How Do I Simplify Life?

What is Minimalism? Intentional Living? Mindfulness? Hygge? What is this journey of Seeking Simple Life? Do we need to define it with a name? How do I simplify life?

There are so many popular terms floating around that is hard to make sense of which path you personally want to take. Minimalism, intentional living, mindfulness, hygge…

People get hung up on a name and then try to follow that one path, but it may not be the path for you.

What if your path to seeking a simple life didn’t fit in any one box?

What if you found ways to improve your life, bit by bit, that didn’t exactly follow the “rules”?

I didn’t have a name defining my journey but lately, I started to feel like I needed to define it. The research began…

What is Minimalism?

There are two definitions that resonated with me the most because they don’t put you in a box with a set of rules. From what I’ve read so far, everyone’s journey through a minimalist lifestyle varies and is completely personal to them.

Some people set minimalistic rules on the number of clothes you need to have or items you can to own. Whereas others focus on the items, relationships, time wasters and negativity that suck the joy out of their life. I was tired of seeing all of the “you need to get rid of your stuff to be a minimalist” articles. And was quite frankly starting to despise the term “minimalism”, until I found these refreshing perspectives.

These articles resonated with me and I was able to learn that everyone’s journey is personal. Minimalism is a tool to help you live a life with intention, mindfulness, and happiness. Do you need to purge your belongings to be a true minimalist? No, but if those belongings are holding you back from achieving your goals or causing stress and chaos then maybe explore letting them go. Your decision, your journey!

[click_to_tweet tweet=”Minimalism is a tool to help you live a life with intention, mindfulness, and happiness. How you create that minimalistic lifestyle is your journey. – Jacquie, Seeking Simple Life” quote=”Minimalism is a tool to help you live a life with intention, mindfulness, and happiness. How you create that minimalistic lifestyle is your journey. – Jacquie, Seeking Simple Life” theme=”style1″]

What is Intentional Living?

Intentional living is creating a life based upon a set of beliefs. It is intentionally making a choice to deliberately live your life in a specific way.

When you think about this definition it aligns with minimalism quite well. The two go hand in hand. For example, you are intentionally purchasing something as a need, not a want. Will that item bring value to your life, or can you live without it?

What about hoarders? One could argue that someone prone to hoarding stuff is leading an intentional life, by that definition. Some might say they are making the choice to live that way. I personally disagree.

Clutter creates chaos, whether it be mental clutter or physical clutter. Clutter is a double-edged sword:

If you ignore it, it grows like a bad weed affecting multiple areas in your life. People give up because they are consumed by it, overwhelmed and don’t know where to begin. I call this The Clutter Effect.
To deal with clutter, you need to reflect on why it happened. This isn’t always easy for some so they put it off, which leads to my first point.

When life becomes overwhelming, whether it be at work or at home, sometimes taking a moment to reflect on what is going on will help sort the issue enough to put a simple plan in place to improve the situation.

Intentional Living and Goal Setting

What I love about intentional living is that it helps you focus on your goals and core values. Joshua explains the basis of living an intentional life in The Helpful Guide to Living an Intentional Life. He encourages self-reflection and defining your purpose, setting goals, and personal development.

Life is too short to hate going to work every day. Making the intentional decision to love what you do and how you do it, is one of the best gifts we can give ourselves. When life is overwhelming and chaotic it can be difficult to figure out where to start making even just small changes to improve life.

What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is the practice of being aware of your surroundings, your personal feelings, thoughts and bodily sensations. When you practice mindfulness you find yourself being more present in your daily life. The practice of mindfulness aligns with intentional living through self-reflection.

Finding ways to practice mindfulness is one of the many struggles that busy parents face daily. We are constantly thinking about what we should have done differently or what we can’t forget to do tomorrow. When the busy mind is distracted from our present moment, we miss little moments of joy on a child’s face or the look of a heartbroken teen who’s day wasn’t good. Finding quiet moments to practice mindfulness will help quiet that busy mind and make it easier to be more present in our daily lives.

Steph at Financial Freedom Crew reminds us to practice gratitude journalling, to be kind to ourselves, take walks to reduce stress, and to unplug once in a while. Each one is a simple way to practice mindfulness. I’m giving you permission to find time to recharge, now it’s time for you to give yourself permission.

What is Hygge?

I personally didn’t know what hygge (pronounced hue-guh) was until today. I have however integrated hygge into my life for years, I just didn’t realize it. Shawna from Simple on Purpose explained it beautifully when she compares hygge to minimalism. Mindfulness and intentional living both align with hygge. Living hygge is a state of being comfortable with oneself and being authentic.

Shawna explains that hygge “is a Danish word and it doesn’t have a direct English translation. But the underlying sentiment of it is the atmosphere of ‘connection, comfort, and contentment.”

She goes onto describe what that means and how it compares to minimalism lifestyles. My biggest takeaways about Hygge is:

being able to create the feeling of home (connection, comfort, and contentment) wherever you are. I’ve always said, “home is where the heart is”.
keeping items that are sentimental, welcoming, and inviting for your home is hygge.
hygge living is making time to slow life down and taking time to reconnect with those you love.
connecting with one another is essential in hygge, finding ways to value each other and enjoy life together.

I’ve compiled some Hygge Lifestyle Ideas, fill in the form below to get your Free Gift today.

Living the life you Love shared this video on hygge. It completely calmed me and every time I watch it I have this desire to pour myself a cup of tea. *warning – watch at your own risk*

When you seek to understand what is minimalism, does it resonate with you fully? Or does intentional living a better fit for you? How about mindfulness and hygge?

Your journey for seeking a simple life may be different than mine. I say we celebrate that. After all, life would be boring if we were the same. The important thing to realize is that no matter what label you want to call it, be it minimalism, intentional living, mindfulness, or hygge we are all on a path of personal development. We have a vision for a life and are striving to get there bit by bit.

What is this journey of Seeking Simple Life? Is it Minimalism, Intentional Living, Mindfulness, or Hygge? How do I simplify life? For me, my simple life includes a balance of all of these. I pick the tools that best help me and my family.

How about yours?