When we were young life was easier, right? I know sometimes it seems that way. But the truth is life still is easy. It always will be. The only difference is we’re older, and the older we get, the more we complicate things for ourselves.
You see, when we were young we saw the world through simple, hopeful eyes. We knew what we wanted and we had no biases or concealed agendas. We liked people who smiled. We avoided people who frowned. We ate when we were hungry, drank when we were thirsty, and slept when we were tired.
As we grew older our minds became gradually disillusioned by negative external influences. At some point we began to hesitate and question our instincts. When a new obstacle or growing pain arose, we stumbled and fell down. This happened several times. Eventually we decided we didn’t want to fall again, but rather than solving the problem that caused us to fall, we avoided it all together.
As a result, we ate comfort food and drank alcohol to numb our wounds and fill our voids. We worked late nights on purpose to avoid unresolved conflicts at home. We started holding grudges, playing mind games, and subtly deceiving others and ourselves to get ahead. And when it didn’t work out, we lived above our means, bought things we didn’t need, and ate and drank some more just to make ourselves feel better again.
Over the course of time, we made our lives more and more difficult, and we started losing touch with who we really are and what we really need.
So let’s get back to the basics, shall we? Let’s make things simple again. Here are 60 ways to do just that (And don’t try them all right now. Just pick one or two that resonate with you, and begin):
Life is not complex. We are complex. Life is simple,
and the simple thing is the right thing.
– Oscar Wilde
- Don’t try to read other people’s minds. Don’t make other people try to read yours. Communicate.
- Be polite, but don’t try to be friends with everyone around you. Instead, spend time nurturing your relationships with the people who matter most to you.
- Your health is your life, keep up with it. Get an annual physical check-up.
- Live below your means. Don’t buy stuff you don’t need. Always sleep on big purchases. Create a budget and savings plan and stick to both of them.
- Get enough sleep every night. An exhausted mind is rarely productive.
- Get up 30 minutes earlier so you don’t have to rush around like a mad man. That 30 minutes will help you avoid speeding tickets, tardiness, and other unnecessary headaches.
- Get off your high horse, talk it out, shake hands or hug, and move on.
- Don’t waste your time on jealously. The only person you’re competing against is yourself.
- Surround yourself with people who fill your gaps. Let them do the stuff they’re better at so you can do the stuff you’re better at.
- Organize your living space and working space. Read David Allen’s book Getting Things Done for some practical organizational guidance.
- Get rid of stuff you don’t use.
- Ask someone if you aren’t sure.
- Spend a little time now learning a time-saving trick or shortcut that you can use over and over again in the future.
- Don’t try to please everyone. Just do what you know is right.
- Don’t drink alcohol or consume recreational drugs when you’re mad or sad. Take a jog instead.
- Be sure to pay your bills on time.
- Fill up your gas tank on the way home, not in the morning when you’re in a hurry.
- Use technology to automate tasks.
- Handle important two-minute tasks immediately.
- Relocate closer to your place of employment.
- Don’t steal.
- Always be honest with yourself and others.
- Say “I love you” to your loved ones as often as possible.
- Single-task. Do one thing at a time and give it all you got.
- Finish one project before you start another.
- Be yourself.
- When traveling, pack light. Don’t bring it unless you absolutely must.
- Clean up after yourself. Don’t put it off until later.
- Learn to cook, and cook.
- Make a weekly (healthy) menu, and shop for only the items you need.
- Consider buying and cooking food in bulk. If you make a large portion of something on Sunday, you can eat leftovers several times during the week without spending more time cooking.
- Stay out of other people’s drama. And don’t needlessly create your own.
- Buy things with cash.
- Maintain your car, home, and other personal belongings you rely on.
- Smile often, even to complete strangers.
- If you hate doing it, stop hating it.
- Treat everyone with the same level of respect you would give to your grandfather and the same level of patience you would have with your baby brother.
- Apologize when you should.
- Write things down.
- Be curious. Don’t be scared to learn something new.
- Explore new ideas and opportunities often.
- Don’t be shy. Network with people. Meet new people.
- Don’t worry too much about what other people think about you.
- Spend time with nice people who are smart, driven, and likeminded.
- Don’t text and drive. Don’t drink and drive.
- Drink water when you’re thirsty.
- Don’t eat when you’re bored. Eat when you’re hungry.
- Exercise every day. Simply take a long, relaxing walk or commit 30 minutes to an at-home exercise program like the P90X workout.
- Let go of things you can’t change. Concentrate on things you can.
- Find hard work you actually enjoy doing.
- Realize that the harder you work, the luckier you will become.
- Follow your heart. Don’t waste your life fulfilling someone else’s dreams and desires.
- Set priorities for yourself and act accordingly.
- Take it slow and add up all your small victories.
- However good or bad a situation is now, it will change. Accept this simple fact.
- Excel at what you do. Otherwise you’ll just frustrate yourself.
- Mature, but don’t grow up too fast.
- Realize that you’re never quite as right as you think you are.
- Build something or do something that makes you proud.
- Make mistakes, learn from them, laugh about them, and move along.
Oh, and enjoy life’s simple pleasures. They’re free and better than anything money can buy. 😉
Photo by: Luis Fabres
Andre says
Isn’t it amazing that as we grow older, and supposedly wiser, how much we complicate our thought lives.
Much of what you’ve stated above is about what we perceive people and things to be.
When we were young our little voice was untainted by the mistrust and deceit in the world. Our thoughts were simple and our lives were ones of seeking fun, laughter and enjoyment. We still seek these things but our thoughts are filled with suspicion about life and people.
Roll on the simple life and our youthful thoughts as well.
Maya says
Pay attention to the life in and around you, don’t just hurry through to the next thing. (It’s way harder than it sounds).
Rumi Ahmed says
Love the way you write everything.
Thanks a lot!
Kris @Krazy_Kris says
Such a great post – I just happened upon you through the twitterverse… Funny how that happens! I love #44 – I just spent several hours with old and new friends, grown up professional smart women and was reminded what how important that is. Life gets sooooo busy, and for me, I forget to take time in sharing with people, building something, and celebrating the small victories. Thanks so much for the reminder. Bookmarked and RSS’d!
Kris @Krazy_Kris says
PS – Am I missing the share button? I’d love to share this easily on FB/TW… Thanks again!
gracekay says
i definately love no. 60 life is easier when we can laugh and move on
great read
Becky says
Thank you for sharing, very inspiring.
Sufal says
Some of the points were really thought provoking
Chef Todd Mohr says
If your Mom or Grandma didn’t teach you to cook, you’re unfortunately left to recipe books and celebrity chefs on TV.
The problem is neither of these actually teach you HOW to cook.
The Food Network is the MTV of Food. MTV used to play music, now they’re entertainment ABOUT music. The Food Network is entertainment ABOUT food, they don’t teach anyone to cook.
Neither will you learn how to cook from a book. Written recipes won’t teach you to cook any more than having sheet music will teach you to play piano. There are too many variables in recipes that always lead to frustration.
The best way to free yourself from recipes and cook like a chef at home is to examine the basic cooking methods. When you learn HOW to saute, broil, grill, roast, then you can create your own recipes from what you have on hand.
Knowing HOW to cook anything is a skill that will save you time, money at the grocery store, improve your health, reunite your family over dinner, eat a greater variety of foods, and have this skill for the rest of your life.
Chef Todd Mohr
WebCookingClasses.com
Bryce Christiansen says
Thanks for the tips. It’s funny that we unnecessarily complicate our lives as we get older sometimes.
Tip #61: Spend the majority of your time on something you are passionate about. See if there are any ways to outsource or delegate the other stuff.
Parker Lee says
Hi Mark I hope everything is going well for you, Good list.
I think something I had to really learn from was paying my bills on time… lord knows I’ve learned from that lesson the most :/
Sky Ha says
Thank you for this awesome post.
I’ve been a fan of your blog for a long time and you’ve always put out quality materials. This one really helped me change my perspective.
Thanks for all your hard work.
Ken Montville says
I’m not sure if these 60 things will help make my life simple. After all, trying to remember 60 things isn’t that simple. However, they are great guidelines for life.
They seem like common sense things but it’s surprising how many are ignored by the masses.
Dia says
Hi Marc,
What a nice list. We really should pay attention in life to everything around us and be in gratitude and help others. Thanks for sharing
Muhammad B. says
Hi, these truly are awesome and simple principles we all should follow to help us lead a happy life.
Thanks so much.
Raquel says
I love this. I so needed this today. I am a single mom who has to work two jobs so I can pay bills and feed my son. I have been feeling like life is so complicated lately.
Thank you for some very simple advice that will definitely make my life a little brighter. Thank you for sharing.
– Raquel
Lee Doolan says
I keep this near my workspace at all times:
Whatever the tasks, do them slowly with ease,
in mindfulness. Don’t do any tasks in order to
get them over with. Resolve to do each job in
a relaxed way, with all your attention.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Sam says
Addendum:
#62: Forgive.
Chris says
How to make life simple again in 60 list items and ten paragraphs. Bravo.
farouk says
i like them all but especially number 57 , makes a lot of sense:)
Kimberly says
Excellent list! Such common sense, but so many of these items get lost in the day to day chaos of life.
I’m printing your list and will hang it on my vision board in my closet. Each day I’m going to focus on implementing one item from the list. I’ll probably share my experience on my blog.
Ashna says
I love these tips. Am currently working on # 9. Thank you for sharing! 🙂
jonathanfigaro says
If you hate it then stop doing it. Simple , profound and too the point.
WillSim says
“If you hate it then stop doing it.”
As much as I enjoy reading peoples’ ‘sort your life out’ lists (I think the Suncream song sorted this a while ago but still, good to share) this one in particular is one of the very things that’s wrong with our culture; Firstly the word ‘hate’ is being dumbed down here, not necessarily by the author, who may well have been thinking of things they really genuinely ‘hate’ to do, but the average reader will take it in it’s more abused and lighter/less meaningful form…ie things they don’t particularly enjoy doing.
This attitude is endemic in ‘Western’ cultures and generally creates license for avoidance of things not perceived as enjoyable.
It’s typical, “man if you don’t like doing it then stop” ! That’s insane…do you think anyone ever liked working in factories? do you think anyone ever liked cleaning a toilet or the sewers or ever liked working down a mine every day?
This ‘wise’ bit of advice is tantamount to recommending we all just do as we please because our individual well-being is so bl**dy important! Craziness – we are all important and without being healthy and functional the ‘whole’ couldn’t function…but nothing was ever achieved by giving up when it became boring or hard (“waaa I hate doing homework”…”well son, you know what they say ‘If you hate it then stop doing it.’ “) would have shafted every hardworking person on the planet in any discipline who ever took any time to learn a skill!
Think before you write. We all affect each other no matter what our intentions were originally…I don’t think Oppenheimer started out with bad intentions…not everyone sees things the same way.
Oh yeh and agree with previous poster…60….SIXTY things in a list to simplify life…how about one…
Chill.
Marc says
@WillSim
I will respond to your rant by quoting Steve Jobs:
“When I was 17 I read a quote that went something like ‘If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.’ It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself, ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been “no” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.”
“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important thing I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life, because almost everything–all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure–these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. “
Bottom line:
So many people spend the majority of their lives hating what they do for a living – hating how they spend 9 hours every single day.
Yes, you should work hard in life, but you should work hard on something that brings meaning into your life.
WillSim says
Marc
I fully agree with your post, or rather Steve Jobs’ post. It’s hardly a new sentiment/way of thinking.
It doesn’t however address directly what I’m saying.
The choice of words, ‘hate’ in particular, is just a bit misleading and given the sloganised way it’s wrapped up will inevitably be taken with too little thought/reflection and get used as an out.
I totally believe in living every day as if it were my last but also have to employ a little risk taking optimism and setup longer-term focus from time to time otherwise most days would probably end up being mostly for self-satisfaction or madly rushing about trying to keep my house in order ready for those I leave behind!
Okay I’m being deliberately trite but I get you.
Something not often present in our society is the ability for people to push past boredom or distaste and consequently find themselves always moving away from what they have in order to try and attain something else – hence getting into some perpetual quest for …er happiness, love….fck knows anything really…
take an unsatisfactory relationship for example – some people don’t examine their motives particularly deeply and just feel constantly like it’s not right for them so they ditch and move on. Now I’m sure there are many relationships where the reason for unhappiness/discontentment is very real, but for some it’s just factors like their fear of commitment, their perceived belief that the single life has more to offer etc in these cases this would be terrible advice…’give up’ ‘leave her/him’ ‘get away from it because it makes you unhappy’ when really they just haven’t ever been taught patience and reflection – like sitting on the same spot for a long time – gets uncomfortable after a while, you move and it’s good, soon you become uncomfortable again, you move and it’s good…and so on and so forth – what might happen if you just accept that sitting for a long time has it’s discomforts as well as it’s comforts, they’re both a part of the whole.
Hate/Love both a part of the whole – to try to move away from one constantly because you have a preference for the other is futile and will surely result in frustration or more avoidant behaviours…
HappinessandWisdom says
Thanks for this post. We’ve found that more stuff, more activities, etc., while acquired/desired to bring greater happiness, do just the opposite. You offer a lot of practical advice in this list. Thanks!
Travel Travel says
Life still easy 🙂
Great list, loved it. thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanks for sharing!
Ken Lupo says
I really like the one ‘Your health is your life, keep up with it.’ I recently injured my back pretty severely and your health becomes extremely important when you’re in pain and you can think of nothing else.
It’s completely changed the way I live my life. Great Post.
Craig says
I especially appreciate: “Exercise every day. Simply take a long, relaxing walk.” My dad had a heart attack last December. I hadn’t been taking care of myself, and his heart attack was really a wake up call. I’ve since lost 65 lbs, and started exercising. It’s amazing the difference it can make in your life on so many different levels. Thanks for this blog post.
John Bardos - JetSetCitizen says
Great list and reminder. I am working on a free ebook of a similar theme.
It really is true that less is more. Less consumption of everything leads to more time for enriching relationships with people we care about and self-development.
Monique DiCarlo says
Wow! Thank you so much for this great post. First I thought this is pretty complete and simple, then I realized I could add 2 cents! Go tent camping a few times a year and be in nature as often as possible 🙂
Namaste, Monique DiCarlo
Living the Balanced Life says
An awesome list! If all people could just realize we have so complicated our lives! We must step back and redefine the important things!
Bernice
http://livingthebalancedlife.com/2010/the-minimalist-lifestyle/
Ian says
This is great, i love it!
Especially “Follow your heart. Don’t waste your life fulfilling someone else’s dreams and desires.”
I think its time to make a break! Thanks for the inspiration!
Bo-Eric says
thanks for this great list. It´s a real reminder of what life is really all about
Wowman says
And here I was drinking gasoline when I got thirsty. 😉
Great list!
Michael Dadona says
These three tips are the very best from the list as things to take first before the rest; 46, 47, & 48. It can energizes physical body in producing positive thinking which is imperative reaching towards “A Beautiful Mind”.
Thanks for publishing this article. Hope tomorrow life will be much better than today…..everyday.
Jeff says
“60 Ways To Make Life Simple Again”. Maybe life would be a little simpler if the list was smaller!
Just kidding. This is a really great list.
Craig Thomas says
Excellent post – great list. I especially like the tip where you treat people with respect like your grandfather and patience like your baby brother. Nice touch. 🙂
Doug Rosbury says
There is one term to cover everything you have said.
(common sense) This is a mental attitude which will
keep you in touch with higher mind and which will
provide moment by moment guidance, freeing you from having to seek out outer advice. another name
for it is (free agency). In other words, learn to think for yourself. By this, I have conducted my whole life
and it has protected me from all outer influences.
Heavenly Father/Mother has been a great parent,
and has equipped us well but too many of us do
not know it but thank God (I DO). Doug
Mark says
@Jeff – great comment. 🙂
Marc – brilliant list; I would like to think that I could have written it myself. Thanks for organizing all these points so lucidly. And, thanks for the follow-up Steve Jobs quote — great insight.
truthertron says
The reason we do not perceive things as we once did, is not because we got older. It is because the powers that be on the planet have engineered our lives to be this way. Research.
Vicky says
Lovely post
Tina says
This blog makes me smile. Keep doing what you’re doing. The world appreciates you for it.
CHIA YEW HENG says
Great tips for simple living! That is what I am looking for and what many are looking for. Keep the creative juice flowing – will recommend your site to anyone looking for a better deal in this dog-eat-dog world! Great blog…
hahn says
Awesome read. Shared.
yodz says
I got a nice read. Very inspiring. But I guess there’s a way to make these tips shorter. 60 is quite a list.
george says
eating, praying and loving. three essentials to make life as easier as possible.
John Sherry says
What a list, what a resource. Begs the question Marc, if you could make one law or make one thing compulsory for everyone do to improve life what would it be?
Melissa Jane Morales says
just want you to know that i reposted this article in my FB notes to inspire others 🙂 dont worry i included a link to this page and noted you as the writer.. keep inspiring others!! i love people like you!!