When you factor in all the different potential sources of stress and frustration, and the various obligations and duties that we all typically need to deal with on a regular basis, everyday life can end up seeming pretty complex pretty quickly. I don’t know about you but I often long for more simplicity in everyday life.
Today, there are fortunately various resources available that can help us to get things done in a more streamlined and efficient way – ranging from things like purchasing a new vehicle via Edmunds, to organizing a budget.
Ultimately, though, making a habit of aiming for a bit of simplicity in everyday life – in general – can frequently be one of the most powerful ways of helping to secure a higher baseline level of well-being.
Here are just a few reasons to aim for a bit more simplicity in everyday life.
It can reduce decision fatigue and chronic overthinking
Although, at first glance, it may seem like having as many options available at any given time would be a good thing, this doesn’t actually appear to be the case.
The psychologist Barry Schwarz, author of “The Paradox of Choice,” argues that evidence shows that the more choices people have beyond a certain basic number, and the more decisions they have to make, the likelier they are to just give up on making any decision at all, and fall into “analysis paralysis” and passivity.
Simplifying your life in various ways, and reducing the number of decisions you make on a daily basis, and the number of things you have to consider, can significantly help to reduce decision fatigue and chronic overthinking.
Instead, you will be better able to enjoy a more positive and stress-free course through everyday life.
It can allow you to be more present and engaged with your surroundings and tasks
If you listen to what many many different wisdom traditions around the world have to say, a key reason why people frequently feel stressed out, disheartened, and incapable of properly thriving in everyday life, is because they can’t bring their attention to rest on the present moment.
Finding ways to simplify your everyday life in general can be a great way of helping you to be more mindful and present, and to feel more engaged with your surroundings and tasks, in a way that helps you to enter into a “flow state.”
Complexity, on the other hand, tends to get us caught in our own heads, and excessively concerned about the future.
It can make it easier to be insightful and motivated
With less distraction around you, and with a greater ability to notice and focus on the things that matter most to you in everyday life, it often becomes a lot easier to be insightful, and to maintain a good overall level of motivation.
Generally speaking, your deeper and more authentic intuitions will tend to be stifled when you’re overwhelmed by complexity. When you work to make your everyday life a bit simpler, those intuitions have more of a chance to emerge once more.
