You Need To Get Rid of These 5 Bad Habits ASAP To Live a Simple Life
People go a long way when it comes to learning what they should do to improve their lives.
They listen to podcasts, go to seminars, read books over books, get coached, and even take ayahuasca to gain wisdom.
But what if it was never about learning what to do?
What if instead, it was always about learning what not to do?
Because in the end, it’s always more about reducing, than it is about adding.
Here are the five habits you need to drop ASAP to live a simpler life.
Overthinking and worrying about everything
When did worrying bring you anywhere?
Yet, most people have a constant habit of worrying. And I don’t blame them. I was there, too.
In the past, I’d thought too much about everything.
- Where will I be in 5 years?
- Will this look good?
- What will the others say?
- How am I supposed to do that?
- Who will like me?
- What should I do?
The answer to all is: you don’t know.
Life is constant change, meaning often you don’t have any idea what will happen. Sure, you can study engineering, and even become a successful engineer, but then in your 40s, you realize you want to become a yoga teacher.
Sometimes, it’s human to worry, like in moments when a loved one got diagnosed with cancer or had an accident.
But sometimes, it’s plain stupid to worry, like about what other people will say if you break up with your partner or take on a different career path than most people expected you to.
Either way: worrying is never productive.
It won’t help you to solve a problem. It’ll only make you crazy and things more complicated.
And this is the exact opposite of a simple life. How to stop it, then?
Here’s a simple solution: stop worrying about things you can’t control.
Being always busy and having no time for relaxation
Busyness isn’t making you important, it’s making you burned out.
In retrospect, I think I’ve encountered my midlife crisis at 22. Live fast, die young, right?
Back when I was studying, I had a schedule your typical CEO would be jealous of. I studied, worked, coached children’s football, played football myself, went to the gym, and even had a social life.
I had it all planned out.
I was busy, as one could be at the beginning of his 20s. I didn’t know how to spell relaxation. It was crazy.
There was no room for breaks.
Worse, there wasn’t even room for life itself. Instead of letting things unfold, I forced them into certain shapes.
Because otherwise, they wouldn’t fit my schedule aka life.
It was horrible. I felt burned out. And I was mad when things didn’t work as I expected (which often happened).
Busyness isn’t the key to a better life.
It’s the key to self-destruction.
I learned that because at some point I realized I’d kill myself if I kept overcommitting myself.
What to do instead?
- prioritize what needs to get done
- manage your energy
- give yourself breaks
Busyness won’t get you anywhere, true productivity with enough breaks will.
Holding on to clutter and unnecessary possessions
The things you own will end up owning you. — Tyler Durden
You don’t need 95% of the things you think you need. But we became awesome at hoarding.
Most people would go into debt to finally be able to keep up with the Joneses next door. But money isn’t the problem.
The real problem is that you’re making yourself dependent on things.
Picture this: I’ve wanted a tablet for a long time. So at some point, I got a Google Nexus 7. In the beginning, I was happy.
Then, I realized I never used it. I didn’t watch videos on it, I didn’t look at pictures on it, and it only lay around at home. I started worrying because I’d spent a couple of hundred bucks on it, only to let it lie around.
I thought about possible use cases for it. Could I bring it to the gym? Or maybe for commuting?
And that’s when I realized, it ended up owning me.
It lived rent-free in my head.
Most people have similar experiences. It might start with your dress or suit you bought because now you think about when you could wear it again. But soon, it might be worrying about bigger things, like a car you never drive. And then, it starts to get more and more.
It all adds up.
Let me ask you a simple question:
Based on your current earnings, would you want to spend money on subscriptions of:
- 1Password
- Apple One
- Spotify
- Netflix
- Amazon Prime
- Paramount+
- Sky
- Medium
- New York Times
- Washington Post
- and 10 more?
No, you wouldn’t. Because you treat money as a scarce resource.
What if your mental bandwidth is an even scarcer resource?
Think about it.
Material possessions come with two types of tolls:
- Money
- Mental Bandwidth
Don’t only focus on the first. Because for most things, the latter is more important.
Live a simpler life by reducing your material possessions.
Engaging in negative self-talk
How could you enjoy life, when it gets clouded by your negative self-talk?
Often, we put more focus on how we talk to others, than we talk to ourselves. The importance of constructive self-talk is often overlooked.
A couple of years ago, I talked myself down on a regular basis. Not without reason, but for bagatelles, like a broken glass of marmalade.
Instead of rating the situation as bad luck or bad behavior and trying to improve on it, I called myself bad names.
Then, I read “I’M OK — You’re OK” by Thomas A. Harris and realized how negative my self-talk was. I changed 180 degrees. I forbid myself, from calling me names.
Instead, I’d rate my behavior (something I can change).
It changed how I perceive myself and my actions.
And it can do the same for you. I know, it’s not that easy, and it might take some time, but it’s worth it. It has the power to change your life for the better.
Engage in constructive self-talk.
Entertaining too many distractions
Modern life is a constant choice between things we don’t need.
Do you really profit from the 500th new yogurt?
Is there a point in 50,000 movies on demand?
Of course not.
But we often don’t see it. Even worse: often we think we need it.
Because we fear missing out, on what other people have.
Even if we often wouldn’t choose it anyway.
To live a simpler life, you need to understand: that eliminating distractions is the first step. Stop doing/buying things and meeting people you don’t like.
Instead, get clear about what you like.
Find out what brings you joy.
This might take a while. For me, it took a couple of years, until I found out what I’d like to do in my professional and personal life.
But it’s worth it because you don’t feel like missing out.
Distractions are simply life’s worst enemy.
Living a simpler life involves some work on your side. But if you avoid these 5 bad habits, you are on the right path:
- overthinking and worrying about everything
- being always busy
- holding on to clutter and unnecessary possessions
- engaging in negative self-talk
- entertaining too many distractions