In the words of Henry David Thoreau (Walden):“ I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.”
It’s been said that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. And yet, most of us lead hectic, challenging and often frustrating lives. Few would argue against a simpler, quieter and more peaceful existence. And no one really wants to lead what Thoreau labeled “a life of quiet desperation”—or even loud and harried desperation.
I’m not suggesting that you live in the wilderness, but our best life is one of simplicity. Not boring, dull or uneventful, but rather simple, fulfilling, meaningful and significant. And that’s difficult to do when our lives are filled with so many things vying for our attention and participation.
If we don’t take charge of what comes into our lives, our lives become filled with what others wish to fill it. It’s up to us to break things down into what’s truly important to us. It’s up to us to say no to the bad—and even the good—in order to say yes to the great.
How you do that is way beyond the capability of this short article. But a few years ago, we conducted a survey of the nearly 100,000 valued members and subscribers of SuccessNet. We asked them for their best ideas for ways to simplify life. From there we researched, tested and compiled the best to bring you 101 Great Ideas to Simplify Your Life.
To find out more about the book and order a copy, go to
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001V9LTWW
PS: Thoreau said, “Simplify, Simplify.” And Emerson’s response was, “It would seem that one simplify would have been sufficient.”
