. Try something new

I’ve been journaling for over 10 years now, and I’ve noticed something funny along the way. Every time I think to myself “Damn, the time has really flown by!” it’s when I’ve been stuck in a routine.

You can stop this from happening by simply breaking out of your routine every once in a while. Doing so will help you realize there’s more to life than whatever you’re already doing, and it helps you appreciate the time you have more.

If you can’t think of anything new to try, here is an article that contains dozens of new things to try.

4. Dont multitask

They say that men can’t multitask. There’s even a study claiming that this is because men need more brainpower when switching between tasks.

While I refuse to comment on this statement, I do know for a fact that multitasking is overrated. Multitasking is one of the most surefire ways to rush things. Instead of taking the time to do one thing right, you’re cutting your resources and hoping that the outcome will still be desirable for all your tasks.

This is a bad idea, and William R. Klemm tends to agree with me. William is a senior professor of Neuroscience at Texas A&M University and wrote about the perils of multitasking here.

In short:

• Multitasking is stressful.
• Your IQ can drop 10 points when you’re multitasking.
• Multitasking is addictive.
• The constant switching between tasks creates a distractible state of never being fully present.

That last bullet point perfectly brings me back to the topic of this article. If you want to slow down more in life – a.k.a. be more present – you need to stop your multitasking habit.

How can you do this?

• Use the “mute” function on your smartphone.
• Don’t be afraid to say “No” to someone that requires your attention.
• If you need to work on your computer, refrain from opening up YouTube, Facebook, or your favorite news site on another monitor.
• Understand that you do not have to be accessible to everyone at every instant.

5. Block time in your calendar for yourself

Back when I still worked as an engineer, I had a colleague that I could never seem to get into a meeting room. No matter what I tried, he always pointed at his Outlook Calendar and said to me: “just find an empty slot and I’ll join your meeting”.

I would have had an easier time robbing a bank because his Calendar was always filled to the brim with appointments.

A couple of weeks before I left my job, I walked out of another meeting and saw that same colleague solving a Rubik’s cube in his office. But when I had asked him beforehand to join my meeting, he’d said he was too busy!

What he didn’t tell me was that these so-called “appointments” were just blocks of time scheduled for himself. People that tried to get him to enter a meeting couldn’t because his calendar didn’t allow for overlapping meetings.

While this wasn’t a life-changing moment for me, it did show me how slowing down can be as simple as just blocking time in your calendar for yourself.

6. Respect your work-life boundaries

Here’s another work-related one: if you want to slow down in life, you have to respect your work-life boundaries.

If you’re like most people, your job is not your life’s purpose. This means that your happiest moments are outside office hours.

If you get paid to work 40 hours a week, but you still work an extra 2 hours every day, that means that you’ll have 10 fewer hours to do the things you actually enjoy doing most. As a result, you’ll find yourself more likely to rush the things that bring you the most happiness.

You could argue that those are exactly the things that you want to slow down in your life!

If you need more help, here’s our article on how to better maintain your boundaries.

7. Try to be 5-minutes early to your appointments

It’s hard to slow down in your life when you’re always running late.

That’s why another painfully simple way to slow down more is to actually show up early at your appointments. Some people take pride in showing up right on time or actually arriving “fashionably late”. The reason is that being early is an inefficient use of your time.

But if you want to slow down in your life, try getting to your appointments 5 minutes early.

If you’re wondering what you can do in those 5 minutes to make the most use of your time, you’re missing the point. You should simply take a breath, go for a short walk, or just watch people around you rush by while scrolling through their social media feeds.

That’s when you’ll really be able to appreciate how slow time can move, and how freeing this experience can be!

By the way: If you want to start feeling better and more productive, I’ve condensed the information of 100’s of our articles into a 10-step mental health cheat sheet here.

This Cheat Sheet Will Help You Be Happier and More Productive

Thrive under stress and crush your goals with these 10 unique tips for your mental health.

Download The Free Cheat Sheet

Wrapping up

Slowing down may sound like the antonym of living a fast-paced and efficient life. But that’s not actually the case, just like the US military says “slow is smooth and smooth is fast”. By learning how to slow down in your life, you’ll live with less stress and anxiety. But even more important, you’ll be better equipped to enjoy each and every happy moment of your life without feeling rushed.

What do you think? Do you want to share your own helpful tip for slowing down in your life? Or did I miss something that others need to know? I’d love to read about it in the comments below!

Hugo Huijer Author

Founder of Tracking Happiness, with over 100 interviews and a focus on practical advice, our content extends beyond happiness tracking. Hailing from the Netherlands, I’m a skateboarding enthusiast, marathon runner, and a dedicated data junkie, tracking my happiness for over a decade.

The post 7 Ways to Slow Down More in Life (and Why It’s So Important) appeared first on Tracking Happiness.

It’s inevitable to accumulate a lot of material things throughout your life – whether you need to or not. However, keeping excessive stuff doesn’t only rob us of space but it can also be detrimental to our well-being. Instead of hoarding, collecting, and ignoring the amount of unnecessary stuff we have, a minimalist approach to our lifestyle can allow us to focus on what’s really important to us.

Now, the question is: can extreme minimalism be a good strategy to spark joy? What are the pros and cons of living a life of extreme minimalism? Let’s dive in.

What is (extreme) minimalism?

In basic terms, minimalism is all about having less. The Marie Kondo Method, for example, set fire to the minimalist movement in recent years across popular media. Kondo’s philosophy lies in the practice of only keeping the things that “spark joy” in us and getting rid of the stuff that doesn’t. With this in mind, we are promised a home with more space and a life that’s less stressful.

Furthermore, minimalism allows us to focus on the things that matter to us and reimagine a life where we need less to live more. We are pushed to stick to what we need, work with what we already own, and get used to what’s available to us.

Extreme minimalism takes the concept of having less to a whole new level. It’s a lifestyle choice that requires a deep commitment to living with only the bare essentials.

In extreme minimalism, the focus is on getting rid of everything that doesn’t bring joy, fulfillment, or serve a practical purpose. The goal is to simplify life to the point where possessions and material things no longer hold power or influence.

Instead, extreme minimalists embrace a life that prioritizes experiences, relationships, and personal growth, allowing them to live more freely and with greater purpose.

By the way: Do you find it hard to be happy and in control of your life? It may not be your fault. To help you feel better, we’ve condensed the information of 100’s of articles into a 10-step mental health cheat sheet to help you be more in control.

Don’t Miss Out On Happiness

Find happiness with this 10-step mental health cheat sheet.

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The effects of minimalism

Though it may sound like a pinch, minimalism has real benefits to our well-being.

According to this study, people who identify as minimalists reported positive changes in different aspects of their lives such as autonomy, competence, mental space, awareness, and positive emotions.

In the field of neuroscience, researchers have also found that clutter affects the visual cortex which causes the other regions of the brain to struggle in focusing and processing information. Subjects who were tested in a clutter-free environment were found to be less irritable and more productive, which gives us an insight as to how having less stuff around us can aid in our well-being.

Extreme minimalism beyond material things

Extreme minimalism doesn’t only pertain to material things – it’s also about stripping away excessive relationships, activities, and other things that may deprive us of our energy, time, and overall wellness.

From filtering your friend list on social media to deleting apps from your phone, there are many ways to apply a minimalist approach to our lives. Especially if these things drain us or no longer make us happy.

These non-material things may feel heavier to let go of. In my experience, I had to consciously make an effort to take a smaller workload at the office.

I used to be the person who felt that I could do multiple things at once without delegating them to my teammates, just because I thought I was being more productive that way. But, later on, I learned that in order to be at my best, I had to focus on one thing at a time and let others contribute to the work as well.

The pros of extreme minimalism

In case you’re seriously considering taking a minimalist approach to your living, here are some pros to living a life of extreme minimalism:

1. You have more space

The obvious advantage of being a minimalist is having more space once you’ve decluttered. It makes your surroundings more livable, comfortable, and easier to navigate.

Aside from decluttering methods, there are also a lot of organizing techniques that have been trending lately. Whether you’re making space in your wardrobe or minimizing your kitchen needs, it’s all about having a tidy environment where you actually know where things are and why you have them. This will allow you to save precious space and make room for things that matter.

2. You feel less stressed

As I have cited from a couple of scientific studies, minimalism can foster your well-being by reducing your stress, increasing your productivity, and improving your mood.

Before the pandemic, my desk used to serve as my catch-all space. But, when I had to start working from home, I decided to clear it out and get rid (quite mercilessly) of the things that were no longer of value to me. Because of this, my desk and my entire bedroom became a much better place to work in.

3. You focus on what makes you happy

Taking the Marie Kondo approach, once we get rid of the excess stuff, we’ll only be left with the things that spark joy in us. Imagine looking around and only seeing things that are valuable, mood-lifting, and intentionally kept. Wouldn’t that put a smile on your face?

4. Your life becomes more meaningful

Minimalism is about having less and living more. The less we focus on the excess stuff, the more we see the things that truly matter to us. Learning how to be happy with less makes our lives more meaningful.

With the consistent rise of consumerism and the allure of every trending thing we see on social media, we sometimes forget that life is about meaningful connections and experiences that we can cherish for a lifetime.

I used to be obsessed with dressing up whenever I was traveling just because I enjoyed posting different outfits on social media. While there’s nothing wrong with that, I’ve realized that I’ve focused most of my attention on buying outfits that I would probably only wear once or twice.

Nowadays, traveling has become a rare experience. So when I got the chance to go to the beach last recently, I noticed that I cared less about what I would wear and more about how I could make the most out of my experience. I didn’t need to feel pressured because traveling itself was already a gift. As a result, I took fewer photos during that weekend than I normally would, but it was still one of the highlights of 2020.

The cons of (extreme) minimalism

While being a minimalist has amazing benefits, it’s surely not for everyone. If you’re planning to minify your life, here are some downsides that you can expect:

1. Letting go is a struggle

Changing lifestyles is always easier said than done. Becoming a minimalist can be tough. Especially if you have to let go of things that have been a part of you for a long time.

As a fun example, I want to share my mother’s strategy when it comes to minimalism. She has a collection of kitchenware that dates back to my grandparents’ wedding. No matter how hard I try – believe me, I tried my best – she’ll never let them go due to sentimental value.

As I said, extreme minimalism simply isn’t everyone’s cup of tea!

2. Having less can make you feel outdated

If you’re the kind of person who likes to ride the “trend waves” and acquire the latest gadgets, then minimalism may not be for you.

As minimalism is all about owning less, you may feel deprived of feeling up to date. Hey, maybe you just think you deserve a little treat every now and then, regardless of how much you really need it.

And if that’s what makes you happy, there’s no judgment! You may just have to think twice about minifying your life, and just embrace the fact that it’s not your jam.

3. Decluttering can become unsustainable

One of the criticisms that the KonMari Method has faced is how embracing extreme minimalism like this can lead to a lot of trash. This trash has to be handled responsibly, which hasn’t always been the case.

It’s important to be mindful and responsible for the stuff that we’ve thrown out once it leaves our homes. Instead of taking your stuff to the trash, have you considered donating it to a good cause?

Before you throw it in the trash, make sure that your stuff will be properly recycled. The impact we have on our environment is something that we have to keep in mind. Living a minimalistic life is similar to living a sustainable life, so it makes sense that you would take care to dispose of your stuff in an eco-friendly manner.

This can be beneficial to your well-being as well, as living a sustainable life can increase your well-being!

By the way: If you want to start feeling better and more productive, I’ve condensed the information of 100’s of our articles into a 10-step mental health cheat sheet here.

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Wrapping up

A lot can be said about minimalism and the various ways we can adopt this lifestyle. But, in essence, minimalism isn’t just about tidying up and dumping junk – rather, it’s about focusing on the things that only add value to our lives. If you still love the life you’re left with, minus the pile of clothes, the dozens of group chats on WhatsApp, and a lengthy to-do list, then minimalism might just be for you!

Have you embraced a life of extreme minimalism? Do you want to share your experiences with disposing of your belongings? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below!

Madel Asuncion Author

Writer and advocate for young people’s mental health. Firm believer of validating one’s feelings, prioritizing the inner-self, and finding happiness in a plate of chicken curry.

The post Extreme Minimalism: What is It and How Can It Make You Happier? appeared first on Tracking Happiness.

Yet, I have never heard anyone say that they want to have a needlessly complex life. If anything, we want to simplify our lives. But if you’ve ever tried to live a simple life, you’ve probably noticed that it’s surprisingly difficult, because all things that make life complicated also have a purpose. Fortunately, there are some simple things that you can do to live a simpler life.

In this article I’ll take a look at why simplifying your life can be difficult and some tips for simple living.

What is a simple life?

A simple life is one where there are no frills, just the essentials. In many ways, it’s an antithesis to the consumerist and maximalist mainstream lifestyle.

But that does not mean that you have to move to a cabin in the woods and throw your smartphone in the river. While some simple living proponents advocate for self-sufficiency and being a producer, not a consumer – for example, Tom Hodgkinson in his book How To Be Free – you can live a simple life without abandoning modern society altogether.

Living simply just means that you don’t need a 4-bedroom house for yourself or a new wardrobe each season. It means valuing what you already have over the things you want.

Why is living simply so difficult?

Before we get into it, I invite you to do a little exercise with me. Take stock of the apps on your phone, files on your hard drive, or clothes in your closet. Count the total number of items in the category you chose.

Now count the items that you actually use regularly.

Here’s my own example: I have 89 apps on my phone, including the pre-installed ones. I use 22 regularly. The other 67 could be deleted, because I either don’t need them at all or because the browser can do what they do.

While a few extra apps on your phone or shirts in your closet don’t matter too much in the long run, extra commitments, people, expectations, and thoughts do.

Most of us tend to fill our lives up with all sorts of things because an overcrowded life seems better than an empty one.

And what if I get rid of some of the apps and then discover that I need them after all? It’s this “what if” mentality that makes it hard to let go of the things that complicate our lives.

By the way: Do you find it hard to be happy and in control of your life? It may not be your fault. To help you feel better, we’ve condensed the information of 100’s of articles into a 10-step mental health cheat sheet to help you be more in control.

Don’t Miss Out On Happiness

Find happiness with this 10-step mental health cheat sheet.

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The impact of fear of missing out

It’s not always about needs, either. Often, we are afraid to lose out on new trends.

FOMO or the fear of missing out is often discussed in the context of social media, but the fear exists in real life too, and it can drive us to collect things we don’t really need.

I have definitely bought more than my fair share of things that I thought I needed just because everyone else seemed to have one.

But FOMO is not exclusive to material things. I have also gone to countless events that I didn’t really enjoy because I thought I needed to be there.

While you don’t need to ditch society completely to live a simple life, you do need to take a look at your needs, wants, and values, and how they fit into the larger societal trends.

The mainstream lifestyle is not designed to be simple, which is why swimming against the current is so difficult.

How to simplify your life

So that’s the bad news. But the good news is that while difficult, simple living is not impossible. In fact, there are a wealth of blogs and articles telling you otherwise.

There are only two things you need to simplify your life:

1. Identify what’s important to you.
2. Eliminate everything else.

It’s a cynical view, but in the end, it really does boil down to those two steps. But for the sake of actionability, let’s take a look at some tips on how to identify and eliminate the right things.

1. Identify the important parts of your life

In counseling, every intervention starts with taking stock of the current situation, the things that need to change, and the resources to help the change. Simplifying your life is an intervention in itself, so before making any changes, you need to know which changes to make and where.

To start, write down the areas of your life that need simplifying. Maybe all areas need simplifying, but maybe it’s just your online life that needs an edit.

It’s also important to make sure that you know what you actually can change. Maybe you want to simplify your work life, but that is probably not only up to you. There may even be things that you have no control over and that is okay!

You just need to accept them and work on changing the things you control.

2. Distinguish between needs and wants

Do you really need the new iPhone, or do you just want it?

If the answer is the latter, then practice your resolve and don’t cave into your wants or social pressure.

Living simply means decluttering your life and eliminating the things you don’t need. But that does not mean you can’t buy a piece of cake at your favorite café when you want a little pick-me-up. There is a place for little delights in a simple life, too. But there is no place for purchases that are made out of FOMO or social pressure.

3. Cut back on media consumption

Speaking of FOMO – if you’re prone to anxiety and fear due to the constant flow of information, it’s time to purge your (social) media feeds.

The first step I recommend is to pick one or two media outlets to follow and lose all the others. If there is a story that interests you, you’re probably already reading up on it. But in general, a few news sites will be more than enough.

Secondly, go over your social media feeds and think about why you follow the accounts you do. Don’t be afraid to clean out your feed and don’t be afraid to delete your accounts if they’ve exhausted their purpose for you.

A lot of media content is just sponsored ads anyway, and there’s enough advertising on the streets already.

4. Be aware of products and promises

There are many different products that claim to simplify your life. But do you really need a wifi-connected juice maker when you already have a citrus press? There is no point in collecting 10 different single-purpose appliances when a good kitchen knife can fulfill eight of those.

Rather, if you have to buy, look for quality, sustainability, and versatility. This principle applies to everything from appliances to clothes because less really is more.

5. Practice mindfulness

Editing your media feeds and wardrobe will help you simplify your material life, and mindfulness will do the same for your mental life.

Mindfulness will help you deal with complicated emotions and urges and help you find the resolve that you need to resist the constant marketing we are bombarded with.

By the way: If you want to start feeling better and more productive, I’ve condensed the information of 100’s of our articles into a 10-step mental health cheat sheet here.

This Cheat Sheet Will Help You Be Happier and More Productive

Thrive under stress and crush your goals with these 10 unique tips for your mental health.

Download The Free Cheat Sheet

Wrapping up

Our lives have gotten really complicated, and simplifying them can be a daunting task. From FOMO to social pressures, there are many reasons why we fill our lives up instead of trying to do more with less. But while it’s difficult, simplifying isn’t impossible. We just have to identify what’s important and eliminate everything else.

Did I miss anything? Do you want to share your own tips on living a simple life? Let me know in the comments below, as I’d love to hear them!

Maili Tirel Author

School psychologist, teacher and internet counselor from Estonia. Passionate about coffee, reading, dancing, and singing in the shower, much to the neighbors’ dismay. Counseling catchphrase: “It’s okay!“

The post How to Simplify Your Life: 5 Simple Living Tips appeared first on Tracking Happiness.

When you make an active decision to simplify your life, you tune into your purpose and find deeper fulfillment. By eliminating complexity, you clear your headspace up to focus on what really matters in life.

This article will teach you how to make your life feel simple so you can make room for joy and excitement again.

Is life supposed to be complicated?

With the pace of the world we live in, it’s easy to get wrapped up in chaos and feel like there’s never enough time to live.

And when you do have a free moment to think, you might find yourself reflecting on if you’re even living your true purpose.

But is this really the way we are intended to live? You probably already know the answer to this question.

Research indicates that job burnout is surging internationally and stress levels are adding to increased levels of disease in our bodies.

So what’s the antidote to our complicated and busy lives? It seems to me that the answer lies in learning to simplify your life.

By the way: Do you find it hard to be happy and in control of your life? It may not be your fault. To help you feel better, we’ve condensed the information of 100’s of articles into a 10-step mental health cheat sheet to help you be more in control.

Don’t Miss Out On Happiness

Find happiness with this 10-step mental health cheat sheet.

Download The Free Cheat Sheet

Benefits of simplicity

Simplifying your life sounds great in theory. But is simplifying your life really going to do anything for you? I’m going to let the research answer this question.

Research shows that pursuing a more minimalist life in all senses of the word can have profound impacts on your psychological well-being as well as your business and environmental stewardship.

Another study found that individuals who pursued simpler lifestyles experienced greater relationship satisfaction and reported improved mental health.

All this to say that simplifying your life is more than just a nicety. It has tangible effects on your well-being and it’s actually very important.

5 ways to make life simple

Let’s dive into how you can start today to eliminate unnecessary complexity in your life and make space for you to feel alive again.

1. Say no

If you find that your life is stuffed to the brim with activities and obligations to where you feel like you can’t breathe, you must learn this one word. The magic word is no.

By learning to say no, you’re learning to say yes to yourself and simplicity.

You don’t need to have your engine revving at full speed all the time. This is a recipe for dissatisfaction and burnout.

Trust me, I spent the first few years of my career volunteering for every extra task at work and lending my services pro bono to various organizations. While it definitely gave me experience, it led to what I would call a mental breakdown in the second year of my professional career.

I almost gave up healthcare altogether because I felt like the career was too much. But it wasn’t the career that was the problem. It was me saying yes to everything.

Say no to all the extra unnecessary obligations. Say yes to what really matters to you. It will keep your life simple.

2. Physically clear your space

I’m sure you’ve heard this before. But tell me this, how do you feel when you walk into a messy space?

If you’re like me, it automatically raises your stress levels. Whereas when I walk into a clean and organized space, I feel like I can think clearly.

Take the time to declutter and organize your physical items to help promote mental clarity.

This one is particularly important for me with my writing space. I find that if I’m in a cluttered environment, I feel mentally blocked and irritated.

Having a minimalistic desk space has helped me feel like there’s room for new and fresh ideas to flow in.

If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed in a certain space in your home, clear that one first. Work your way through each room and notice how clearing your physical space makes life that much easier.

Need more tips? Here’s our article on how to organize your life better.

3. Eliminate energy-draining relationships

This tip can be quite challenging, but it may be the key to a simpler life. It’s never fun to tell someone that the relationship you have with them is not healthy for you.

But by engaging in energy-draining relationships, you’re making your life complicated. You’re choosing to cultivate a relationship that’s clouding your mental space and stealing your joy.

Now I’m not telling you to just cut everyone who bothers you out of your life. But I am telling you to take a deep and hard look at relationships that may not be serving either party’s needs anymore.

I remember I had a friendship in undergrad that really used to stress me out. This friend would always get upset with me over the smallest of interactions.

It led to me feeling like I was walking on eggshells around her and it only added to my anxiety.

After a chat with my other dear friend, it became apparent that engaging in this relationship wasn’t good for either of us. So I respectfully cut ties with this person and after that, I felt physically lighter.

You get to choose to who you give your time and energy. Choose wisely. Keep life simple by giving it to people who love and respect you.

4. Try to be more grateful

This tip is for when you’re stuck thinking that life is too complicated. If you’re like me, this makes you jump on the complaint train.

But when you’re focusing on the negative in life, you’re framing things in a way that complicates it.

If you stop and choose to focus on three simple things you’re grateful for, you will probably realize that your life really isn’t that complicated.

Choosing to focus on all that you have helps you realize that the meaning of life is never found in your problems.

So next time you find yourself overwhelmed and thinking life is working against you, stop and get grateful. It only takes a few moments of gratitude to realize just how simple life can be if you let it.

It will help you reframe your negative thoughts to embrace the positivity that you’ve already got going on in your life.

5. Spend time away from social media

In today’s society, this is probably one of the most difficult tips to implement. But I can almost guarantee that stepping away from society’s chaos will help you simplify your life.

Any time I find myself getting caught up in the rat race, I make it a point to take a break from social media and the news.

When I do this, I feel like I’m able to connect with myself again and remember what it is I really want out of life. Because social media has this way of trying to tell us what it is we need or should want out of life.

But the problem is so often these things that social media tells us will make us happy won’t give us sustainable joy. They’ll give us a temporary dopamine buzz.

Being away from your phone or the computer helps you reconnect with your inner voice to hear what matters to you.

You may just find out that after enough times taking a break, your life is simpler without social media altogether. You don’t have to go that extreme, but don’t be surprised if you find more peace without it.

By the way: If you want to start feeling better and more productive, I’ve condensed the information of 100’s of our articles into a 10-step mental health cheat sheet here.

This Cheat Sheet Will Help You Be Happier and More Productive

Thrive under stress and crush your goals with these 10 unique tips for your mental health.

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Wrapping up

It can feel impossible to find simplicity in a world that seems to be full of complexity. But life doesn’t have to be complicated. By using the tips from this article, you can cultivate a sense of simplicity in all aspects of your life and find inner clarity. And when you embrace simplicity, you may just find that life becomes easy and abundance finds you.

What is your favorite tip to simplify your life? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

Ashley Kaiser Author

Physical therapist, writer, and outdoor enthusiast from Arizona. Self-proclaimed dark chocolate addict and full-time adrenaline junkie. Obsessed with my dog and depending on the day my husband, too.

The post 5 Ways to Make Your Life More Simple and Easier (With Examples) appeared first on Tracking Happiness.

If you try to have fewer expectations, you will be far less likely to end up disappointed. This comes down to the saying “happiness is reality minus expectations”. According to this equation, you’ll be happier when you lower your expectations. So how can you live your life without expectations?

In this article, I want to share some interesting studies that shed light on this topic, and more importantly, show you actionable methods that’ll help you live life without expectations.

Living with(out) expectations

It’s impossible to have no expectations at all.

Every conscious action we perform is based on a likely outcome, or in other words, an expectation. Trying to get rid of expectations altogether is nonsensical and, frankly, a waste of your time.

However, there are realistic expectations and unrealistic expectations.

Disappointments are caused by unrealistic expectations. Even though it’s impossible to completely ban these kinds of expectations from your life, there’s a way to prevent yourself from setting naively high expectations.

Anticipation and happiness

Most people will tell you that expectations are responsible for killing your happiness. But this is not something that’s supported by studies.

In fact, positive expectations such as anticipation for a nice holiday can actually increase your happiness. It’s been proven that people are typically happier planning vacations than after going on them.

In fact, the anticipation of an event is often more enjoyable than the event itself, and we’re happier looking forward to it than we are remembering it.

This is caused by something called affective forecasting. We overestimate how much a holiday or some other event will make us happy. But we love imagining it, planning it, and getting excited about it!

Even though this can result in a healthy dose of anticipation, there’s a flip side to affective forecasting. People often mispredict how much an anticipated event actually makes them happy.

Can expectations impact your happiness?

In a 2014 article investigating the connection between happiness and expectations, the researchers write:

It is reasonable to think that people with higher expectations are more likely to face a negative realization gap; this is: they are more likely to be disappointed in the future and, as a consequence, more exposed to unhappiness in the future.

For example, you may live with the expectation of a pay raise, pin your hopes on it and start planning what you could accomplish with your increased income. If you do get the raise, you’ll be happy. But if you don’t, you will end up unhappier than you were before.

Facing reality and not getting your hopes up allows you to maintain your current happiness level.

By the way: Do you find it hard to be happy and in control of your life? It may not be your fault. To help you feel better, we’ve condensed the information of 100’s of articles into a 10-step mental health cheat sheet to help you be more in control.

Don’t Miss Out On Happiness

Find happiness with this 10-step mental health cheat sheet.

Download The Free Cheat Sheet

How to live with fewer unrealistic expectations

As much as you might want to, it’s impossible to live without expectations.

But there are ways to stop yourself from setting unrealistic expectations. Even though you may feel happy with the anticipation of a big holiday, it’s important to not let your unrealistic imagination take the lead.

You want to stop setting high expectations that will come around to bite you in your ankles. Instead, you might want to use the following tips to help you make more realistic expectations.

1. Try to notice your expectations

The next time you feel disappointed, take a moment to notice and reflect on your expectations. Try to put them into words, maybe even write them down. Examine them and ask yourself where they came from and if they were realistic.

The first step to any change is noticing your current state. When you’re familiar with your expectations and the underlying reasons, you can start to prevent unrealistic expectations from creeping in.

2. Try to only focus on the things you can control

The biggest reason for big expectations to result in disappointment is when they’re dependent on something we can’t control.

For example, if your day off is ruined because none of your friends were able to get a day off as well, your expectations were based on things that were outside your control.

It’s important to not build your expectations on things you can’t control, but on things that are completely within your control.

Using the same example, you would have been less disappointed if you were just expecting to relax and enjoy your day off. If your goal was to just go out by yourself, instead of with your friends, you would’ve been less disappointed when they couldn’t show up.

This will be especially difficult if you’re a bit of a perfectionist by nature. Perfectionists are more prone to trying to keep everything under control.

When you try to control too many things, you set yourself up for high expectations, and – frankly – you’re going to get on some people’s nerves.

3. Know yourself and what you’re capable of

Another big reason for disappointment stems from expecting too much of ourselves.

There’s this thing called illusory superiority, which basically makes everybody think that they are above average. It’s actually also known as the above-average effect, and it’s a cognitive bias that most people deal with.

One of the most famous examples of this phenomenon comes from a study released in 1980. The participants in the study were all asked to assess their driving ability. About 80% of the people claimed that they were above-average drivers.

In other words, it’s in our nature to overestimate our capabilities.

As a result, we often set our goals too high, thinking we’re capable enough of excelling.

This is exactly how we end up disappointed when we fail to meet our goals. For example, if you’re a student who’s never attended a lesson in Calculus, you may set a goal of scoring an A for the test because “you’re super smart”.

While it’s good to be confident, it’s better to set your expectations based on past results. If you’ve always been a B student, why would you set your expectations higher? If you can’t find a good enough reason, try to accept yourself for who you are and set your expectations accordingly.

When you find it hard to accept that you’re not above average in everything, this might be a sign you lack self-awareness.

4. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

While it’s good to be confident, you should also be realistic when it comes to setting expectations.

A good rule to live by is to “hope for the best, but prepare for the worst”.

This is not only applicable when predicting things you can’t control, but also to your own capabilities. Instead of expecting the best end result, lower your sights to something that is far easier to reach and still acceptable.

This comes with 2 benefits:

1. It still allows you to anticipate a positive outcome, and to be excited about a potentially positive outcome.
2. It will keep you from being disappointed, as you already accounted for the more likely negative outcome.

5. Don’t compare yourself to others when setting personal expectations

We often set high expectations for ourselves based on the accomplishments of someone else.

For example, if you join your friend for a dance lesson at the gym, you’ll likely feel disappointed in yourself if your friend got all the praise when you were struggling to keep up.

This is something you have to look out for when setting expectations. Comparing yourself to others is futile, as we’ve discussed already in a separate article.

You should only set expectations based on your own circle of influence. Focus on your own journey, and don’t let someone else’s accomplishments get in the way.

Let’s say that you’re trying to become a better runner. Sure, you can compare yourself to world-class marathoners, or to your friend who can barely run a mile. But what does that information give you?

That’s right: pretty much nothing.

Instead, you should be looking at your own progress. If you need to compare, look at how you did a month or a year ago. Have you made progress since then?

To quote Hemingway:

There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.

By the way: If you want to start feeling better and more productive, I’ve condensed the information of 100’s of our articles into a 10-step mental health cheat sheet here.

This Cheat Sheet Will Help You Be Happier and More Productive

Thrive under stress and crush your goals with these 10 unique tips for your mental health.

Download The Free Cheat Sheet

Wrapping up

Setting expectations is part of the way our brains are wired, so to strive for a life without expectations would be futile. It’s however important to focus on setting realistic expectations in order to prevent future disappointment. For this to work, you need to develop self-awareness and not fall victim to common cognitive biases. In the end, your expectations should be based on your past journey, so that they won’t be affected by things you can’t control.

What do you think? Do you find it hard to lower your expectations? Or do you want to share another tip on how to live with fewer expectations? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

Hugo Huijer Author

Founder of Tracking Happiness, with over 100 interviews and a focus on practical advice, our content extends beyond happiness tracking. Hailing from the Netherlands, I’m a skateboarding enthusiast, marathon runner, and a dedicated data junkie, tracking my happiness for over a decade.

The post 5 Tips to Live Life Without Expectations (and No Disappointments) appeared first on Tracking Happiness.

We are all surrounded by pitches and advertising almost every waking minute of every day. There’s almost always someone that is trying to sell us something when we’re walking through town, watching TV, or just surfing the net. The desire to want things, to own things, to possess material objects is constantly hammered into us as we go through life.

But sometimes, enough is enough. At some point, we should be happy with what we have, and stop wanting more all the time. But how do you stop wanting more? How to want less and be perfectly happy about it?

Let’s find out.

The more you want it, the less you like it

A fascinating study conducted by Uzma Khan found that when people were offered a reward of some kind, a watch for example, which they were then denied,  their desire to get the reward increased. Sounds fairly unsurprising, right?

But here’s the kicker. When those same people were then given the reward they had been denied, even though they wanted it more, they ended up liking it less!

Crazy, right?

The impact of wanting something more

The people in the study who had been denied the watch the first time around wanted it more than those who got it. But after they had it, they were more likely to get rid of it in the end.

In fact, in a similar test the people who had been denied their reward were 3 times more likely to get rid of it than those who got it the first time around.

So, what does this mean?

The dark side of materialism

Well, in this age of ceaseless advertising, the realization that the things you want might not be the things you will actually like having is a valuable one.

Longing for material things can cause us to feel that we are incomplete or missing out on something, which is not particularly good for our mental health. But ownership of ‘things’ does not necessarily equate to happiness, and even when you do get something, it might not be as worth it as you thought.

This article on materialism has plenty of examples to show you how it can have a negative impact on your happiness!

What to do instead? Spend your money on experiences or time spent with loved ones. The memories will last a lifetime and will almost certainly keep you happier for longer.

Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy you plane and theatre tickets, and those things might help in the long run.

Things like that marble sculpture of your cat probably won’t…

By the way: Do you find it hard to be happy and in control of your life? It may not be your fault. To help you feel better, we’ve condensed the information of 100’s of articles into a 10-step mental health cheat sheet to help you be more in control.

Don’t Miss Out On Happiness

Find happiness with this 10-step mental health cheat sheet.

Download The Free Cheat Sheet

Enough is enough

For those of us lucky enough to live privileged lives where we do not need to worry about food, water, and shelter, the notion of ‘enough’ is perhaps slightly foreign. What does it mean to have ‘enough’?

• Is not dying enough?
• Is having a nice house and a dog enough?
• What about that flatscreen TV and your $100,000 car?

Here’s the answer.

If you are healthy, safe, and happy, then you have enough. Simple as that.

Being happy and healthy is enough

Learning to be content with what we already have is an excellent way to avoid gaining yet more stuff.

If you realize that you’re happy with what you already have, why would you want to add to it? Seems like a waste of money. Money that could be far better spent on time and experiences with loved ones.

How to want less

Being happy with enough isn’t as easy as it sounds, is it? I don’t know about you, but I always have my eye on the newest video game or some fancy item of clothing.

How can we learn to be content? How can we teach ourselves to be happy with “enough”?

How do we stop wanting more, and start being okay with wanting less? Here are 3 tips that I find really effective!

1. Gratitude journal

I love this idea. Gratitude journals are, in case you haven’t already guessed, journals in which you record all of the things you are happy about and grateful for in your life.

By making ourselves think about the positivity around us, we can overcome our natural human instinct to focus only on the negatives. Not only will this make us generally more content with what we currently have, but this method of journaling has been shown by studies at Harvard to generally increase happiness and well-being, even encouraging beneficial habits such as exercising!

Imagine that?! You write in a book every day and suddenly you want to exercise. It’s like magic. Except it’s not. It’s science!

2. Reflection and meditation

In almost every article I write for Tracking Happiness, I find myself suggesting that meditation might be a beneficial addition to your life. It is a practice that seems to have boundless benefits made all the more impressive by its ease of access. Anyone can meditate.

Meditation is not a cure-all for mental well-being, but it’s a pretty good place to start. If journaling isn’t really your thing, just try to take the time every now and then to stop, take a breath and really think about all of the positives in your life.

Just taking time out of your day to notice the state of your life will help you to recognize what you have and what you actually, genuinely need.

Often, you will find that you already have everything that you desperately require to live a happy and fulfilled life. That realization alone is incredibly powerful.

3. Manage your expectations and desires

Sometimes we want things without actually thinking about why we want them or even knowing what it is we expect to gain from them once we have them.

As a result, it is absolutely vital that we question our motives for wanting things in the first place. Why do you want to be wealthy? Do you actually have a plan for all that money or do you just want it for the sake of having it? What is actually the point of your desire to be rich?

These are the sorts of questions that we need to be asking ourselves on a daily basis if we want to know how to be happy with less.

Realizing that the things you want are not actually that important to you, or that you don’t really have any reason for wanting them can be a powerful experience that might change your relationship with material things and ownership of superfluous items.

After all, it’s easy to feel like you need something if you never actually think about why you need it. Amazingly, wanting less can be largely achieved just by being more thorough in our examinations of our own desires and expectations.

This is a problem that you can, quite literally, think your way out of.

By the way: If you want to start feeling better and more productive, I’ve condensed the information of 100’s of our articles into a 10-step mental health cheat sheet here.

This Cheat Sheet Will Help You Be Happier and More Productive

Thrive under stress and crush your goals with these 10 unique tips for your mental health.

Download The Free Cheat Sheet

Wrapping up

We all want some things that we probably don’t need, be it a new phone, a nice dress or a whole kingdom just to ourselves, castle and all (come on, you know you want one).

In the end, wanting things is a perfectly natural and normal part of being human, as I’m sure any alien will tell you.

But when we want too much all the time, it can start to have a negative effect on our mental health. We can begin to feel that our lives are incomplete and, perhaps, unsuccessful.

By being grateful for what we have and taking time to appreciate all the positives in our lives, we can help to stave off those negative feelings before they have too much of an impact on our well-being and happiness.

Sean Bennett Author

British/German writer, blogger, theatre person and science enthusiast who is always looking to be happier! I love to travel, experience new things, and learn everything I can about the world around me.

The post 3 Methods to Want Less in Life (And be Happy with Less) appeared first on Tracking Happiness.