Your direction in life can be simple, peaceful, honest and happy.

If you find yourself constantly worrying about the direction your life is heading and keeping score on what you’ve accomplished so far. It’s time to take a step back. There is such a thing as focusing too much on achieving your goals and completely missing out on your life in the process. I know part of this blog is about personal development and many PD gurus would say that you need to have goals for every minute of every day to get anywhere, I disagree…but that’s OK because I’m not a guru!

The fact is some of the very best ideas, relationships, insights and inspirations will come to you when you allow yourself to exist in the moment and not think about the next task you need to perform, the next goal you want to achieve, or the next place you need to be.

Goals

I’m not saying you shouldn’t have goals and strive to achieve them, not at all. Everyone needs goals and a plan to make them a reality. But if your whole being is focused on the next step in the plan you can easily miss the little ‘accidents’ that happen along the way, the things that can take you in an entirely new direction that you never before considered.

Direction

As you read this I’d like you to put aside your current set of beliefs for just a moment and consider something most people would say is radical, ridiculous, even impossible. Ready? At any moment no matter what you’re doing you are always moving forward. Whether you’re reading, or working, or meditating, or eating, or exercising, or watching TV, or listening to music, or interacting with friends, or interacting with enemies…whatever you’re doing is a learning experience and an opportunity for growth. You may decide later that it wasn’t the best use of your time or regret the decisions you made, and that’s fine, that too is a new experience that helped to shape you into the person you are today.

My point is that the notion that you have to maximize every minute of every day with a plan in order to grow as a person, is false. You are growing and changing with each new experience regardless of it being part of your plan or not. I challenge you to direct your life with simplicity over complexity.

Simplicity

I believe it is incredibly beneficial to regularly take stock and see if your decisions are moving you toward a simpler life and becoming more satisfied with what you have. Or if you are moving toward a more stressful existence driven by the belief that if only you had more, then you would be happy. Here are a few ways you can put simplicity to work for you in your life.

Love: Simplicity of Love is all about being more open and less conditional. Always be ready to reach out to someone in kindness without expecting anything in return. You may find this easier to do with strangers such as smiling and greeting the cashier at a store, than you do with those close to you. That’s because you’re placing too much emphasis on what you receive from them and how they can improve your life, instead of focusing on what you can do to improve theirs.

Practical Exercise – Commit to giving of yourself to someone today. Show them love in a smile, a look, or a touch, without expecting or even hoping for anything back.

Desire: Simplicity of Desire is about being happy with what you have and thankful for the wonderful people and opportunities already in your life instead of believing you will be happy only when you make more money, buy a bigger home, get married, have children or achieve your next goal.

Practical Exercise – Sell or throw away just one personal possession you don’t need, do it today.

Intention: Simplicity of Intention is about simplifying your goals to reduce stress and increase happiness. Look at your schedule, to-do list, or goal sheet objectively. Are you cluttering it up with far more than you can possibly achieve in the given time frame? Simplify it. Are you placing your future happiness solely on goals that require you to acquire things? Refocus.

Practical Exercise – Remove just one item from today’s to-do list that’s not absolutely necessary.

Thought: Simplicity of Thought is about clearing your mind of unnecessary distractions and worries. I personally use the relaxation-visualization techniques found in The Linden Methodand find it very helpful in clearing my mind of unwanted worries. As you focus your mind on simple joys and blessings you will become happier, more content, and less stressed.

Practical Exercise – Take at least a few minutes today to relax and meditate on something you love that is already in your life.

Get Started Today!

With these tools you have the power to begin guiding your life in a simpler direction, to attain greather harmony in your relationships, to be more content with what you have, to find peace with those around you, and to remake your goals with simplicity in view. I hope this will help you on your road to fulfillment and personal development as much as it has helped me.