What is the Simple Life?

There is no single definition of simplicity. My vision of a simple life will be different than yours, or anyone elses – and none of us is wrong. Ive read about someone living in a log cabin in Alaska, with no electricity or running water or television or Internet. They chop wood from the forest outside to burn for heat and cooking. They use water from a nearby stream for drinking and bathing. They walk or bike to town to go to the library or to use the Internet. Thats a pretty simple life by most definitions – but when I talk about leading a simple life, I dont mean you need to live in a log cabin in the woods – I certainly dont.

Ive also seen photos of pretty expensive houses, decorated in a very minimalist fashion, spartan in their simplicity, but also decorated with expensive furniture. These houses are gorgeous, and their minimalist interiors are extremely attractive … but it takes a lot of money to get to that point. This is one kind of simplicity, but its not for everyone.

Ive also read about people who live extremely frugally, rarely buying new items, making things last as long as possible, re-using plastic bags and bottles, growing food in a garden, buying things second-hand in thrift shops when necessary. This kind of frugality is one kind of simplicity, and to some extent I use many of these ideas myself. But its not the kind of simplicity for everyone.

So whats my idea of a simple life? Again, this isnt what you need to shoot for, and its not even what you need to agree with. We can each have our own vision. My idea is that I make room in my life for the essentials – the things I love to do and the people I love to be with. I remove the non-essentials as much as possible, and leave a life that isnt overwhelmed with tasks and projects and errands, but has space … space for what I want to do, and space between things. So that I can live a peaceful life, move slowly, work happily, and spend time with the people I care most about.

This might mean that I live frugally (so that I can work less, or save for whats important), or it might mean that I sometimes splurge, because life is too short not to enjoy things while you can. I find ways to enjoy myself without spending money, but at the same time I am not afraid to treat myself and my family now and then.

Whats your idea of a simple life? Its almost certainly different than mine. And thats good – we dont want cookie-cutter approaches here. We want something that makes sense to each individual person, that fits their personalities and dreams and life situations.

Think about what your idea of a simple life is, so that you can find your path to get there.

The Many Paths to Simplicity

So with each person pursuing a different destination to a simpler life, how can we find the paths to those destinations? There isnt one answer.

We must each find our own path, obviously, but we can still learn from others. Ive learned from many people along the way, and in fact I still learn from all of you each day. I think I learn more from the comments of my posts than you learn from the posts themselves, but thats what makes this conversation a wonderful thing.

“The simplest things are often the truest.” - Richard Bach

My best overall advice is to think about where you want to go, and then figure out a path to get there. And then take the first step. Once youve done that, you can worry about the next step. You will probably take a different path than the one you first envisioned, and in fact you may get to a different destination than you first imagined. Just take it one step at a time, and see where you get.

That said, Id like to offer some ideas that may help you find your path. These are not to be adopted wholesale, and in fact some of them contradict each other. Thats because they represent different paths – and again, there is no one right path. Take inspiration from them, try some out if you like, but dont take this list as a prescription to anything.

• Take it slowly. There is no need to rush to a simpler life. Take deep breaths, and take things one step at a time. Baby steps. Enjoy the process.
• Do a major rehaul. Sometimes it can be revitalizing to do a rehaul of your entire life. Wipe the slate clean and start from scratch. Now, that might mean moving to a new house and only bringing the possessions that mean the most to you. Or it might mean getting a new job that you love and setting your own schedule around the things you love doing. Or it might mean doing a major cleansing of your house, getting rid of most of your junk. It could mean just dropping all commitments except the things you love most.
• Remember whats important. Why are you trying to simplify? Is it to make room for the things you love? Then be sure to identify those things, and keep those things in mind during this process. Is it simply to reduce your stress and live a more peaceful life? Then remember that on your path to simplicity.
• Adopt changes gradually. As one commenter pointed out, and as I have said in the past, if you adopt one small change at a time, you can make major changes over the long-term without the changes seeming very big at all. Make one small change, and soon that becomes the norm for you. Then make another, and that becomes the norm. Each step seems small, but they can add up to really big progress over months and years.
• Try different types of simplicity. You dont have to pick one way. You can try frugality, then minimalism, then cabin-in-the-woods simplicity, then chuck all your responsibilities and hang out on a beach all day. See what works for you.
• Join a community. There are online communities and maybe even groups within your neighborhood that are going for a common goal. That might be frugality, or decluttering, or living with a minimal impact on the environment.
• Take assessment. Im a big fan of stepping back and taking a look at my life in general, reflecting on what I want my life to be like, on what kind of progress Ive made, on what needs to be done. Its good to do this at the beginning of your path to simplicity, and every now and then along the way.

“As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.” - Henry David Thoreau

Whats your path to simplicity? What have you learned along the way? Share in the comments!

By Leo Babauta of Zen Habits. Visit Leo at www.zenhabits.net
Photo courtesy of alicepopkorn

There are two challenges that people face when choosing to live a more simpler life: owning little and wanting little. Yet people fuse these challenges together into a larger “live simply” goal. Unfortunately, theyre two different beasts that need to be tamed in their own ways.

Owning little requires a practical approach – systematically decluttering your life and eliminating the unnecessary. Wanting little on the other hand is focused on the way in which we think, a far more blurred aspect of simplicity.

Sincerely wanting little is difficult. It goes against our firmly rooted desire for certainty, for ownership. To cut through this psychological attachment requires more than step-by-step processes or following a list of tactics, it requires a shift in your thinking, a shift in the way you approach your day to day life and how you make decisions.

1. Have a vision for your life. Goals are somewhat useful tools to get from point A to B, but they often lack depth, emotion and meaning, and without those three things theres a deficiency of purpose and drive.

Think about the lifestyle you want as a whole instead of simply focusing on your desire to want very little. What do you want to own? How will you spend your time? Where will you be? Be specific.

This outline acts as a funnel. Desires for more may attempt to flood your life, but because youve clearly defined what matters to you, only the things conducive to your aims will make their way through this funnel. It becomes much easier to say “No” to something when youre certain its not apart of the bigger picture.

2. Find your motivation. What is your why? Why do you want little? Because its trendy is unfortunately not enough to quench your lust for stuff. Personally, I want little because I have dreams of traveling the world for months on end, and stocking up on gadgets and gizmos doesnt exactly gel well with that.

Here are some other common reason whys:

Saving money – for retirement, travel, charity etc.
Eliminating stress.
Freeing up time from the offset of being able to work less, clean less, and maintain less.
Dont be meaninglessly minimalist. Be purposeful and deliberate in your quest to want little.

3. Experience the benefits. No matter how many times you hear the benefits of wanting little, or visualize your motivation with all the intensity in the world, experiencing an uncluttered lifestyle will always be the best way to switch from a “want more” to a “want little” mindset.

Aside from simply throwing out everything you own, there are a few ways to go about this:

Plan a short vacation where you take as little as possible, including no technology or fashion accessories. Only pack the essentials.

Pick one room in your house or apartment that you want to transform into a no-stuff zone. Dump as much as you can from that room into a spare room or garage. Notice the difference in tranquility as you walk between your regular rooms and the no-stuff zone.

Visit locations that are inherently uncluttered. Buddhist temples spring to mind as being places with the bare minimal.

4. Be noncommittal. Decisions become scary when theyre set in stone. In other areas of life a little fear could indeed be a good thing, but its unnecessary and undesirable when striving to eliminate the desire for more – the challenge is difficult enough without adding further resistance.

Theres no line to cross with attachment to stuff, no mountain you must overcome. Its a lifestyle you can back out of anytime, a mindset that in no way restricts your ability to choose. Wade through the shallows before diving in the deep end.

5. Understand the psychology of influence. Marketing and sales are apart of this world and itd be silly to chastise those sectors because in reality were all marketers and salespeople – all livelihoods are fuelled by being heard and mutual exchanges. But that doesnt mean you need to fall into the trap of cheap psychological tricks.

Start by reading about how marketing weasels will try to manipulate you and for more depth pick up a copy of Robert Cialdinis classic, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.

Other books on the topic that Im yet to read, but you may want to check out include:

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, Malcolm Gladwell
Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions, Dan Ariely
Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy, Martin Lindstrom

6. Grow into it. Start with small victories. Be mindful of all your purchases and desires and regularly ask yourself “Does this fit into my vision?” You will stumble, its the nature of the beast. The world wants you to want more, and the world is a mighty challenger.

Be persistent with your quest for less and surround yourself with positive influences – classical works of literature like the Tao Te Ching and Walden; Or, Life in the Woods, plus like-minded individuals who want to cut themselves free from the leash of things.

7. Lose yourself. Purchasing is a process we lose ourselves in. First something catches our eye, then theres the inner conflict (should we buy it?). If we convince ourselves that we should part with our money, theres that little buzz you get of claiming ownership. You take the product home. And then you use it.

Its an exciting sequence of events – full of uncertainty and possibility – that we get swept up in. But the problem is, it mostly ends with buyers remorse, a dented bank account and all the other costs of owning stuff.

What you need to do is learn to get lost in activities rather than acquisition. Instead of being strung along by the latest gizmo, learn to transplant that process into an outlet such as writing, music or drawing. Focus on doing interesting things rather than buying interesting things.

7 WAYS … TO WANT VERY LITTLE by David Turnbull. Read more from David at his blog, Adventures of a Barefoot Geek, or subscribe to his feed.