How to conduct a simpler life?

    I keep thinking about how to improve my life, bring more happiness, more energy and live in peace with myself and the universe. I thought about how to simplify my life and what benefits it can bring to my life?

   I found some tips that may help to make my life simpler and I like to share them with you. The first step is to focus on my priorities and do what really matters for me, keep what is really important to me in my house, my office and my mind. Keeping only what is important has a very positive impact on the clarity of the mind and the thoughts. It makes me feel satisfied, peaceful and relaxed at the end of the day, in addition to feeling productive and successful.

Being organized about the important things I decided to keep in my life is the second step to make my life simpler, stuff that I need frequently (daily or weekly) is to be kept in the foreground but other stuff less needed (monthly or occasionally) is to be kept in the background.  By foreground I mean a close place as drawers or lower shelves in my closet while background can be higher shelves in the same closet.  The same can be applied in the office; the essential is to keep stuff frequently needed so close to not waste a lot of time and energy to find.  The hardest part is to keep only important stuff in my mind; currently I don't know exactly how to do it but I think that keeping an agenda or to do list to follow can help but it will never prevent negative thoughts and self  talks to invade my mind. I think it needs to be elaborated more deeply in another post.

Keeping  my environment clean and beautiful, is the third step. By doing so I am sending myself a message  that I love and respect myself; as I keep my house clean for my guests because they are important to me; I keep all my life clean and beautiful because I am telling myself that I am important to ME.

Be consistent with the past 3 rules until I make it a habit is the fourth step.

The fifth and last step is to recheck regularly that I am living by these rules especially keeping only important stuff ; it is the maintenance step.

    I think that these steps not only will make physical space in my life to be able to add new things but  they are making space for more positive energy to come into my life.

Please feel free to share your comments, ideas and thoughts to simplify our life, thanks.

Gratitude, the way to happiness

     Gratitude is to be content and thankful in every moment of your day.  It is to accept genuinely, thankfully, peacefully and with contentment whatever happens. A state of mind that could bring satisfaction and peace. When I try to visualize how my life will look like if I could live in gratitude, I see a life full of serenity, peace and bliss. It' s heaven.

      I remember the first time my coach asked me to start a gratitude journal to help me shift my focus from what, I think, is missing in my life to what I already have and I admit it was really helpful. I noticed again many graces I used to take for granted. The gratitude journal was one of the tools that helped me to improve my relationship with my mother. In my gratitude journal I mentioned that I am grateful for having my both parents alive and they are so supportive to me. Then when I thought what I am thankful for them for, I realized that I am thankful for them for many things and my mother's criticism and interference in my life were just a way to show her interest and care. Since then my relationship with my mother has totally changed and improved due to my gratitude perspective and journal. 

      Living with a gratitude feeling in all aspects of our life is not easy and needs practice to make it deep and  ingrained. Gratitude for things that we take for granted is helpful to notice the gifts  we keep receiving in every moment of our life. To realize the value of the things we take for granted just imagine our life without it. We  never notice that the pure fresh water is a grace because we find it everywhere, but imagine how our life would look like if we have to make great effort to have a glass of water. Imagine that all the things that we take for granted like water, air, sunlight, our senses, our home, our family, our health ...etc are gone how would our life look like then think how will be our feeling when everything comes back one by one. Sure we will eventually realize how valuable each of them is.

       To start living with a gratitude perspective we need to give up complaining. Complaining is a sign of lack of gratitude. So to strengthen our sense of gratitude we need to observe ourself and consciously make the right choice, either gratitude and gain the satisfaction and positive energy it brings or complaining and accept its negative energy in addition to the harm it brings to our health and our life.