Simplify

One single word, but it could change your life.

A few years ago, I worked with a woman who always seemed to have a certain amount of crazy going on in her life, whether invited or not.  Because we were of the same marital status and age group, we used trade stories about our lives and it was during these talks that I learned of how chaotic her personal life (family, friends, dating, etc.) actually was.

It wasn't always chaotic in a negative way, but there were certainly some instances where I would just shake my head and say, "Wow.  You need to simplify your life!"  After I used this word on her two or three times, I finally suggested she take it and use it as a mantra to live by.  When she got married a couple of years ago, she told me that she still had a piece of paper on her fridge with the word "Simplify" written on it.  I thought that was pretty cool.

Fast forward to 2013 and I find myself in my own mental flux (work, school, dating, etc.) and I am reminded of how easy it is to "do as I say, not as I do".

I was cleaning out my Outlook at work today and I found an email I created that listed "60 Ways to Make Life Simple Again", which is a list that I found by chance last year on a blog written by Marc Chernoff, who is the co-author of a book entitled 1,000 Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently.   I loved the list when I found it and put copies of it up on my bulletin board at home and at my desk at work, just as a reminder to myself.

Since I have a friend who insists that I put my random thoughts to paper (or weblog, as the case may be), I decided this exhaustive list could be something I could expound on. Perhaps along the way, I might finally remember to take my own advice and simplify.

In the words of one of my favorite authors, Oscar Wilde, "Life is not complex.  We are complex.  Life is simple, and the simple thing is the right thing."